# Making milk last longer?



## Caslon

Lately, I've been noticing my milk doesn't last the 4-7 days past the exp. date on the carton.

Last week, I went to pour a glass of milk from a wax carton of milk that was only a 3 or 4 days past the exp.date. It poured out like runny yogurt.

First of all, the supermarket milk shelves aren't exactly that well chilled.
I try and buy milk last before checkout so that it's still chilled.

I've been doing this lately. When I get home, not a long ways from the supermarket, I put the milk carton in the freezer and let it chill down to just where it doesn't start freezing. Then I put it in the fridge.

Anyone do the same? It seems to make the milk last the 5-7 days past the exp. date (it's supposed to) without putting white spots on your glass or going really bad by then.

I don't know what it is, but milk in cartons used to last longer than they do now, at least 5-7 days past the exp date. And yes, I keep my fridge pretty cold too.

I think the reason is the supermarkets have lowered the temp of the area they keep milk, to save energy bills.


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## Uncle Bob

I started buying milk in smaller quanities...1/2 Gallon....so by the time the expiration day rolls around it is usually gone, and has been replaced with a fresh container...You might try the same plan since you are not for from your market....HTH


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## pacanis

I'm lucky if I can get it to last two days past the sell by date without "the smell" arriving. I have a hard time buying the right size. If I get a qt, I run out. If I get a gal, I end up pouring some of it down the drain _sometimes._ I should really get in the habit of buying cream and using that for cooking and in my coffee. Then I could just buy a qt of regular milk. Cream seems to last longer if I remember right.


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## GotGarlic

Yeah, cream is often ultra-pasteurized, so it lasts longer. Another strategy for milk is to take a cooler to the grocery store and put perishables in that for the ride home.


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## suziquzie

I haven't had to throw away milk since before kids....
maybe I'll be lucky enough one day to be able to do that again.


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## Caine

I usually buy the two gallons for the lower price, place one in the fridge and the other in my chest freezer. I usually finish it before the expiration date, and I keep my refrigerator set to a preety cold setting. Also, don't keep the milk jug in the door of the fridge. The constant opening and closing of the door will cause the milk to be warmer than if it was just sitting on the top shelf.


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## GB

suziquzie said:


> I haven't had to throw away milk since before kids....
> maybe I'll be lucky enough one day to be able to do that again.


I am in the same boat. It is amazing how much milk my daughter can drink if we let her.


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## kansasteddybear

I have this problem in the summer.   Milk will only last a couple of days for me.   If I turn the temp down in my fridge it freezes, but if I don't it spoils quickly.  I'm about the place where I just won't buy milk in the summer.


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## mcnerd

Keep the refrigerator temperature below 40°F (4°C) and perhaps trying to keep only a few days worth of milk in the frig at one time, freezing the rest so it stays fresh until needed.


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## bowlingshirt

Caslon said:


> Lately, I've been noticing my milk doesn't last the 4-7 days past the exp. date on the carton.


 
If you can't use up whatever milk you're buying in that time frame, you need to lessen the amount you buy.


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## CharlieD

With milk it is clearly a manufacturer. I switch from one brand to another couple of years ago, and now instead of getting 1-2 days after the expiration, I get 1-2 weeks after expiration without any problem. Also depends on manufacturer milk will taste different. Not the major difference but for sure I can taste the difference. Here in town Polka dot milk is absolutely the best one, butter too. They make good stuff.


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## jennyema

CharlieD said:


> With milk it is clearly a manufacturer. I switch from one brand to another couple of years ago, and now instead of getting 1-2 days after the expiration, I get 1-2 weeks after expiration without any problem. Also depends on manufacturer milk will taste different. Not the major difference but for sure I can taste the difference. Here in town Polka dot milk is absolutely the best one, butter too. They make good stuff.


 

Adding to that, sometimes one manufacturer will make the milk that's sold under more than one brand.

In our stores here, Stop and Shop (store) brand is made by the same manufacturer as that sold by a well-known brand.   It's exactly the same milk, but priced much lower.

Milk cartons have a number code which indicates the place of manufacture.  If you pick up a carton of SS milk and a carton of the name brand, the numbers are the same.


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## BettyR

When I saw this thread I thought I was going to a tip on stretching my milk; I buy 3 gallons when I go grocery shopping on Thursdays and I’m lucky if I have any left the following Thursday.


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## cara

as I use milk for coffee and cooking only we just use UHT-milk.
Doesn't have the taste of the "normal fresh milk", but that doesn't matter...
If I need milk for milkshakes etc I buy the fresh milk.. and it usually won't last much longer than expiration.


