Freezing Goats' Milk

[Rechellef]

I am starting to freeze some milk for soap and cheese making. I am freezing it in zip lock bags laying them flat in my chest freezer. Does goats milk freeze well? Can I freeze some in the late fall for when my girls dry up in the winter for drinking or does it lose some of its pallatability once frozen?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Freeze it IMMEDIATELY after milking and filtering it. Have your freezer set VERY cold.

It keeps better in a NON-frost free type freezer.

[Rechellef]

Thanks Alice - and yes, I freeze it immediately after filtering and my chest freezer is front free and on a higher setting.

[mary,tx]

The only problem I found with freezing it in ziplocks was thawing it back out. Since my kids have been drinking powerades, I have gone to washing out those containers and freezing my milk in them. All I have to do is sit it in the fridge for a couple of days. The bags would tend to make a mess if I didn't sit them in something, and they weren't a good size for sitting in something.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Non-frost free. It's the defrosting cycle on a frost free freezer that ruins the frozen milk.

[Jyllie63]

Last year was a learning curve for me on freezing milk. This year I'm freezing FRESH milk (per Alice ) and no more plastic bags. They would end up sticking together and then having small holes...it was a mess most of the time. I've been saving plastic milk jugs, etc to freeze in this year. Mason jars work well too (just don't fill too full).

[Alice In TX/MO]

I get half gallon food grade jugs and lids from this company for the frozen milk that I sell in Missouri. The jugs/lids/shipping comes to a cost of about 50 cents per jug.

http://www.dahltechplastics.com/dairy1.htm

They will take orders over the phone, and I mail them a check.

[motdaugrnds]

I freeze our fresh goat milk in the glass jars instant tea comes in. I leave about an inch at the top and place the lid on loosely; then put them in our house freezer, which is set pretty high. After they are nicely frozen, I screw the lids down and take them out to the large chest freezer. I just brought some in last week. Takes a couple of days for them to defrost; but the milk taste is fresh as ever.

[Lada]

Any input on why the milk I freeze isn't very...well blended, I guess...when I thaw it? It's kind of got little floaties in it, works o.k. for bottle feeding kids or in recipes, but it doesn't really look like MILK, it's all non-homogeneous.

[Alice In TX/MO]

If you let it hang around at ALL before freezing (after straining), this can happen. If your freezer isn't cold enough, it can happen.

Sometimes, it just happens. Use a stick blender on it.

[uncleotis]

Thank you, I've learned something about freezing milk. I didn't realize I should have been freezing it immediately after filtering it. I'm safe with not using the frost free freezer, none of ours are.

["SPIKE"]

Good thread for my question.

SPIKE

[Tallabred]

For soap I freeze all of my milk in ice cube trays. I then put it a zip lock bag per my recipes. One ounce cubes make measuring easy.

[saanengirl]

I add a pinch of baking soda to my milk before freezing. It helps prevent separation.

[Backfourty,MI.]

Originally Posted by Tallabred

For soap I freeze all of my milk in ice cube trays. I then put it a zip lock bag per my recipes. One ounce cubes make measuring easy.

I've been weighing out my milk for soap & putting in plastic whipped cream tubs. I think this ice cube tray ida sounds great. Thanks for the tip.

[Backfourty,MI.]

Originally Posted by saanengirl

I add a pinch of baking soda to my milk before freezing. It helps prevent separation.

You told me this too when I first started milking but haven't thawed any of our milk out for drinking yet.


I like the jugs from the link Alice posted above. Much nicer than trying to wash store milk jugs out & I don't like freezing them in glass as I had a couple crack that way-I think I had them too full though so I'm sure it was my fault.

[mrs.H]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I get half gallon food grade jugs and lids from this company for the frozen milk that I sell in Missouri. The jugs/lids/shipping comes to a cost of about 50 cents per jug.

Dairy and Water Bottles | Plastic Bottles, Containers, Jugs, Caps and Lids

They will take orders over the phone, and I mail them a check.

This is the co I got my quart size jugs from. Whey work perfectly. I wish I had ordered the half gallon size though. Next year I will.

[Donna1982]

Originally Posted by Tallabred

For soap I freeze all of my milk in ice cube trays. I then put it a zip lock bag per my recipes. One ounce cubes make measuring easy.

We do the same thing here.

[Zilli]

Since I like to re-use everything I can, I like to use the plastic freezer boxes available at any grocery store because they're easy to get my hand into to wash (I'm not sure how you would go about washing jugs).

I did use zip lock freezer bags the first time I froze milk. They were nice in that they laid flat and could be stacked pretty easily and took up less space. But, like another poster mentioned, they always seemed to end up with tiny holes in them.

I just give the milk a good shake when it's thawed and it's good to go.

[chewie]

I have froze milk for a few years now, using ziplocks. other than a freezer taste if it goes a little hole, the milk looked fine. but this year, gag!!

I am getting milk that looks like sludge on the bottom, and runny watery on top. and if it gets a shake to mix it up, its still thick, like runny yogurt. even has little lumps in it. not good. the taste is fine, and I can cook with it, but to drink, gag!!! I really am thinking this was the milk froze immediatly after milking. it would've been cooled a bit and strained and right into the freezer. the bags of milk froze as a last minute effort to empty the fridge are doing much better, they were in the fridge for a few days at least before freezing.

why is my stash all lumpy and ick??? boohoo!!