Making and freezing home made yogurt, freezing milk

[madbrain]

moolie,

If you plan on freezing milk in the gallon jug, be sure to pour out about 10% to allow for expansion before putting the jug in the freezer. As I mentioned before, milk freezes just fine--although you may notice a change in texture. No idea on how long it can be kept frozen, but a quick google search came up with this link which says:

Can I freeze milk?

All milk can be frozen for a period of up to 3 months providing that it is frozen before the best before date. Skim, 1% and 2% milk freeze better than whole milk. Thaw milk in the refrigerator. Milk may separate once it has been frozen. If that happens, shake or beat it with a rotary or electric beater.

Thanks! I guess I will try it. 3 months should be OK.

As to freezing yogurt, best thing is to just try it and see how it goes. Googling came up with mixed opinions, the most positive being:

http://earlymotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/10/freezing-yogurt.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5623395_freeze-home-harming-healthy-bacteria.html

Thanks. Doesn't seem all that positive, Stonyfield still says to use the product by the "best by" date. I don't see the point of freezing in that case, might as well keep it in the fridge.
As for "seeing how it goes", I would prefer not to be the guinea pig. I was hoping there was some more info about whether it was safe or not and for how long.

 

[madbrain]

Hi,

You will be changing the way you think eventually if you want to become more self-sufficient....hope that didn't sound too snotty, it wasn't meant to. I had to change my way of thinking and it took me a while, like a couple of years or more....now I expect you to change your way of thinking overnight! What I mean is.....you won't be happy with the results if you want everything homemade to be exactly like storebought. It will be very different. And if you are going to go through all that trouble, you may as well make everything very healthy, too.

I don't expect it to be like store bought. So far my experiences with ice cream and sorbets have been very good - I like the taste of my homemade stuff much better than the store bought. I made some really delicious chocolate ice cream last thursday night. 1.5qt. With some guittard chocolate. And organic half & half from trader joe's. I still have some, but not for long !
I have also made some sorbets with unusual flavors like kiwi that have been very good.

My experience with yogurt is very good as well. My first batch was plain, second batch with brown sugar and some blackberries. Both came out great, though I probably put too much sugar in the 2nd batch.

Next up is bread. I ordered a Zojirushi 1lb bread machine from Amazon today. I expect this will be a bigger hurdle to my palate. I am a Frenchman after all and used to good bread.
Running out of bread has been one of the #1 reasons to make additional trips to Trader Joe's. So I hope I can make some acceptable bread.

Expect complaints from the family. Get them involved and educated along with you and you will meet with FAR less resistance, trust me on this. My dh truly enjoys all my projects and experiments so much more since he started educating himself.....he leaves most of it to me still, but he is on board with all my efforts now.

Fortunately, family is just one other person - my bf . There are no kids, so there will be less resistance.

Think seasonally. Yes, we make and store things for the off season, but quality will drop when we do. The commercial stuff is full of chemicals to make the texture, color, and flavor seem wonderful in products a year or more old. Antifreeze is in ice cream but does not have to be labeled, can you imagine! So unless you are adding some, expect a different result in the freezer.

No, obviously I am not adding any of that stuff. Though if there were some natural preservatives that worked for ice cream and yogurt, I would.

Start to think of your homemade stuff as gourmet, and give up the idea of making it just like Brand ABC. Get used to REAL FOOD! Real food needs to be eaten up when it is available. Yes, some things can be stored and store well, but others can't. They are "seasonal."

Check out www.westonaprice.com for some great articles on real food. This site give tons of science behind what we do when we try to be more self sufficient.

Thanks, I will check out the link.

And last but far from least, I'm glad powdered milk is expensive. It is rather toxic. Skip the fat free milk, they add powdered milk to it to get the proper "mouth feel." They don't have to label it since it is still legally considered to be "milk." It is as close to real milk as a styrofoam cup is close to a crystal glass. And the styrofoam cup will probably do less damage to your body if you eat it than the powdered milk will.

Do you mind sharing what makes powdered milk toxic ?

Oh....frozen milk/yogurt....I freeze goat's milk and it is fine, but I have to run it through the blender when it thaws as it changes drastically in texture and is undrinkable unless blended. I have never thawed yogurt to eat. It literally lasts for weeks and weeks in the fridge. No need to freeze it.

How can you tell when the yogurt is no longer good in the fridge - other than tasting it ?
My bf and I have some serious medical conditions, and prefer not to be the guinea pigs. When in doubt, we throw the food away, since eating something expired can have serious consequences for us. I'm sure we waste more food than we should, but better safe than sorry.

http://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics...g-care-of-yourself/nutrition-and-food-safety/

 

[abifae]

I still have issues with all my frozen treats freezing too hard. I don't put enough sugar in Any ideas on fixing it without adding sugar?

 

[valmom]

Welcome to SS!

I was also going to say the powdered milk is pretty toxic.

Ooh, found the link- WZ had it on an old thread. You have to scroll down to the end of the "milk" section.
http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=20011005222648

 

[freemotion]

And last but far from least, I'm glad powdered milk is expensive. It is rather toxic. Skip the fat free milk, they add powdered milk to it to get the proper "mouth feel." They don't have to label it since it is still legally considered to be "milk." It is as close to real milk as a styrofoam cup is close to a crystal glass. And the styrofoam cup will probably do less damage to your body if you eat it than the powdered milk will.