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## Maverick2272

As Suzi and GB said, get a couple of kids.. problem solved! I would definitely try a different manufacturer and taking a small cooler with me to see if that helps.

I have also taken to the habit of keeping cream around now. Sometimes I put it in my coffee (never milk or half&half only heavy cream), but mostly I mix it with milk for the wifes coffee as she needs it. The half&half she used to get always seemed to go bad before she completely used it up.


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## buckytom

another bump, but some good info.



Caslon said:


> Lately, I've been noticing my milk doesn't last the 4-7 days past the exp. date on the carton.
> 
> Last week, I went to pour a glass of milk from a wax carton of milk that was only a 3 or 4 days past the exp.date. It poured out like runny yogurt.
> 
> First of all, the supermarket milk shelves aren't exactly that well chilled.
> I try and buy milk last before checkout so that it's still chilled.
> 
> I've been doing this lately. When I get home, not a long ways from the supermarket, I put the milk carton in the freezer and let it chill down to just where it doesn't start freezing. Then I put it in the fridge.
> 
> Anyone do the same? It seems to make the milk last the 5-7 days past the exp. date (it's supposed to) without putting white spots on your glass or going really bad by then.
> 
> I don't know what it is, but milk in cartons used to last longer than they do now, at least 5-7 days past the exp date. And yes, I keep my fridge pretty cold too.
> 
> I think the reason is the supermarkets have lowered the temp of the area they keep milk, to save energy bills.


 
i think you mean raise the temp.

i've found it also depends on the weather outside, and how long the delivery truck lets it sit in an open truck or on the loading dock. it's much worse in hot summer months.

also, i always remove the containers of milk from the front to get to the most recently stocked ones in the back which usually have a later date of expiry since they are stocked from the cold room behind the shelves.

and yes, i put the other containers back after waving to the guy in the cold room as he glares at me.





Caine said:


> Also, don't keep the milk jug in the door of the fridge. The constant opening and closing of the door will cause the milk to be warmer than if it was just sitting on the top shelf.


 
ed zachary!  

or bottom shelf where it's just that much colder and tends to fit better.





mcnerd said:


> Keep the refrigerator temperature below 40°F (4°C) and perhaps trying to keep only a few days worth of milk in the frig at one time, freezing the rest so it stays fresh until needed.


 
i keep my fridge just above the temp where it starts to freeze stuff directly under the cold air "vents" in the back, often behind the top shelf. i figure that's about 35 to 40F.





oh, btw caslon, if milk is leaving spots on your glasses then you have dirty glasses. it could be from a dishwasher drying mineral deposits in the glass, or just poor washing. 
i've noticed those spots from the dishwasher as i think my town's water supply comes from a swimming pool somewhere. or when i immediately re-use the same glass after drinking something like juice or soda in it, and then not rinsing it out really well or at all.

yeah, that's kinda gross, but you can't tell by the taste and i have 1 less glass to wash by hand since "my" kitchen doesn't have a dishwasher besides me. 

dw's upstairs kitchen has one PLUS me.


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## Mad Cook

Caslon said:


> Lately, I've been noticing my milk doesn't last the 4-7 days past the exp. date on the carton.
> 
> Last week, I went to pour a glass of milk from a wax carton of milk that was only a 3 or 4 days past the exp.date. It poured out like runny yogurt.
> 
> First of all, the supermarket milk shelves aren't exactly that well chilled.
> I try and buy milk last before checkout so that it's still chilled.
> 
> I've been doing this lately. When I get home, not a long ways from the supermarket, I put the milk carton in the freezer and let it chill down to just where it doesn't start freezing. Then I put it in the fridge.
> 
> Anyone do the same? It seems to make the milk last the 5-7 days past the exp. date (it's supposed to) without putting white spots on your glass or going really bad by then.
> 
> I don't know what it is, but milk in cartons used to last longer than they do now, at least 5-7 days past the exp date. And yes, I keep my fridge pretty cold too.
> 
> I think the reason is the supermarkets have lowered the temp of the area they keep milk, to save energy bills.


The milk is NOT supposed to last 5-7 days beyond the "exp, date". The "exp. date" means the EXPIRY date. In other words, the date by which you should have used up the milk. You may get lucky if you choose to ignore the expiry date but you shouldn't be surprised when it goes bad. 

And you would be pushing your luck if you complained to the store where you bought it. Entertaining, though, for anyone else present. I'd enjoy being the proverbial fly on the wall.

