No Use Crying Over Sp(o)ilt Milk: How To Use Up Milk On The Turn

We’ve all been there: in the midst of preparing a fresh brew, you go to pour in some milk and notice an eye-watering, sour smell. Your milk has gone off. But while it may no longer be of use in your cuppa, all is not lost for sour dairy. Here’s how to use up spoilt milk – and make something delicious (and zero waste).

How To Use Up Spoilt Milk

Pancakes

Spoiled milk is actually a great replacement for buttermilk or sour cream, making it an ideal ingredient to have on hand if the cupboards are looking a little empty and you want to whip up something sweet (and batter-based). That something sweet in question can be buttermilk pancakes or even waffles.

See Our Favourite Sweet Pancake Recipes Here

Bread

Now, now – before you start, we know you can’t throw sour milk into any old bread. But soda bread is famously known as a recipe that will take your off milk and run with it. The recipe, which hails from Ireland, forgoes yeast in favour of bicarbonate of soda to get its signature rise, alongside either buttermilk, yoghurt or even past-its-best milk. It’s the lactic acid in these ingredients that reacts with bicarbonate of soda, creating carbon dioxide in the dough to give the bread its texture and height.

Sauces

And then there’s the sauce. It’s been shown that adding milk to meaty sauce-based dishes can help improve the texture, and off milk is no exception to this rule. Whether it’s spaghetti bolognese, chilli, curry or stew, the lactic acid in milk can help tenderise the meat and give an overall better sauce – just pour in a few tablespoons of sour milk and let the mixture simmer on the hob. However, avoid chucking in separated milk, as this will likely leave lumps and clumps of curdled milk sitting in your sauce. (Not good if you’re trying to impress with your culinary skills.)

Featured image: Daniela Diaz, Unsplash