5 Ways You Can Use Up Leftover Milk Before It Expires

Got Milk?

Young woman is pouring daily milk from a glass bottle — dragonstock – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person

Got milk? More specifically, do you have a gallon of milk nearing its expiration date and no plans to use it up before it goes bad? Some common methods to get rid of leftover milk are to chug it all or pour it down the drain, but that just seems extravagantly wasteful.

We Have 5 Ways You Can Use Up Leftover Milk Before It Expires

Beautiful smiling young girl having tasty healthy breakfast while sitting at the kitchen table — Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person

Fortunately, there are ways to transform leftover milk into worthwhile treats or other ingredients. For instance, you can turn it into sour cream or yogurt or add it to a bath.

Here are some strategies to help you whip up your nearly-expired milk into something special!

Yogurt

You’ll need to have some plain yogurt already at home to turn leftover milk into a larger batch of yogurt. Warm up a half-gallon of milk, then combine a cup of warm milk with a half cup of yogurt.

Stir the yogurt mixture into the rest of the milk and leave it in your oven overnight or for at least four hours. The oven should be turned off with the door closed. Finally, strain it to make a thicker, Greek-style yogurt or put it in containers and store it in the refrigerator.

A Bath Treatment

Colorful summer flowers in a milk bath background — rawpixel.com – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only

Add your gallon of milk to your bathwater to achieve softer and smoother skin. Milk has moisturizing properties and produces lactic acids that help exfoliate your skin.

Soaking in a milk bath can also soothe the heat of sunburns. Lactic acids remove the damaged outer layers of the skin, while antioxidants reduce inflammation.

Sour Cream

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Making sour cream out of leftover milk follows much of the same process as making buttermilk. Mix a cup of heavy cream and two teaspoons of lemon juice with a quarter cup of milk. Shake it up and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Ricotta

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Soft cheeses like ricotta are easy to make at home. Of course, you’ll need your milk, along with salt and lemon juice. Warm up a half gallon of milk to 194 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, stir in one-third cup of lemon juice and a teaspoon of salt.

Allow the concoction to sit for about 15 minutes, as that is when curdles will start to form. Line a strainer with a cheesecloth or paper towel and pour the curds over it. Wait at least five minutes before digging in. You can pair the ricotta with crackers.

Buttermilk

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When your milk has soured, try using it as buttermilk, which is the foundation of baked goods such as pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. Soured milk is completely different from spoiled milk.

While spoiled milk involves clumps at the bottom of the carton, soured milk is faintly tangy and can be used as an actual ingredient. It will perform about the same as store-bought buttermilk.

If your milk hasn’t quite reached the fermentation process yet, you can make your own buttermilk. Simply add a tablespoon of lemon juice, distilled white vinegar, or cider vinegar to a cup of milk. Let it sit for 10 minutes, and you’ve got yourself some buttermilk!

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