Freezing Dairy Products to Stretch your Grocery Budget
Have you ever tried Freezing Dairy Products to Stretch your Grocery Budget?
While shopping with a friend one time I seen a great deal on butter and scooped up at least a dozen and put them into my cart. My friend gave me the oddest look, she had no idea that butter could be frozen.
The shock was on me when someone later told me that you could also freeze milk. That information was awesome to hear, since it seems we are running to the store for milk many times a week.
Shopping during sales and preventing perishables form spoiling are a great way to stretch your grocery budget. Did you know that many dairy products can last in the freezer, and later re-thawed in the fridge for use?
Milk
- Pasteurized homogenized milk can be frozen for up to 1 month while Non-fat and low-fat milks will freeze better than whole milk. Take note that liquids expand when frozen, so be sure to remove about 1/3 cup of the milk before placing in the freezer. When thawing, be sure to shake your milk well to remix the fats.
Butter
- Butter can last for 6-12 months in the freezer, yet Unsalted butter can lose its flavor over time so it should only be frozen for 3-6 months.
Cheese
- Hard cheese can be frozen for up to 4-6 months. They may become dry and crumbly after thawing, so they are then best used for cooking and not slicing. Myself, I shred the cheese and separate about 2 cups into each freezer bags – perfect to use for casseroles, tacos, lasagnas and pastas!
Cream Cheese
- Cream cheese can be frozen for up to 4-6 months. Since it loses a bit of the creaminess once thawed, mix well and best used for baking and cooking.
Cottage Cheese
- Cottage Cheese can be frozen for up to 1 month.
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I have frozen butter (I just throw the boxes right in the freezer!) and cheese (shredded, flash frozen and then put into ziplock bags) for ages now and love it!
I have recently started freezing milk but I do NOT just put the whole jug in the freezer. We don’t drink milk to drink it – and I don’t think frozen/thawed milk is really ideal for drinking – IMHO 🙂 But I do use it for baking and cooking – in which case the thawed milk seems to work just fine!
SO, what I do is look at what amounts of milk I typically need for common recipes. Like I need 1.25 cups for making one batch of pancakes, or I need 1.5 cups for making a particular white sauce we like, and so on. Then I fill various size Rubbermaid containers with the appropriate amounts, snap the lids on, and then I label them with pieces of masking tape I write on with date, etc. Make sure to leave a little extra room in containers for expansion!
I either thaw containers in fridge overnight or I have also just popped the big milk “cube” out into a glass bowl and defrosted in the microwave – maybe 30 seconds at a time – checking and stirring.
You can also freeze eggs! Easter time is a great time to stock up! I use silicone muffin pans – crack an egg in each one – scramble slightly and freeze. Pop the frozen cubes out and fill ziplock bags. Take out what you need for baking or even scrambled eggs and thaw in fridge overnight. A few seconds on defrost in the microwave works too.
Amazing tips Jaime!!
Just an FYI , when you buy cheese already shredded, it’s coated in corn starch to keep it separated! Something no one needs. Shred your own, and does work great frozen!
I knew everything, but milk. I wonder if it’ll tear up the plastic it comes in…
Thanks for sharing, Tammi! Every bit helps!
Oh, and if I remember about it at the right moment 🙂 I try to freeze anything I think could be freezable in a very small amount then thaw and try the next day. And then I know for sure.