# 1/2 gallon of whole milk: what can I make **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [January 3, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250 "2012-01-03T12:41:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/21 "2012-01-03T21:08:18Z")
Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) [http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/paneer](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/paneer) ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/22 "2012-01-03T21:09:29Z")
Paneer. Make [paneer](http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paneer-%28Indian-Cheese%29). ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/23 "2012-01-03T21:16:59Z")
I also came in to say paneer. You can use vinegar instead of lemon juice. In a pinch you can use a clean tea towel or similar instead of cheesecloth. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/24 "2012-01-03T21:20:37Z")
Make Bolognese sauce for pasta. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/25 "2012-01-03T21:21:40Z")
Wow, I have the same problem, except I have nearly an entire gallon. It was purchased by mistake; we always drink 2%. Last night we made ice cream but it didn’t get rid of much. This paneer idea sounds good. I also think I want to make chicken-fried steak that someone posted a recipe for the other day. Also bread pudding sounds great. I should stop and buy some raisins on the way home. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/26 "2012-01-03T21:22:11Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > I also came in to say paneer. You can use vinegar instead of lemon juice. In a pinch you can use a clean tea towel or similar instead of cheesecloth. I also came in to say all of that. You should get about 500 grams of very mild fresh cheese from 1/2 gallon of milk. And when you’ve made the paneer, press it into a bowl, smear with tikka sauce and grill until golden. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/27 "2012-01-03T21:26:46Z")
Swear to God, I was just nagging my husband into going to the grocery store because I wanted to changed tonight’s dinner from arroz con pollo to fried chicken and mashed potatoes but he have no milk. So the answer is to send it to me so that I can make mashed potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/28 "2012-01-03T22:28:34Z")
Yogurt, absolutely. Easy and fun and kind of a miracle. ---
**Author:** ![UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/46a35a/32.png) [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UFC_Is_Sux)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/29 "2012-01-03T22:30:35Z")
You could always freeze it and stop the clock on the going bad thing. Then later, when you need to make gravy and you’re out of milk, there it’ll be, ready to microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/30 "2012-01-03T22:30:45Z")
I have a yogurt maker. I tried twice to make yogurt and it didn’t set up and I got woefully frustrated. Any tips? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/31 "2012-01-03T22:34:51Z")
Do you have sugar, and cocoa or baking chocolate? Then the answer is easy: fudge. We use whole milk to make fudge. OK, fudgemaking isn’t all that easy but even if you mess it up a little, the results are delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/32 "2012-01-03T22:38:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Pour a glass of milk. > Set it next to a large slice of German chocolate cake. > Repeat as necessary. This. A half gallon? That wouldn’t last a day in my place and I’m the only milk drinker. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/33 "2012-01-03T23:22:27Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I have a yogurt maker. I tried twice to make yogurt and it didn’t set up and I got woefully frustrated. Any tips? I’ve never bothered with the yogurt makers. I just take my milk in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, turn the stove off and cool down to 100 or so, stir in my yogurt or powdered culture, pour it into the mason jars I’ll be using, and leave it in the oven overnight with the oven light on. Works great every single time. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/34 "2012-01-04T02:01:11Z")
Hm, well sounds easy enough, but I’ve got this thing and I thought I could actually use it to make yogurt. :smack: Do you leave the oven off,just the light on? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/35 "2012-01-04T04:03:32Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Hm, well sounds easy enough, but I’ve got this thing and I thought I could actually use it to make yogurt. :smack: Do you leave the oven off,just the light on? May I ask what your ‘thing’ looks like? (wait, that doesn’t sound good, LOL!) I have an insulated bowl-thing I got off Amazon, really cheap. I used plain Dannon yogurt as a starter and simply put the bowl on the floor near the hot-air register overnight (it had a cover, of course). I also made a batch by putting the bowl in the (electric) oven after turning it on ‘warm’ for a few minutes, and then turning it off. Oh, and it did firm up but not as much as commercial yogurt. I did drain it in a strainer lined with cheesecloth as I prefer a firmer yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/36 "2012-01-04T04:08:13Z")
Homemade yogurt isn’t going to “set up” like the store bought stuff. Store bought has thickening agents and sometimes even gelatin to give a nice cohesive product. Homemade will get thicker if you let it “brew” longer. It will also become more tangy. And when you try to stir homemade yogurt into fruit, it will easily break up and look curdled. That’s normal. I think you WERE able to produce yogurt, you just expected to look like the stuff from the store. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250/37 "2012-01-04T04:28:35Z")
Yeah, you just want to keep it a bit warm. ETA - when you take it out in the morning it will obviously be set up to some degree, but it won’t be as firm as it’s going to get until you refrigerate it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-2-gallon-of-whole-milk-what-can-i-make/608250.md?page=1)