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.
.
I have froze breast milk to store it, yet it somehow never occurred to me to freeze cow’s milk. Thanks for the great tips!
I knew butter & cheese can be frozen but I am a bit skeptical about liquid form (milk/cream) as I read from someone that after it thawed the shelf life will be within 10 days.
And, the milk I bought is alway 4L plastic bags ($7.18) which is cheaper than I buy in 2L cartons ($4.38)
Yep, milk in QC is expensive.
whoa! And I thought AB was bad for prices, that’s a hefty price!
Awesome tips… I get kind of giddy just thinking about a freezer full of butter though 🙂
These are really excellent tips, had no idea you could freeze cheese but I suppose that makes sense seeing as you get it on frozen pizzas and the like!
But what I am wondering is can you freeze eggs?
You can Louisa, but it is tricky. Since i wasn’t sure how they turned out, I didn’t include it in my list – but you can!
I knew about milk and learned about cheese a few months ago. I find milk does not turn out right after thawing. But like you said to shake it i would have to do. But i don’t think we will be doing that anytime soon.
Thank you for the tips and how long the products will last in the freezer.
Londia, I need to get an extra fridge/freezer at some point. That’s when I’m really going to test the freeze-the-milk test. Right now we don’t have the space, But, I do know lots of people that do freeze it!