Strange milk

[brooksmoses]

A letter to customer service that I just wrote:

Dear [local dairy]:

I just opened this jug of milk, and it doesn't seem right. Initially, I noticed separated milkfat floating at the top (like one gets in non-homogenized whole milk), so I shook up the jug and was able to disperse that, but it now seems thicker than normal milk, and tastes somewhat like half-and-half.

Was something off about the homogenization of this batch? This seems like what I'd expect if it didn't get properly homogenized and my jug was filled from the creamier part of the batch.

Is there any reason to think that this wouldn't be safe to use? It's too creamy to drink, but I'd hate to waste it and if it's just extra-creamy milk I can think of several recipes I can use it in.

Thanks!

So that happened. And now I don't have milk to drink, which is sad because I want some, but perhaps I can make a quiche tomorrow.

Comments

[madgastronomer]

Mmmm, quiche.

[lcohen]

so what did they say?

[brooksmoses]

It took them a couple of days to get back to me due to the holiday, and they asked for the timestamp on the date code, which I'd forgotten to include in my initial email. By that point I'd bought another gallon from a different batch from the same grocery, and it turned out to have essentially the same consistency. So I gave them that information, and they said it probably had "been subject to some temperature abuse, likely at the store" and they're sending me coupons for replacements.

[abracanabra]

If you have safety concerns, that would mostly involve if it was pasteurized properly or if it somehow skipped all the processes... (Highly unlikely, but??)

Should be 100% fine for baking or any recipe that involves simmering, as long as it smells fine.

[brooksmoses]

Yup, that's pretty much what I was thinking; it smells fine anyway, and tasted fine when I drank a little. Thanks for confirming!

Also, as I just mentioned in a reply above, my replacement gallon from the same store (but from a different batch three days later) separated in the same way, so it seems even more unlikely that something went wrong in the processing. My guess is that it got frozen in the store's fridge or something like that -- I bought the replacement gallon soon enough that it's quite possible both were in the fridge at the same time.