I very much doubt that a reputable seller would be so stupid as to do what your last sentence says.


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## Steve Kroll

Mad Cook said:


> The milk is NOT supposed to last 5-7 days beyond the "exp, date". The "exp. date" means the EXPIRY date. In other words, the date by which you should have used up the milk. You may get lucky if you choose to ignore the expiry date but you shouldn't be surprised when it goes bad.



Sorry. Not in the US. The date on a milk carton is the "sell by" date. It's an indication for the grocer to pull it from the shelf. Milk should (but is not guaranteed to) last beyond this date if it's been stored properly and unopened.

Can You Drink Milk Past Its Sell-by Date?


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## Mad Cook

pacanis said:


> I'm lucky if I can get it to last two days past the sell by date without "the smell" arriving. I have a hard time buying the right size. If I get a qt, I run out. If I get a gal, I end up pouring some of it down the drain _sometimes._ I should really get in the habit of buying cream and using that for cooking and in my coffee. Then I could just buy a qt of regular milk. Cream seems to last longer if I remember right.


As far as I know there is no reason whatsoever why cream should last any longer than milk if they are kept in proper conditions.

And as I've already said that expiry date is there for a reason - to tellyou to use the milk by the expiry date.


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## GB

Mad Cook said:


> And as I've already said that expiry date is there for a reason - to tellyou to use the milk by the expiry date.


In the US it is not an expiry date. It is a best used by date. The product is said to be at its best up until that date. It is not expected that the product is no longer good after that date. There is no reason to believe that you should not use it after that date and every reason to know that you should still be able to get another week or so out of the product safely.


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## Mad Cook

Steve Kroll said:


> Sorry. Not in the US. The date on a milk carton is the "sell by" date. It's an indication for the grocer to pull it from the shelf. Milk should (but is not guaranteed to) last beyond this date if it's been stored properly and unopened.
> 
> Can You Drink Milk Past Its Sell-by Date?


Surely if the date is the "sell by date" it would say so. It wouldn't call it the "expiry date". The "Expiry date" means (or should mean) the "Use by date". Otherwise the customer is being misled.

Don't American grocery products have both the "sell by" date for the seller's information AND a "use by"/"sell by"/"expiry" date for the customer's benefit? If not your FDA should be getting its act together and protecting its employers (ie the citizens who pay them) not pandering to the suppliers.

And the link you quote implies that there IS a difference between "Sell by" and "expiry" dates.


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## GB

So where is this magic formula that shows when a food is set to "expire"? No such thing exists. The FDA, grocers, food producers, farmers, etc, do not know what date their particular foods are going to go from good to bad. That simply does not exist. The sell by/ best used by date is a guide. A best guess as to when the food can reasonably be expected to still be at its best.


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## Steve Kroll

Mad Cook said:


> Surely if the date is the "sell by date" it would say so. It wouldn't call it the "expiry date". The "Expiry date" means (or should mean) the "Use by date". Otherwise the customer is being misled.


Whether called "sell by" or "expiration," it indicates the date the grocer has to pull it from the shelf. It's a guideline. How does one know if it's spoiled without opening the carton? Spoilage doesn't look at a watch or follow a calendar. It could be perfectly good a month past the date.


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## buckytom

steve, i think your milk is bad by now.


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## Cheryl J




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## Andy M.

For milk and cream, the dates are valid as long as the carton/bottle is never opened.  You can keep unopened milk for well past the sell by date.  Once opened, the contents are best consumed within a week.


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## Dawgluver

Funny.  Our carton of half and half expired 10/12/14 and still tastes fine in coffee, no curdling.  We've had other brands that curdled the minute they hit their best by date.


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## Caslon

I've noticed that too, certain brands seem to go sour faster than others. No doubt  the fat content has a lot to do with shelf life.  I myself buy reduced fat milk.  There's also 2% fat milk, non fat milk and regular milk.

Signs my milk is starting to turn...mixing in chocolate syrup and seeing little white specks.


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## Steve Kroll

buckytom said:


> steve, i think your milk is bad by now.



You mean the "17" isn't the year??


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## buckytom

lol, that british way of writing the date always makes me have to think twice or do a truth table to figure it out.


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## bakechef

There is also a difference between pasteurized and ultra pasteurized milk and dairy products.  Ultra pasteurized is usually sold in the paper carton and is heated to a much higher temperature and gets a much longer date.  Regular pasteurized often comes in plastic jugs and isn't heated as high, causing it to go bad faster.

