How long do you keep milk for?

eXor · 23 Feb 2009 at 13:57

I've just christened a bowl of cornflakes with the contents of a bottle of semi-skimmed milk that was first opened.... last Wednesday.

The notice reads "Once opened consume within 3 days.." but it's within the 'use by' date ( 26th ) and passed both the sniff and taste tests.

So, how long do you keep opened milk for? ( Poll Please! )

a) No longer than three days.
b) No longer than the 'use by' date.
c) Until it starts to smell odd.
d) Until it is finished.
e) 3 months. Then bathe in it.

gillywibble · 23 Feb 2009 at 13:58

3 months. Then bathe in it.

yhack · 23 Feb 2009 at 13:58

C, if it smells fine then it's fine.

Rob7865 · 23 Feb 2009 at 13:58

c) Until it starts to smell odd. and you get the lumps when you add the hot water!!!

G-MAN2004 · 23 Feb 2009 at 13:59

A.

It never gets to see a third day, as it is usually gone by then. I drink around 3-4 pints a day.

Cosimo · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:00

A poll, are you being serious, just use some common sense and your nose.

randal · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:00

b), which is normally followed quickly by c)

Ben M · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:01

d or c depending on which comes first

A.N.Other · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:01

C. No point throwing it away if it's fine. It's pretty obvious when it's going funny.

Feek · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:02

Open, sniff. If it doesn't smell a bit odd then drink. Dates are for idiots.

antijoke · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:03

The 4 of us normally have no problems polishing off 6 pints of milk before it runs out of date, so no bother really.

arknor · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:05

if it smells good its probably fine.

i once made a coffee with milk that was quite old and had bits in it lol, it smelled fine and i didnt get ill

Vonhelmet · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:31

C.

Hell, my parents leave milk sat on the counter in a jug which sends my wife mental. She won't drink it unless it's straight out of the fridge.

Spike_UK · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:32

I keep it until it starts to pong. Until then it's fine.

That Cravendale stuff is superb. I don't drink much milk so a bottle of that can last up to a month in my fridge before is starts to honk.

tisonlyme · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:33

Milk doesn't last long enough in my house to worry about that kind of thing!

The Dread Pirate · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:36

d) Until it is finished.

6 pints get used a day in mah house due to tea(DRINK OF THE GODS) being the drink of choice!

Tonyator · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:37

c, the 3 days thing is silly.

Jambo · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:39

Usually b or c if desperate.

ShaolinDreams · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:40

electron microscope.. you can never be too careful

Moley · 23 Feb 2009 at 14:42

My dad used to be a milkman and I used to help delivering on a saturday. During the summer months milk often goes bad quicker than winter and this is primarily down to temperature changes - several of them over a period of hours.

To clarify, milk goes bad quickly when its temperature swings between warm and cold too many times.

So in the summer the milk would be taken out of a cold fridge at the milk yard at 4am, it slowly warms up between leaving the yard, being deposited on the doorstep and being taken inside and loaded in the fridge - at which point it starts to cool again.

Obviously in the summer it will warm up quicker and to a higher ambient temperature than in the winter - hence the reason why it seems to go bad quicker in the summer.

This is less of a problem nowadays with most people getting their milk from the supermarket, running it home in 20mins or less and popping it back in the fridge.

Certainly a 2 litre bottle in our house (just me and the wife) never goes bad before it's used up.