# What's with the long shelf life of milk now **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326 "2012-04-10T00:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/21 "2012-04-12T20:41:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > ETA: The wikipedia page says 6-9 months until opened. But it doesn’t say what happens after that. If it’s just like regular milk once opened, then it really doesn’t help me. Yes, it’s only 6-9 months until opened, and after that it’s more or less like regular milk. I often buy [these](http://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Organic-8-Ounce-Aseptic-Cartons/dp/B000LKVB52/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334263117&sr=8-2) guys. They’re small enough for situations like you describe, and will keep unrefrigerated for a long time. In fact, I’ve had them after 2 years and the only problem is that they dehomogenize (i.e., they get a little chunky, which sounds gross but tastes perfectly fine). ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/22 "2012-04-12T20:45:56Z")
Back to the OP: Fresh, refrigerated skim milk sold in Atlanta, GA typically has a sell-by date listed that is approximately 2 weeks after the day it hits the store shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/23 "2012-04-12T20:50:07Z")
We have a choice of one “ultrafiltered” brand and a couple of others that are not. The ultrafiltered one has an expiration of a month or more, while the other is more like 3 weeks. Although I do not understand what is going on, only the ordinary milk can be used for cheese (I make a kind of mozzarella, also ricotta, although the latter could probably be made from the ultrafiltered milk; I haven’t tried it. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/24 "2012-04-13T10:42:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > This is a very interesting thread. I don’t like milk, and never drink it, but I do like to use it in some cooking. But I almost never buy if because I hate to waste it-- I figure I’ll use a splash in scrambled eggs one day, and then the rest of it will go bad in the fridge. I can buy a quart or half-gallon of this UHT stuff, and it’s good for ~ 6 months? Really? Ah, the benefit of living in a UHT country is that additional dairy such as whipping cream is also UHT. Similar to your uses for milk, I always hesitated to buy cream because most of it is usually wasted. The UHT stuff is stable for months, and in my particular refrigerator, has been kept for up to two months after opening and then used. Just, you know, don’t drink directly out of the carton if you want to keep it reasonably sterile. Man, I hope I can find UHT whipping cream once I return home to Michigan. Now if only I could find UHT buttermilk! Oh, I have some limited quantity of buttermilk culture, but I’m afraid to waste it in my UHT milk – don’t want it to die fruitlessly. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/25 "2012-04-13T10:55:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > This is a very interesting thread. I don’t like milk, and never drink it, but I do like to use it in some cooking. But I almost never buy if because I hate to waste it-- I figure I’ll use a splash in scrambled eggs one day, and then the rest of it will go bad in the fridge. I can buy a quart or half-gallon of this UHT stuff, and it’s good for ~ 6 months? Really? > > ETA: The wikipedia page says 6-9 months until opened. But it doesn’t say what happens after that. If it’s just like regular milk once opened, then it really doesn’t help me. After opening it lasts longer than pasteurized, but by “longer” I mean several weeks if you don’t keep moving it in and out of the fridge, not months. The same brand lasts longer for me than for Middlebro, but his fridge tends to look like a supermarket exploded inside it and keeps getting opened and closed; mine is much emptier and I open it maybe 4 times/day. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/26 "2012-04-14T03:16:11Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > After opening it lasts longer than pasteurized, but by “longer” I mean several weeks if you don’t keep moving it in and out of the fridge, not months. The same brand lasts longer for me than for Middlebro, but his fridge tends to look like a supermarket exploded inside it and keeps getting opened and closed; mine is much emptier and I open it maybe 4 times/day. “Weeks” is good. I usually think “days” in terms of opened milk going bad. ---
**Author:** ![steveo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@steveo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steveo1)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/27 "2012-04-15T19:31:56Z")
I live in California. I recently bought a carton of Stremick’s organic nonfat milk on 4/7/12, and the expiration date is 5/28/12! It says it’s superpastuerised. It is in a regular waxed cardboard carton. How can milk last this long? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326/28 "2012-04-16T00:06:27Z")
> [@steveo1](#): > > I live in California. I recently bought a carton of Stremick’s organic nonfat milk on 4/7/12, and the expiration date is 5/28/12! It says it’s superpastuerised. It is in a regular waxed cardboard carton. How can milk last this long? Superpasturized is just another name for UHT. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-long-shelf-life-of-milk-now/618326.md?page=1)