# What do you freeze your milk in?



## SusanP (Mar 22, 2014)

I've used canning jars and they work well, but as it's now canning season I want to liberate them for their intended purpose, so I managed to get a health food store to save me glass milk bottles for the price of the deposit. 

They work great, but I've now had 3 bottles crack in the freezer. The first one was a few weeks ago and I figured was just a fluke. The 2nd happened yesterday. I put a fresh bottle in the freezer beside it (not touching, but close to it), and the next day the first bottle, which had already frozen solid, had cracked. 

I've opened the freezer several times today and the bottle I put in yesterday was fine, good and frozen. After this evening's milking I put another bottle of milk in. An hour later when I went to sneak myself some goat milk ice cream (yum!) I noticed that last night's bottle was now cracked. 

These are good thick glass bottles, and I'd read that many people use them, and that it's best to freeze the milk in glass not plastic. Am I just unlucky, or is there a secret to not having the bottles crack?


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I use some of those when I run out of canning jars... Haven't had any crack unless I fill them too much.. Could you be filling them a bit much?


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## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

Plastic yogurt containers. Works very well. I have had no trouble whatsoever with freezing milk in plastic.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Zip Lock Freezer Bags with the air squeezed out - Double bagged and layed flat in the freezer until they freeze, 
then stack them. 
It is better to use a freezer that doesn't have a freeze thaw cycle. (that keeps the ice crystals from forming)
The freeze and thaw will ruin the milk if it's in there for any time. (Like colostrum, etc).


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## SusanP (Mar 22, 2014)

I'm pretty sure I'm not filling them too much...purposely erring on the side of caution as I didn't want to break any of these! The two that broke most recently had a good 1.5" of head space. 

The freezer is not on a freeze-thaw cycle, so I should be good there. 

Interesting that people do freeze in plastic. Can't remember now where I read not to, but maybe it was referring just to the plastic milk jugs? Something about leaving an odour or being porous or something. I like the stackable bag idea!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I've never had luck freezing glass! But, new zip locks shouldn't absorb odors in a freezer.
Plastic water jugs should work ok, as they have never had milk in them. I, too, read that re-using
plastic milk jugs can cause off tasting milk, but, again, some people do use them successfully!


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I freeze in plastic juice jugs/containers, or gallon milk jugs.


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

I buy the plastic Rubbermaid take n toss round containers. I measure out my milk then stick them right in the freezer. I use this milk for my soap making. The round are great because the milks pops right out and fits in my pan  I've reused them for about a year now without issue. I also put them in the dishwasher. They stack well too


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Soda bottles. I tried the glass canning jars and lost several to breakage. I didn't have much luck with freezer bags, either, because the ones I used had tiny leaks in the corners.

I was told by someone who has always frozen milk in glass canning jars to freeze with the lids off and wait until the next day to put the screw lid on. I haven't tried that as of yet, but she never loses any jars to cracking.


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## SerenitySquare (Jun 28, 2014)

A note on canning jars. You cannot freeze the ones with a collar. So just the straight sides like, wide mouth pint and pint and a half. Also the small 4 and 8 oz ones. Also ball puts on the boxes which ones are okay to freeze in. So far I am freezing in the wide mouth pint and a half and no problems. We are removing plastic from our lives especially containing liquid so we use glass.
Possibly the jars you used were not straight sided.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

we also use double zip lock baggies...when defrosting. always put in a bowel..they tend to leak after they begin to thaw : )


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## SerenitySquare (Jun 28, 2014)

bowl or bowel:laugh: sorry could not resist


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

SerenitySquare said:


> bowl or bowel:laugh: sorry could not resist


Tee-Hee-Hee!:mrgreen:


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## mayia97420 (Apr 22, 2014)

I use zip locks too


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## SusanP (Mar 22, 2014)

All very interesting, thanks for all the feedback. 

These are milk bottles so no, they don't have straight sides. However I have frozen quite a lot in canning jars with the narrow neck and none of them have broken. 

I lost another milk bottle today, so I'm definitely going to have to switch to something else. I just hate to use so many canning jars for milk storage. Plastic does seem the better choice in terms of practicality, but I do like to avoid using it whenever possible.

Guess I'm off to experiment and see what works for me!


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## Buckleberry Woods Farm (Dec 20, 2013)

I wonder if using a silicone loaf baking pan and making milk "bricks" would work? Then store them in something once they are frozen?


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## justamerefarm (Sep 2, 2014)

I too use canning jars, leaving an inch head space and not screwing the lid on too tight. Other people I know, use good quality zip lock bags, that seems to work for them. I too have tried this, mainly because I want to use that milk for soap making.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

The freezer
:laugh:


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## justamerefarm (Sep 2, 2014)

NubianFan said:


> The freezer
> :laugh:


Yes I put them in the freezer, both ziplock bags and the canning jars


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