# What to do with old/expired pumped milk?



## aept (Feb 8, 2007)

I have about 8 bags of milk in my freezer that are 9-10 months old. Everything I have read says that for my kind of freezer the milk should be good for about 3-4 months. So I'm way over. What can I do with the milk? Am I crazy to thaw one out and see if it's still any good? I hate to just dump it!


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## merry-mary (Aug 9, 2007)

Tough one. I know how hard it is to even consider tossing it. Believe me. If it were me, though, I probably would. 8-9 months' old milk is probably way past its prime. And likely freezer burned.


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## QuestionGal (Feb 19, 2006)

This is from another mother on a local AP board...not my recipe, haven't tried it. Interested to see if it works!

Mothers Milk Soap Recipe
32 (4-ounce) bars

Recipe:

3 lbs. vegetable shortening
17 ounces dark olive oil
18 ounces Safflower oil
6 cups thawed breast milk
(you can use any amount of breast milk you like and substitute the rest,
just make sure your total fluid volume reaches 6 cups).
12 ounces pure sodium hydroxide (lye - Red Devil brand works)
1 ounce Borax
2 TLBS honey
1 ounce Essential oil - optional
Ice Cubes

Tool List:

Stainless steel pans
Wooden or stainless steel spoons
Newspaper to cover counter tops
Candy thermometer
Measuring cup
Scale
Blender

***Wear Gloves and protective eye-wear when making soap...lye burns!!
****Use only stainless steel pans for making soap - DO NOT use aluminum!!

Procedure

Melt the veg. shortening in a sauce pan (about 8 quart size)and add the oils. Bring temp up slowly until the shortening is all melted. Don't over heat or scorch the oils.

Plug your kitchen sink. Fill half way with water and add about 3 dozen ice cubes.

Put thawed cold breast milk in a sauce pan (about 3 quart size). Place the sauce pan into the water. You *must* keep the milk cool when you add the lye to it or the lye will burn it and make it unusable, not to mention real stinky!

Slowly stir in the sodium hydroxide (lye) stirring constantly and occasionally circulating the outer ice water. The lye is going to heat the milk up as you stir it in. Avoid breathing the fumes by working in a well ventilated area.

Adding the lye should take at least 5 minutes, any faster and you will burnout your milk. If you accidentally splash any on yourself, rinse immediately!

Once combined, continue to stir the milk/lye mixture for just a few more minutes (3) and then remove from the water bath and set aside. You will notice that the milk/lye mixture steadily becomes yellowish in color. That is normal.

Add the honey and borax to your melted oil which should still be warm but not hot (115 degrees or so).

Now, slowly and carefully pour the milk/lye mixture into the pan of oil. Stir constantly until it is all mixed together.

This mixture must now be whipped in a blender (2/3's full at a time for safety sake). Run the blender (with the lid on) at whip speed for 60 seconds each time. Pour off into a clean pan.

Repeat the blender process a second time. This is when you will add your essential oils.

Once the mixture has been blended twice, it will be ready to pour into a mold where it will saponify and be ready to cut after 24 hours.

**Make sure to set a few bars secretly aside for that someday when it could make a touching "Treasured Memory Gift" maybe when your child is all grown up. The soap will never go rancid (no matter what you may have read elsewhere), it will only improve with age. Mothering Soap has the unique potential of becoming something extra, special as the years roll by. But that's just this mothers thought!
NOTE: The heavy duty molds I use for soap making are made of extruded vinyl. They are reusable and very easy to use - once it saponifies, you just slice the soap into bars, no fuss. These molds and many other soapmaking supplies are available at the Soap Shoppe page located at my Natural Soap Site - Killmaster Soapworks Natural Soap Company


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## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

I put expired milk into the bathtub with the kiddo's. They have great skin! I toss in a bag, let it defrost then open it and swirl it around the tub. I don't know what else to do with it but at least I am doing something with it, ya know?


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## aept (Feb 8, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GooeyRN* 
I put expired milk into the bathtub with the kiddo's. They have great skin! I toss in a bag, let it defrost then open it and swirl it around the tub. I don't know what else to do with it but at least I am doing something with it, ya know?

I would love to be crafty enough to make the soap recipe that QuestionGal so nicely shared, but I'm not sure I will get around to it. A milk-bath might be a nice compromise!


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## miasmommy07 (Jan 4, 2008)

I was wondering the same thing. Does anyone know if you can use it mixed with cereal instead of using water?


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## dumplingrrl (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks so much for sharing the soap recipe! I've always wanted to make my own soap and have a couple of bags of BM sitting in the fridge too. This recipe looks like a really good way of using them if they expire.


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## aept (Feb 8, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *miasmommy07* 
I was wondering the same thing. Does anyone know if you can use it mixed with cereal instead of using water?

I don't think that I would use the "expired" milk for any kind of food product for the baby, to be on the safe side.

But in general, you can definately use fresh or "non-expired" milk that had been frozen to make up the cereal.







:


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## Mommal (Dec 16, 2007)

You can water a tree with it. Make it meaningful and give your milk back to the earth!







:


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## PatioGardener (Aug 11, 2007)

Does anyone know if you can pasteurize (spelling?) it to make it safe for consumption by an older baby? Is the thought that is has 'gone bad' because there may be bacteria? Or is it more of a freezer burn/taste issue?


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