I can have a carton of whole milk open for more than 2 weeks and it's still fine, same goes for my ultra pasteurized heavy cream.


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## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> There is also a difference between pasteurized and ultra pasteurized milk and dairy products.  Ultra pasteurized is usually sold in the paper carton and is heated to a much higher temperature and gets a much longer date.  Regular pasteurized often comes in plastic jugs and isn't heated as high, causing it to go bad faster.
> 
> I can have a carton of whole milk open for more than 2 weeks and it's still fine, same goes for my ultra pasteurized heavy cream.




Yes, but only until you open the bottle/carton.  Then the regular or ultra pasteurization makes no difference.


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## Addie

I used to be able to buy restaurant pasteurized milk and half and half. I would never have a  problem with them going bad. Now I can't find it anywhere in my area. I also found that the dates on the restaurant ones had a longer shelf life. Now the dates are for shorter length of time. But I go through milk products very fast. So I still don't have any problem. But they do taste different. Not as rich. I wish I lived next door to a dairy farm. I would be buying raw milk.


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## Addie

The "sell by" or "best used by date" came about because consumers wanted to know how fresh their purchases were. It also shows you the hour and "date" it was processed. I used to know how to read those convoluted numbers and letters. But I forgot. Will have to look it up. 

I used to shop at a small store right near me that sold their products that has a "sell by" date on them. The stores would pull them, Wilson's would collect them and sell them in their discount store at a lower price. I was told that their milk products were still good five days after the "sell by" date. I never reached those five days. Milk has always gone fast in my house.


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## Addie

The following should answer some of your questions. 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...76b9defb3/Food_Product_Dating.pdf?MOD=AJPERES


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## buckytom

bakechef said:


> There is also a difference between pasteurized and ultra pasteurized milk and dairy products.  Ultra pasteurized is usually sold in the paper carton and is heated to a much higher temperature and gets a much longer date.  Regular pasteurized often comes in plastic jugs and isn't heated as high, causing it to go bad faster.
> 
> I can have a carton of whole milk open for more than 2 weeks and it's still fine, same goes for my ultra pasteurized heavy cream.



bc, do you know if ultra milk (apparently from udderly fantastic cows ) loses any of its nutritional value in the extra treatment?


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## CharlieD

Oh, and cream does less longer, specifically because of the fat content.


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## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> Yes, but only until you open the bottle/carton.  Then the regular or ultra pasteurization makes no difference.



This is only from personal experience, but I think that ultra pasteurized being almost sterile to begin with does make it last longer once opened, since there is virtually no bacteria to begin with.  I know that the ultra will stay fine up to 3 weeks open when the regular would last about a week.  I sniff milk when it's been open a while and I'm always surprised that it hasn't turned.  I just finished off a carton that had been opened a good 3 weeks (we don't consume much milk). Again this is just personal experience, my fridge could be extra cold or something.


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## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> This is only from personal experience, but I think that ultra pasteurized being almost sterile to begin with does make it last longer once opened, since there is virtually no bacteria to begin with.  I know that the ultra will stay fine up to 3 weeks open when the regular would last about a week.  I sniff milk when it's been open a while and I'm always surprised that it hasn't turned.  I just finished off a carton that had been opened a good 3 weeks (we don't consume much milk). Again this is just personal experience, my fridge could be extra cold or something.



I find that to be true with ultra pasteurized heavy cream, it lasts and lasts a long time after it is opened.


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## CWS4322

I freeze milk. I normally can't drink a gallon of milk before it turns sour (the Girls love sour milk), so I put it in 1 qt zippies and toss it in the freezer.


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## buckytom

did you know that you can still get small pox if you  only drink ultra pasteurized milk, not the regular stuff like the milkmaids of old?

i'm starting the rumour right now!


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## Caslon

How come they don't print the word "ultra pasteurized" right on the label?


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## Andy M.

All dairy containers should be labelled with either "Pasteurized" or "Ultra-Pasteurized"


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## buckytom

with vitamin d, and extra cowpox!


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## Addie

Caslon said:


> How come they don't print the word "ultra pasteurized" right on the label?



Where are you looking? All dairy products sold to the general public, it says "Pasteurized" right on the front. Then it says "Ultra Pasteurized" at the bottom. Not all products are Ultra pasteurized though. 

Dairy products sold to restaurants are only pasteurized, not always ultra pasteurized. That is at the request on the restaurant industry. Cream whips up much higher and they hold their peaks if it is not ultra. 

Put your old man spectacles on and look harder at the container.


