We had two unopened gallons in the fridge that we threw in the freezer for our week out of town. They are now in the fridge. Despite our having come home on Friday, each gallon still has a frozen core.
Should I leave it out to accelerate the melting? Put the gallon under warm water in the sink? Add some hot water and slosh it around? Leave it be?
For now we are just drinking them down as they melt, and buying more so as to have liquid milk on hand. Just curious about food safety.
Thanks
F. B.
Completely thaw it in the fridge. When the milk has fat in it the fat will separate from the thinner milk, which is why you should defrost it completely and shake well before each use.
I used to freeze the milk all the time.
let it thaw in the fridge. its the safest way to thaw it
I would just let them thaw slowly in the fridge.
I don't think I'd leave it out. We've filled a sink with cold water and defrosted that way, but best just to let unthaw in your fridge.
Are you afraid that if you don't drink it soon it will spoil? We know that freezing it will preserve it longer, so I think it's safe to assume that since you are drinking it as it thaws it is definitely not going to spoil. (And, of course, you will know if it does.)
If it wasn't fat free milk, what you're seeing is frozen fat particles in the center. They take a long, long time to thaw, and they can clump together.
Don't leave it outside the fridge to facilitate thawing, or put it under warm water. Keep it as is in the fridge.
Drinking the milk as it melts will result in ending up with a fatty residue.
One thing you can do is pour everything out into a stand mixer, or a large bowl. Use the stand mixer or a hand mixer to blend the milk fat and liquids back together (homogenizing it again, basically). When the fat particles have been redistributed back into the milk, just pour it into a pitcher, or back into the milk jug. Refrigerate it and it should be drinkable.
Let it thaw naturally in the fridge, shaking frequently to help break the ice. Once thawed, shake, pour what you need in a blender and mix. That's what I did when all 6 children were home and I grocery shopped once per month.
If you have more than one thawing, when the first bottle is empty save the bottle and when you blend the 2nd, pour it all back into the first bottle. That way you are not blending every time someone wants milk.
Updated
Let it thaw naturally in the fridge, shaking frequently to help break the ice. Once thawed, shake, pour what you need in a blender and mix. That's what I did when all 6 children were home and I grocery shopped once per month.
If you have more than one thawing, when the first bottle is empty save the bottle and when you blend the 2nd, pour it all back into the first bottle. That way you are not blending every time someone wants milk.
Updated
Let it thaw naturally in the fridge, shaking frequently to help break the ice. Once thawed, shake, pour what you need in a blender and mix. That's what I did when all 6 children were home and I grocery shopped once per month.
If you have more than one thawing, when the first bottle is empty save the bottle and when you blend the 2nd, pour it all back into the first bottle. That way you are not blending every time someone wants milk.
Put them in the fridge to thaw. Do not add water to the milk, that's yucky...
If you need it in a hurry you should probably put the whole gallon in tepid/not so hot water so that it will be in a warmer environment but not heating up.
I usually put it in the fridge for a day or two and use it that way BUT the milk sort of separates as it freezes and you get bits of the fat and bits that are super skim and if you get it all thawed at the same time you can shake it up and get it pretty close to how it was before. I usually shake it each time before using it until that whole gallon is gone.
