Comments on: Sour Milk

By: Jennilyn

Jennilyn — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:54:49 +0000

I’m always wanting to be as frugal as my foremothers, but don’t know how far I can push the envelope. Deputy Headmistress said there were some times she had waited “far too long” to use her sour milk. How do you know when you’ve let it sit too long? Can you use milk that has curdled and still have sourdough and other baked goods turn out nicely?
Is there any health risk to using curdled milk?

By: MaryB

MaryB — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:12:29 +0000

You can use sour milk instead of buttermilk in old-fashioned corn bread (the southern kind without sugar). If the milk is sour enough, the acid in it will interact with baking soda (but if you’re not sure it will rise, then stick to baking powder). You don’t have to worry about bacteria — baking at 350 will take care of them!

The recipe for corn bread is super easy and on the back of most boxes of cornmeal.
1 cup each flour and cornmeal (not self-rising)
1 c. milk or buttermilk or sour milk
4 t. baking powder (to use soda, see the box)
1 egg
1 tsp. salt (scant)
1/4 c. oil or melted butter

Mix it up with a wooden spoon, pour into an 8-inch square baking dish (pre-greased, or sprayed with baking spray). Bake at 350 for about 25-30 min.
If you bake at 400 it will come out with a darker top and softer interior.
You can also bake this the traditional way in a cast-iron skillet, but that would change the baking time.

By: deputyheadmistress

deputyheadmistress — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 03:41:31 +0000

That’s up to you. I do, but you may rather not. Of course, by now that milk is probably far too gone to use, but for next time…=)

By: Catherine Engel

Catherine Engel — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:08:56 +0000

I have been looking at the comments and suggestions hoping to use some milk that is somewhat spoiled. I also just looked at an old (1964) Joy of Cooking cookbook I have to see if it had any suggestions for using sour milk. The book says that only milk that has not been pasteurized actually goes sour. Can I still use my somewhat bad, but pasteurized, milk in my biscuits, pancakes, etc.?

By: Roundup: Huge edition | Pregnancy Blog

Roundup: Huge edition | Pregnancy Blog — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:29:48 +0000

[...] Sour Milk @ Frugal Hacks – This is the first time I’ve seen recipes that actually call for milk that’s slightly spoiled. Very frugal. [...]

By: Mrs. Evans

Mrs. Evans — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:10:46 +0000

I have often used sour milk in cooking- pancakes, biscuits, etc. (not curdled milk, but turned past the point you’d want to drink it. )

By: Bree

Bree — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:46:51 +0000

I just wanted to thank you for posting such a wonderful post. After reading your post about sour milk, I decided to try it while making macaroni and cheese and no one was the wiser nor did anyone get ill from the sour milk. Thank you so much for opening my eyes and saving me not only money but time as well. No more wasted sour milk. Thank you!

By: deb meyers

deb meyers — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:26:58 +0000

Fascinating post! Thank you, I learned something.

I have an early 20th C. recipe from my grandmother that calls for “butter the size of a walnut”. It is sobering to think that most modern home cooks wouldn’t have a clue as to what a walnut in its’ shell looks like, much less the size.

deb meyers

By: DarcyLee

DarcyLee — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:39:13 +0000

Thanks for all the information. I learned alot from this post about sour milk that I didn’t know before. And, I love the old recipes, too. I’ve gotten a couple of recipes from my grandma and, of course, figuring out the measurements was hard because she never measured anything. I just got my first sour dough starter for bread making and I’m looking forward to it.