Don’t cry over spoilt milk: cool new milk hack

A Coles shopper from Perth has taken to Facebook to share a fun little hack for saving milk from certain expiration.

The hack; Freeze it.

Posting to the popular Facebook group Retail Reductions Austalia, the lady hacker shared that she secured fourteen two-litre bottles of reduced-fat milk for just 10 cents each, with a grand total of $1.40. This saw a marked difference in the amount it would have cost without discount, with standard bottles regularly coming in at $2.40 each.

How did she get the milk so cheap? It was due to expire the following day. The lady clarified in the post, that she was excited about her bargain as she would freeze whatever she couldn’t immediately use.

Many people were immediately impressed with this hack, noting that they “never knew” that milk could be frozen, and that they had “learn[t] something new”.

Dairy Australia has confirmed that freezing milk is a practice that is great for keeping milk from spoiling. Dairy Australia has also detailed the correct procedure for safely freezing and thawing milk. You can find that procedure here. One thing is certain, this hack will ensure that you are never left asking “Got Milk?”

Other more surprising freezable items include butter, grated cheese, soup stock and rice. An article by Sophia’s Kitchen outlines that the best way to ensure your food freezes well is to first check if it can be frozen, and secondly, to ensure that food is prepared and stored correctly when moving it to the freezer.

On the flip side, forgetting to thaw food saved from certain expiration by way of freezing is a real dilemma; especially when you are counting on that ingredient to be the hero of your dinner dish. You can’t make a beef lasagne without beef mince. This clever hack will save you that mincey heartache. Put the meat product into a ziplock bag and flatten the meat out as much as you physically can, before freezing it. Then to defrost, leave it in the fridge until it is completely thawed. It will thaw quicker, as it’s got such a large surface area.

In a pinch using a microwave can be perfect for defrosting, so long as it is done correctly. The meat needs to be carefully separated into smallish pieces.

Enjoy (milk)shaking up your freezer, and happy food hacking.