Freezing extra milk ??

[LoneStrChic23]

Hubby & the kids are on holiday vacation. They left Friday morning & should be home tonight or tomorrow morning. I had to stay behind to milk because my backup bailed on me last minute.

I made a huge home made banana pudding with goat's milk, had a few glasses & used it on my cereal a few times....shared a bit with the dog because she gave me that pitiful look, also made a batch of chocolate pudding & clabbered some milk for the chickens.

I still have extra milk.

A 1/2 gallon jar & 1 quart jar are chillling in the freezer from this morning & I have almost 3 gallons in the fridge.

Not in the mood to try & make yogurt, don't have the supplies to do cheese....So I'm thinking about pasteurizing the 3 gallons in the fridge & save it for next year's bottle babies....this year I was a bit short on milk the first few days so I had to buy milk for the bottle babies.....would like to avoid that this year. Plus having milk that's already pasteurized & ready to go after thawing would be handy.

I have gallon sized ziplock freezer bags. Should I double bag them or do they do okay in just one bag? Planning on laying them flat to freeze so I can have a bunch of frozen milk bricks that are stackable.

If all goes as planned I should have kids December-February, so surely the frozen milk should be fine until then?

Didn't realize exactly how much milk my munchkins used until they were gone for a few days!

You know what's hilarious? I've been wanting some quiet time all summer, and after just 4 hours without hubby & the kids I was bored out of my mind & ready for them to be home

[Creamers]

I freeze in jars and have never had a problem - if it is like breastmilk - lol - you should be able to keep it 3 months in reg. freezer 6-12 months in a deep freezer

[Alice In TX/MO]

I got 1/2 gallon plastic jugs from Dahl Tech. http://www.dahltechplastics.com/ Less than 50 cents each with the lids.

Yes, you *can* use half gallon freezer bags, but put them in a 9 x 13 pan when you thaw them.

I've never frozen pasteurized milk. Hmmmmm.

[LoneStrChic23]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I got 1/2 gallon plastic jugs from Dahl Tech. http://www.dahltechplastics.com/ Less than 50 cents each with the lids.

Yes, you *can* use half gallon freezer bags, but put them in a 9 x 13 pan when you thaw them.

I've never frozen pasteurized milk. Hmmmmm.

I don't have freezer space for jars or jugs

My plan was to get them frozen, wrap them in a heavy yard trash bag, then transfer the milk bricks to the deep freezer.

I don't like pasteurized goat's milk...to me it taste horrible & smells funny.... I also noticed the cream seemed to lump up after a few days with my pasteurized milk, and it doesn't do that raw....Of course that only happened after I forgot the milk & it sat at 170° for a couple of minutes....

I'm curious if the milk will be useable for bottles and not some lumpy gross mess if I freeze it for a few months.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I think running it through the blender will solve that problem for bottle kids.

I freeze milk (raw) for a neighbors Boer kids. We froze 10 gallons last fall for her use this spring.

[CaliannG]

I always freeze raw, Crystal. Unless you have a CAE positive goat that you are milking, I wouldn't worry about pasteurizing it.

I have used quart size or gallon size zip lock bags and, like you said, freeze flat, then put in deep freezer. Kept for a year just fine.

By freezing raw, you can use it for household stuff too. The only thing I have found doesn't work out just as well with thawed milk as with fresh milk is cheese-making. The curds come out a lot softer with frozen milk that has been thawed and you don't get a solid mass of curd like I am used to.