Milk - clumping quickly

[eva888]

What is the deal with the milk in Finland? I've never had it go sour but after only a couple days (even the 'best before' date is still days off) it will clump up. It's disgusting. This has happened to me with every single milk I've gotten from lots of different grocery stores. Am I doing something wrong?

[DMC]

The obvious question is whether you are keeping it in the fridge. The other one is are you sure you are buying milk? Apologies if that seems obvious, but I seem to recall an earlier post by someone about a similar problem and it turns out they were buying another product, piima.

[jahasjahas]

There was a long thread about milk spoiling quickly, not too long ago, but I can't find it anymore.

Is your fridge cold enough?

[kharnynb]

check fridge temperature, remember to close the pack after using it.
Don't store milk near open packs of jogurt, cheese or other sour products.

[neJANIS]

Yes, I have noticed it too and it feels strange. I usually buy milk at Lidl (maito, not piima) and it doesn't go sour, but clumps up and even before expiration date. Usually milk go sour and you can still use it, for exemple, in coffee or for some sauce, but this is not the case with milk in Finland.

[eva888]

Yes, I have noticed it too and it feels strange. I usually buy milk at Lidl (maito, not piima) and it doesn't go sour, but clumps up and even before expiration date. Usually milk go sour and you can still use it, for exemple, in coffee or for some sauce, but this is not the case with milk in Finland.

yes exactly!!! I have been buying maito. In the US the milk goes sour usually after you've had it about a week but here it clumps in a few days. Well, my refrigerator was turned to something like 2 out of 5 on the temperature thing so I turned it to 4. Hopefully that will make a difference.

Kiitos for all the input!

[Karhunkoski]

The main thing is not to leave milk standing on the breakfast table. Take it out of the fridge, pour, then put it back in straight away. Finnish houses are too hot for milk

The cold chain is quite crappy in Finland too, compared to say, the UK. Evidence includes:

- frozen vegetables in supermarket freezers that are frozen together in clumps in the bag (They are not like this when they are packed, otherwise they wouldn't pass through the bagging machine automated weigh-pans). The vegetables have thawed and refrozen somewhere between factory and supermarket

- frozen pizzas that are "bent" inside the box. Again they were completely flat and frozen when packed, but the individual pizza boxes are packed vertically in the cardboard boxes, and have thawed and refrozen in the Finnish cold (hä!) chain. That's how they get bent.....

[Liam1]

I have never had this problem, even though we may leave milk out on the table when eating bfast/dinner. . However as we have the kids that use a lot, it is rarely opened and not used within 3 days. However even if we buy a lot of milk in one go such that the last one is opened on the use by date and drbk within 2 days, we've never had problems.

On the other hand I do note that irritatingly often (10% maybe), meat - especially LIDL chicken - smells off (really bad, so straight to the outside bin) well before use by date. We're fairly sure that it is not our fridge, but further to Karhunkoski's comments, also notice that shops often not in a rush to stack things into the fridges, so wonder how long they can stay sat on unrefridgerated trolleys....should complain I guess, but no way am I keeping the rancid meat as proof...!

[Rip]

Occasional problem very well could be a fault of the supermarket (probably not often somebody before it in the delivery chain). I try to avoid buying cartoons that look they have more volume in them than the designated one liter. If that is a regular occurrence I would look at the fridge and what one does it before and afterwards. Other countries may have different packing styles that may be somewhat more tolerant to warmer temperatures.

[Flossy1978]

I've never had any problems with my milk, even when it's gone past the useby day by a few days.

I've also had no problems with chicken from Lidl.

I think the "cold" products are in "cold containers". At least the lidl I go to when they are stacking the cold shelves, they appear to take the stuff out of these cold storage cupboard things on wheels.

I agree with vegies. They're full of frozen water, means they've defrosted and refrozen. But I've never had the same thing with pizzas.

Have you tried to buy the "red lactose free" milk? I buy it not because my child and I are lactose intolerant, but because it lasts longer. Yes, it costs more, but we can use it all before it goes off. If I bought normal milk, we'd not use it all before it goes off and would have to buy double the amount. So in the end it doesn't cost any more.

[eva888]

**MILK UPDATE**
I turned the temperature down in my refrigerator and today I had lovely three day old clump-free milk.

I have noticed that all of my foods go bad much more quickly in Finland than they do in the US. Perhaps it is because they use less preservatives here? (which would be good!) It makes sense now that I think about it... people in the US usually go grocery shopping once a week and buy large quantities of everything, but here people seem to go every few days. I will probably just adjust to buying little cartons of milk every three days.

Also the laktoositon milk is a good idea. I accidentally bought laktoositon coffee creamer when I first arrived here and I remember that it lasted awhile.

[AldenG]

Or consider this:

If you're keeping your fridge at 34° C instead of 34° F, that might contribute a wee bit.

Then again, there's a chance you'd notice that.

[kp900t]

**MILK UPDATE**
I have noticed that all of my foods go bad much more quickly in Finland than they do in the US. Perhaps it is because they use less preservatives here? (which would be good!) It makes sense now that I think about it...

That's a point. Vegetables bought from Cosco back in Canada would last surprisingly, even suspiciously long in the fridge. That is a sign that something unnatural is going on. I hope we are buying higher quality veg then from Cosco.
I have read that GMO's are banned in the EU but not in US/Canada but I haven't done any recherche . Buy organic!!!!!

[Upphew]

**MILK UPDATE**
I have noticed that all of my foods go bad much more quickly in Finland than they do in the US. Perhaps it is because they use less preservatives here? (which would be good!) It makes sense now that I think about it...

That's a point. Vegetables bought from Cosco back in Canada would last surprisingly, even suspiciously long in the fridge. That is a sign that something unnatural is going on. I hope we are buying higher quality veg then from Cosco.
I have read that GMO's are banned in the EU but not in US/Canada but I haven't done any recherche . Buy organic!!!!!

http://www.evira.fi/portal/en/food/manu ... +food++gmo+

[Bavarian]

Also the laktoositon milk is a good idea. I accidentally bought laktoositon coffee creamer when I first arrived here and I remember that it lasted awhile.

Or you could be a weirdo like me, and drink black coffee. I've been doing it since I was 17. No sugar, either.