Freezing milk

Squeaky McMurdo · #1 07/29/14, 04:50 PM

I'm failing miserably! No matter how much room I leave in my mason jars and no matter if I leave the lid off until it freezes they keep breaking after the lid goes on. Went through a whole box of them.

What is everybody else doing? Plastic?

WildernesFamily · #2 07/29/14, 04:57 PM

Surely to freeze liquid you'd have to do straight jars without a shoulder?

We freeze extra milk in Ziploc freezer bags. It doesn't seem to keep well past 6 months.

Smoke_Adam · #3 07/29/14, 07:04 PM

A friend told me about an idea that I have yet to try but seems like it would work. Freeze your milk in a tapered or straight-sided pitcher. Once frozen pop it out into a plastic freezer bag and when you are ready to use it just slide the frozen cylinder back into same pitcher to thaw. Good luck!

Alice In TX/MO · #4 07/29/14, 07:59 PM

Zip lock bags. Place them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. Then, they stack nicely.

wintrrwolf · #5 07/29/14, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Zip lock bags. Place them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. Then, they stack nicely.

Great idea!
I have been freezing mine in ice cube trays then put in Ziploc bags, works for me since I use the cubes to make soap with.

ronron · #6 07/29/14, 10:40 PM

You all have caught my attention, do you use this milk for drinking? if so is there a big adjustment in taste?

southerngurl · #7 07/29/14, 10:43 PM

I can never seem to get zip logs that don't leak? I have a few people that supply me with empty water jugs and I freeze in those. The trick to good frozen milk is to chill it and get it frozen ASAP. Otherwise, you get clumps when you thaw.

southerngurl · #8 07/29/14, 10:44 PM

Ronron, the milk tastes great if frozen properly.

Alice In TX/MO · #9 07/30/14, 06:55 AM

You have to get Ziplock brand. Generic or house brands won't work.

hiddensprings · #10 07/30/14, 10:41 AM

I use Ziplock bags as well. Just like Alice, lay them flat. So much easier to store then the jars.

weisemaries · #11 07/30/14, 09:25 PM

I use breast milk storage bags. The kind that you can lay flat to freeze. Just scored a brand new unopened box at Goodwill.

gila_dog · #12 07/31/14, 10:31 AM

I freeze milk in Mason jars all the time. Just stop filling the jar before the shoulder starts to round off. In other words, keep the milk in the part of the jar with straight sides.That leaves a couple of inches of space above the milk. Real Mason jars are a lot stronger than old mayonnaise jars, so that's what I use.

Squeaky McMurdo · #13 07/31/14, 08:35 PM

That would explain the jar that didn't break and why they didn't last year. She shorted me a little that day and she's making more milk this year than she did last so I was only leaving an inch instead of staying under the curve.

Anyway my husband likes to make up a lot of this stuff for camping (a weekly thing) and they are the perfect size for fitting each milking so I'm using these plastic tea jars now.

Thawing Ziplock bags would be problematic. I can't thaw breast milk bags without one kid or the other biting them open or something.