# Freezing/thawing milk question



## winky

I started freezing milk back in October and November and now I'm just starting to use it. So far, both attempts at thawing have resulted in milk with tiny curds floating on the top. I froze them in gallon size zip-lock bags. I defrosted the first bag in the fridge and it took 2 days. The second bag was thawed in cold water bath and I got the same result... curds. It's really disgusting. I had to give it to my dogs. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?


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## kccjer

Unfortunately, i think this is pretty normal. the milk should taste ok, so just skim the curds off the top and the rest should be ok.


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## liz

It is normal for this to happen I've found that milk that is used up with 2 months of freezing doesn't separate and flake the way it would when in the freezer longer.

What I've done is to thaw the bags in hotter than lukewarm water and to agitate and change water so that it stays warm during the process, yes the milk will be warm but it blends back together well and once refridgerated it should be used up within 3 days, Straining it to remove flakes does not work...I've tried it.


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## lissablack

What separates out are the milk solids, if you could strain them out you would be losing most of the goodies. I like the idea of thawing in very warm water, had not thought of that. I only freeze it in case I need milk for babies for some reason, but I did it one year to use, and it all separated too. I didn't try too hard to fix it. But it did seem to be the milk that was frozen the longest that was a problem.


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## liz

If you notice how when it does thaw, all the solids are at the bottom and the liquid is a yellowy color..... straining off the liquid will leave all the "good stuff" or milk solids, If I have a quart that doesn't come back together smooth I tend to use this to mix up a batch of pudding and you can't tell that the milk is flakey or I'll weigh out whats needed for a batch of soap.


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## winky

Thanks for your replies. Looks like soup, yogurt and pudding are going to be on the menu. I thought I read somewhere that you can freeze goats milk because it wouldn't separate like cows milk does, I guess it just does to a lesser degree or after 60 days? I'll just have to start dating it and rotating it out before the 60 day mark. Any idea if pasteurized versus raw makes a difference?


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## xymenah

I freeze all my milk and this is what I have found. If it is cooled super quickly after coming out of the goat and immediately placed in the freezer then thawed in HOT water it does not separate. If it is left somewhere cold to thaw it will separate, if it is not cooled quickly or placed in the frig then frozen later it will separate. If it is in the freezer for more than three months it has a tendency to separate but I have some from six months ago that doesn't sometimes. The cleaner the milk the less of a tendency it has to separate. When you thaw in hot water be sure to mix it so you don't end up cooking some of the milk. I don't pasteurize my milk so I can't answer you there sorry.


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## winky

xymenah said:


> I freeze all my milk and this is what I have found. If it is cooled super quickly after coming out of the goat and immediately placed in the freezer then thawed in HOT water it does not separate. If it is left somewhere cold to thaw it will separate, if it is not cooled quickly or placed in the frig then frozen later it will separate. If it is in the freezer for more than three months it has a tendency to separate but I have some from six months ago that doesn't sometimes. The cleaner the milk the less of a tendency it has to separate. When you thaw in hot water be sure to mix it so you don't end up cooking some of the milk. I don't pasteurize my milk so I can't answer you there sorry.


Thanks! This is very good to know. I cooled my milk right away but I didn't freeze it until the next day. I'll be sure to freeze it right away in the future. Tonight I'm going to try to thaw in hot water and see how it goes. My dogs are loving all my failed attempts.


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## Itchysmom

I have only frozen my milk in glass jars. i think the longest i had one in the freezer was a little over a month. i have not yet seen any seperation. I wonder if it makes a difference since it was in jars not bags? I would just take them out of the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature.


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## luvmyherd

xymenah is right. The fresher the better. I usually freeze for travel (can't stand to be without my own milk).I freeze it fresh out of the goat in glass jars. And, yes, it can still separate in glass. One thing I learned is to get it frozen as fast as possible. I was putting it in the freezer door and it often got separated. Now I but it well back in the freezer.
On this last trip, out of 10 jars; only one separated. I did not have them dated so do not know how old it was. Still, I put in in my coffee and the solids float to the top and look weird. But, if I do not look at it; it tastes just fine.
I have given separated, frozen milk to kids with no ill effects.


winky said:


> My dogs are loving all my failed attempts.


 :ROFL: :slapfloor: :ROFL:


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## Breezy-Trail

We used to get all out milk frozen when we lived in MI, as we had no goats then.
I never did like the texture on cold cereal or to drink it, then I don't usually drink milk anyways.
It was always good to use in bake goods or anything that calls for milk.
There were many times when it wasn't so bad, as far as separation.
I don't know what the farmer did different. My thought is that it was still quite fresh.

Anyways I don't find it gross, except I would not like to be the one to drink it, just because I don't usually drink milk and separated milk would be like orange juice with lots of pulp, lol. Use fresh and use frozen milk for soap or anything that calls for milk, separated or not, imo.


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## LoneStarChic

We just started using some of our stashes from October-December.

I save gatorade bottles, wash with dairy detergent, scrub with acid wash, the spray with a chlorine rinse & allow to air dry. I filter my milk & put it directly into these & freeze. Having an older freezer that doesn't run a defrost cycle helps too. When thawing I thaw in hot water.

The milk from October had no separation & was yummy. I've thawed a few in the fridge & had a small amount of separation, but not much, still tasted fine...

We tried freezing some milk about a day after milking (had been chilled & placed in fridge) & that milk had lots of separation & a slight goaty taste... It became chicken food.

I freeze milk for babies in ziplock bags, but I've had a few that even though frozen immediately, they thawed with a goaty taste, so milk for us gets frozen in sterilized bottles.


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