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## bakechef

Caslon said:


> How come they don't print the word "ultra pasteurized" right on the label?



Just look at the paper cartons of milk the next time that you are in the grocery store, that's where you'll find the ultra pasteurized milk, I'm pretty sure that ultra isn't available in plastic.  You can find regular pasteurized in paper cartons, but it is very often ultra.


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## roadfix

I don't do this but my dad swears his gallon of milk lasts longer in the fridge by microwaving the whole jug of milk for up to a minute as soon as he gets it home from the market.    He does this with other perishable items as well.


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## CharlieD

Oh my, this thread is just keeps getting rejuvenated. I changed the brand of milk I buy, and now it lasts at least two maybe even three weeks after the date.


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## Dawgluver

When we go to Mexico, we can never find milk in the refrigerated section.  It's all on the shelves, in boxes.  Super ultra pasturized.  It has an expiration date of up to a year, sometimes more.

It's semi-drinkable if very well-chilled.


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## Mad Cook

Caslon said:


> Lately, I've been noticing my milk doesn't last the 4-7 days past the exp. date on the carton.
> 
> Last week, I went to pour a glass of milk from a wax carton of milk that was only a 3 or 4 days past the exp.date. It poured out like runny yogurt.
> 
> First of all, the supermarket milk shelves aren't exactly that well chilled.
> I try and buy milk last before checkout so that it's still chilled.
> 
> I've been doing this lately. When I get home, not a long ways from the supermarket, I put the milk carton in the freezer and let it chill down to just where it doesn't start freezing. Then I put it in the fridge.
> 
> Anyone do the same? It seems to make the milk last the 5-7 days past the exp. date (it's supposed to) without putting white spots on your glass or going really bad by then.
> 
> I don't know what it is, but milk in cartons used to last longer than they do now, at least 5-7 days past the exp date. And yes, I keep my fridge pretty cold too.
> 
> I think the reason is the supermarkets have lowered the temp of the area they keep milk, to save energy bills.


Not surprised it doesn't last that long after the expiry date!


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## CharlieD

Mad Cook said:


> Not surprised it doesn't last that long after the expiry date!





Actually, very surprised. Good milk should less much longer. Date on the bottle is not the expiration, but rather "best by". Pasteurized milk should last longer. Growing up we did not ha e pasteurized milk. It would only less two days at the most.


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## Caslon

I'm saying...it's almost more economical, for me,  to buy  a few individual 12 oz. milk containers, that have a far future expiration date, than it is to buy a big jug of milk which has a much sooner expiration date and will go bad before I use half of it.


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## Mad Cook

bowlingshirt said:


> If you can't use up whatever milk you're buying in that time frame, you need to lessen the amount you buy.


Good point


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## Mad Cook

buckytom said:


> did you know that you can still get small pox if you  only drink ultra pasteurized milk, not the regular stuff like the milkmaids of old?
> 
> i'm starting the rumour right now!


The last _naturally occurring_ case of smallpox was diagnosed on 26 October 1977 (there was a death in Birmingham in 1978 but that was a lab connected infection) and the world Health Organisation certified the global eradication of smallpox in 1979. 

The virus is stored in two labs, one in Russia and one in the USA.

And the milkmaids didn't get immunity from _drinking_ milk. Their immunity came from contracting cow pox from handling the udders of infected cows.

(You can take the woman out of the history classroom but you can't take the history classroom out of the woman )


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## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> The last _naturally occurring_ case of smallpox was diagnosed on 26 October 1977 (there was a death in Birmingham in 1978 but that was a lab connected infection) and the world Health Organisation certified the global eradication of smallpox in 1979.
> 
> The virus is stored in two labs, one in Russia and one in the USA.
> 
> And the milkmaids didn't get immunity from _drinking_ milk. Their immunity came from contracting cow pox from handling the udders of infected cows.
> 
> (You can take the woman out of the history classroom but you can't take the history classroom out of the woman )



MC I was visiting my girlfriend in Atlanta, Georgia. She was driving around showing me the sites and she turned into the driveway of the CDC. That is where the small pox sample is kept in the USA. We turn into the driveway and drive right up to the fence. All of a sudden two heavily armed guards with guns pointed right at us asked what and who did we want to see. All of a sudden very quickly I heard, "I am so sorry. I thought I was turning into the next right turn. I wasn't paying attention to my driving." They sent up on our way. And not through the gate at the CDC. So I can now tell folks I was at the CDC. 




.


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## blissful

It will last a good long time if you make cheese out of it.


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