Do you mind sharing what makes powdered milk toxic ?

Oh....frozen milk/yogurt....I freeze goat's milk and it is fine, but I have to run it through the blender when it thaws as it changes drastically in texture and is undrinkable unless blended. I have never thawed yogurt to eat. It literally lasts for weeks and weeks in the fridge. No need to freeze it.

How can you tell when the yogurt is no longer good in the fridge - other than tasting it ?
My bf and I have some serious medical conditions, and prefer not to be the guinea pigs. When in doubt, we throw the food away, since eating something expired can have serious consequences for us. I'm sure we waste more food than we should, but better safe than sorry.

http://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics...g-care-of-yourself/nutrition-and-food-safety/

Corrected link: www.westonaprice.org the .com one used to work....

An article from that site, scroll down to the subheading on milk: http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/567-dirty-secrets-of-the-food-processing-industry

As far as how you will know it is bad, your nose knows! I use the sniff test. You will know.

You might want to check out Sandor Katz book, Wild Fermentation. He has been living with serious health issues for many years. He has a seriously cute youtube video on bacteria and fermented foods. http://www.youtube.com/user/sandorkraut

 

[Wifezilla]

I can't stand the texture change in frozen milk . As for frozen ice cream, I don't think we have ever had any go bad. It doesn't last long around here!

As free motion said, avoid powdered milk. It is nasty stuff and does quite a number on your insides.

For long term storage of a dairy type item, I actually use unsweetened shredded coconut. You can use shredded coconut to make coconut milk and use where ever you would use dairy. I would prefer to have my own dairy cow, but since my propert is around 1/10th of an acre, that just isn't going to happen.

 

[madbrain]

Hi,

I can't stand the texture change in frozen milk .

I assume you mean for drinking. I don't drink milk. After thawing it in the fridge and boiling it to make yogurt, would the texture actually matter ? Wouldn't it have changed by that time ?
What I am wondering is how much longer the milk could keep frozen, vs the expiration date on the package.

As for frozen ice cream, I don't think we have ever had any go bad. It doesn't last long around here!

Well, I probably have 10 quarts of various sorbets, 10 quarts of various frozen yogurt, and 5 quarts of ice cream. Mostly from organic ingredients. Yes, I overdid it a little bit with the ice cream maker .
So you can see how I have some concerns about the longevity of these.

As free motion said, avoid powdered milk. It is nasty stuff and does quite a number on your insides.

What about using a tiny bit to put in yogurt to help make it firmer, as the manual for my yogurt maker suggests ?

For long term storage of a dairy type item, I actually use unsweetened shredded coconut. You can use shredded coconut to make coconut milk and use where ever you would use dairy.

Interesting idea. But wouldn't that change the flavor quite a bit ? I love coconut ice cream/sorbets. But I am not sure about mixing that flavor with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, bananas, kiwi, mango, chocolate, lemon, cantaloupe, etc.

 

[Wifezilla]

The coconut flavor in coconut milk is mild and I haven't had any issues mixing it with fruits.

To thicken yogurt, just strain it. No need to add powdered milk. I won't use it AT ALL.

 

[valmom]

I stopped adding powdered milk to my yogurt and now (when I remember) I add a bit of half and half which we always have around for coffee. Works great- and tastes better! If I don't remember the yogurt is sometimes fine and sometimes a bit runny- more like the kids "drinkable" yogurt they sell in stores. But still not bad.

 

[ORChick]

We are just 2 in my household, and we sometimes use a lot of milk, and sometimes not. It is cheaper to buy in gallons (as you have noticed), but a gallon is usually too much for us, so I freeze it. I buy organic, whole, homogenized/pasteurized milk (because that's the best I can do where I live). If the gallon jug has dimples on the sides (some do) you can freeze it as is - the dimples will bulge out with the expansion. If not, then either remove some milk to make more room in the jug, or transfer the milk to different containers I have some 3/4 gal. plastic jugs, and I fill them, leaving at least a couple of inches free at the top. I don't know how long the milk lasts, but I have had some frozen for at least a couple of months. The day before I anticipate needing more milk I take it out of the freezer, and put it on a plate or tray on the kitchen counter; I leave it until it is almost thawed, but still with some ice, and then refrigerate it. If you are more organized and forward thinking than I am you could just put it directly in the 'fridge, but it will take longer to thaw. The plate/tray is important to catch the condensation drips; and, if using the commercial jugs, there is always a small chance that it might have sprung a leak (this has only happened twice IME, out of dozens of frozen jugs). I only buy 2 or 3 gallons at a time, as I can't fit more in the freezer, but it has never been unfit to drink once thawed. There is a certain texture difference (as has been noted) but it may or may not bother you. I don't drink milk, only use it in cooking and yogurt and kefir, so never notice. DH used to complain a bit, but doesn't anymore - the only thing that has changed is his perception
As to icecream - personally, I would be inclined to make it more often rather than try to store it - but we don't eat much icecream. My brother on the other hand eats a lot of it - though he doesn't make it, only buys it. He always puts a piece of clingwrap over the top, pressing down to exclude air, before putting the lid back on the box. This seems to help, though he also only buys what he wants at the moment, and not in quantity.