Quick question about dairy products

[n0_data]

My mom isn't around to answer my stupid food questions, so I'm turning to the motherly wisdom within the DU community.

Quite simply, I bought some milk last night and forgot to refrigerate it. I just now discovered this so it's been sitting out for a good 11 hours. If I refrigerate it and then later attempt to drink it, will I be worshiping the porcelain god for hours on end? My better instincts say yes, but it smells alright, I guess. Please advise.

[flamingyouth]

1. Well, I wouldn't drink it

That's just me. A co-worker leaves her milk out all day in our very warm back room of our store and seems to have no trouble drinking it.

[Guy_Montag]

2. I work on the principle of...

if it looks ok & it smells ok it will be ok.

But years of doing that may have built up my resistance.

Cottage cheese is sour milk, sour cream is, well sour cream.

Stick it in the fridge, & have a good sniff before you drink. Taste it (don't just gulp it down), and if all of those are fine, you'll be fine.

[n0_data]

3. Fair enough

Thank you, Internet Mom (Guy).

[Guy_Montag]

4. That's only for things that won't kill me if they've gone off

don't do it with meat that you aren't going to cook, like pate & salami.

[n0_data]

5. OK, but

The closest I come to cooking is spaghettios from the can, so I think I'm safe on that front (besides having a horrible diet).

[MissMillie]

6. dump it

blech! :puke:

[n0_data]

7. Hmm

You're probably right. I'm not going to argue with anyone named MissMillie. Sounds very motherly.

[n0_data]

9. Aside from

Aside from the Miss part anyway (single mothers please don't hurt me). :) I've now dumped it.

P.S.
Wow, ProfessorGAC. Nice bit of info there, but it's too late now. However I'll store that away for any such future occurrences. Thanks. :)

[ProfessorGAC]

8. It's Probably OK

My dad worked in a dairy and later drove the big trucks that drop milk off at the supermarkets. I've been in several dairies, many different times, from about age 5 to about age 30.

Milk is pasteurized, so the bacteria that accelerate the oxidation and denaturing of the lactose are almost(!) all killed. Refrigeration does two things.

First, it inhibits the multiplication of those bacteria that are left. Secondly, once opened, airborne bacteria will get into the milk and break it down. Refrigeration slows the metabolism of these "new" bacteria and slows the breakdown.

Now, unopened milk, sitting for 11 hours, and then refrigerated might lose a couple of days of storage time, but since it's been pasteurized, won't go bad in that amount of time. Also, unless you slightly warmed the milk (beyond room temperature), any remaining bacteria still won't reproduce at any significant rate. They don't incubate at an accelerated rate at 72 degrees.

The breakdown products in milk are volatile and have low olfactory threshhold values. So, you can smell tham readily.

A decent rule of thumb is, if it smells ok, it is ok. Trying to help, because the cost of milk is really high right now, and i'd hate for you to dump a perfectly good bottle of milk.
The Professor

[rucky]

10. drinking sour milk ain't gonna kill you

but it doesn't even seem like it's sour.

If you didn't open it, chances are it's still good - it just has a shorter shelf life than the date that's stamped on it.

<--------- grocery store worker.

[Eurobabe]

11. dump it

or you'll get the dumps!