Yuck! The Milk's Dun Turnt!

Sour milk is still useable if you know what to do with it
Feb 12, 2010 10:47 AM ET

Yuck! The Milk’s Dun Turnt!

Your first inclination is probably to pitch sour milk into the trash (after carefully recycling the carton, of course.) But don’t. Sour milk is still useable if you know what to do with it.

I know, I hear you...It’s nasty...it’s gross... it’s contaminated and poisonous!

Not true says I!

I’ll tell you something about sour milk, it won’t hurt you. Even if you drink it when it’s started to curdle, it won’t hurt you or make you sick. It might taste bad, but that’s another story.

Think about it. Do you eat yogurt or sour cream... or cottage cheese? What do you think all those lumps are? Guess what? You’re already eating sour milk. Hey, the name’s right in it...sour cream. You didn’t think that’s just what it’s called, now did you?

Milk is a very versatile food. Think of all the delicious ways we consume it. Cheese, butter, cream, yogurt, cream cheese... the list is almost endless. And many of the ways we love to eat dairy don’t even get started until after the “milk” part has lost its freshness.

So the next time you pour a little cow juice on your morning flakes and it tastes a little tangy, pull out this handy list of ways to re-capture the goodness of sour milk.

For CYA purposes, I’m just going to say that if you pull your milk out and it’s discolored, or smells rotten, then of course throw it out. But if it’s going toward tangy, or just doesn’t smell sweet, it’s should still be safe to use in these recipes.

How To Use Your Sour Milk

Make biscuits or cornbread. Sour milk will make good biscuits or cornbread, since sour milk will have a flavor similar to buttermilk.

Sour Milk Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 cup sour milk
1 tablespoon Crisco

Sift flour together with salt and soda. Cut in Crisco with a pastry cutter or fork. Add milk and stir to form a soft dough. Drop by rounded spoonfuls into a hot, greased cast iron skillet or into greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Make pudding. Slightly sour milk will make a great pudding. Use either an instant pudding mix, or a cooked pudding mix, if you don’t want to start from scratch.

Make a sauce. Sour milk will work well in just about any sauce creation. Bechamel, or white sauce is one. Or mix a few tablespoons of warm sour milk with 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and serve over hot biscuits. Or try the parmesan sauce recipe below. It’s delicious over stuffed shells or drizzled over spaghetti and marinara.

Parmesan Sauce
1 cup sour milk
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1-2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Mix sour milk with dry milk powder and set aside. In a souce pan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat; add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add cheese and spices. Continue cooking over low heat until cheese melts.

Make your own cottage cheese.

Sour Milk Cottage Cheese

Cook one pint of sour milk in double boiler over simmering water until it begins to whey. Strain through a tea towel or napkin to squeeze out the whey. Add three teaspoons of cream, 1/4 tsp or so of kosher salt, and white pepper. Roll into several small balls and serve. Via Cooks.com

Use it as a poaching liquid. Add sour milk to a shallow pan. Throw in a few herbs like thyme or rosemary and some salt and peppercorns. Add a nice piece of fish or some chicken breasts. Simmer for 10-30 minutes. Fish will cook in about 10-15 minutes, chicken will take 25 to 30, depending on thickness.

Freeze it. Milk freezes well, so if you have some that is going bad, simply portion it out into small containers, say a cup or so and freeze it. Thaw in the fridge before using as usual. You can also freeze fresh milk, even in its original carton, for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge, shake well, and serve as usual.

So don’t let sour milk make you pucker. Turn it into something tasty.

Via Mother Earth News

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