Exact Answer: Up to 6 months
The milk can be frozen in the freezer for around 5 to 6 months. The shelf life of the milk depends on the type, quality, and storage of the milk. There are many types of milk available that can be stored for more than 6 months as they come in a tetra pack.
People can’t expect the normal cow milk to stay for more than 1 month if the packaging is open. Milk can easily get affected by bacteria growth if they are frozen in the freezer. The temperature of the freezer is cooler than the other sections of the fridge.
Therefore it’s important to put or store the milk in the freezer to make it last longer. The milk can be easily defrosted if kept for around 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature. In the freezer, the milk would get in the form of ice. To bring the milk back in the liquid form people can heat the milk.
If people would store the milk at room temperature, then it can cause the growth of the bacteria. If anybody wants to thaw the milk faster, then putting it in a container filled with cold water would help.
How Long Can You Freeze Milk?
| Freeze Milk | Time |
| In months | 6 months |
| In weeks | 24 weeks |
Frozen milk is great for using in baked items. People can also use frozen milk for making smoothies, as it would give the best cold taste. Sometimes, the milk in the freezer would start showing changes in texture and taste. The fat inside the milk would get separated, and this would be a sign that the milk would be expired very soon.
If the milk gets slushy inside the freezer, then people can blend it properly in a blender to make it more appetizing. If someone has followed all the storage safety techniques still is observing the milk getting grainy. This doesn’t mean the person has to throw the whole milk, as they can use it after that.
It’s always better to use the milk within 30 days of freezing, but some milk may not go bad in 10 to 15 days. There are many brands of milk available that would come with a different expiry date. If someone is purchasing packaged milk, then the person should check the expiry date in the packaging.
The tetra packs would stay good for months if they are not opened. Once the tetra packs are open, then milk would not stay good for more than 3 to 4 days. If someone stores the opened tetra pack inside the freezer, then it would last for around 7 days.
Not all types of milk can be frozen as some milk will go bad if kept in the freezer for a long time. The almond milk should not be kept in the freezer for a long time, as it would start showing texture change inside the freezer.
The dairy milk can be stored in the freezer without any issues, but in some cases, it may show fat separation. Everyone can store the coconut milk in the freezer, but not in the can. Nobody should keep the evaporated milk inside the freezer mainly in cans.
As evaporated milk would start separating when kept in the freezer for a long time.
Why Can You Freeze Milk For This Long?
The food items such as milk can have longer shelf life inside the freezer. People need to store it perfectly for making it last longer. People can use separate containers for storing milk. Everybody can use glass jars or bottles to store the milk for more than 1 month.
If the milk is already in packaging, then don’t take the milk out from it. The person should never store the milk with other liquid items as it would expire the milk. Freezing the soy milk in the freezer is not a good idea as they would start separating.
The carton milk can stay fresh for around 6 months or more if the seal is not opened. People can also freeze the milk in ice cubes to use it instantly in the smoothies. Once the milk is thawed, then the person should not put it back in the freezer.
The boiled milk should be consumed within 24 to 48 hours to get the nutrient value. Freezing would be a good option to avoid bacterial growth or pathogens attacks.
Conclusion
The shelf life of normal milk without packaging would be no more than 15 to 20 days inside the freezer. The packaged milk can stay for around 1 month as it may go bad very quickly. The tetra pack milk would go bad in 4 to 7 days after the packaging is opened.
Milk such as oat milk and human breast milk should not be stored in the freezer as the condition of the milk would get affected.