Almond Milk?

[laliz]

I'm new to almond milk (and loving it). My question is, "does it go bad" ~~ I have some in the fridge at work but I go through it with my oatmeal every morning. However, I have an opened carton at home in the fridge for the weekend, and it is now at least 10 days.

Does it spoil like cow's milk? Should I smell and toss or just toss?

[coll]

So maybe I'm the only one, but my almond milk (several brands) curdles after a couple of weeks. Not curdled like milk so you can taste it, but it turns into globs in my coffee. I still use it anyway, at least til the next time I get to the store.

Maybe the asceptic pack fares better, I only use refrigerated.

[lolabrw]

Nah you're not the only one. I've had almond and soy milk go bad on me. Curds and all, except sometimes it will often smell rancid as well. You'll know for sure when it's bad, it's unmistakable. Ick.

[jmcarthur8]

I had a couple of 'curdled' containers of almond milk that had been semi-frozen/slushy when I brought them home from the grocery store. I don't know if the freezing made the curds, but it didn't smell bad at all.

[coll]

Or, did you check the date? Maybe they froze it because it was getting old?

[jmcarthur8]

No, I don't think so. The expiration date was way out there. I think it must have been a storage/ transport issue.

[coll]

It does go bad, really easily.

[CanadaGirl]

I don't know if the asceptic packs last longer than the refrigerated once opened, but IME, the refrigerated cartons are larger. Using the smaller shelf-stable packs may allow you to use up all the milk before it goes bad. Although, I'm my house, a carton only lasts a day or two. As I also have two kinds of dairy milk in the fridge! I shudder to think of our milk bill...,,,,

[paulj]

Bulk stores (e.g. Costco) may sell the shelf stable packs in boxes of 6 or 12. I know SamsClub carries Silk Soy in the 6 x 1 liter box. It's the cheapest way to go if you are consuming a carton every few days.

[CanadaGirl]

Thanks. I do buy it at Costco; it's about 1/2 the price than the supermarket "on sale" price.

[brucesw]

There was another thread about this here on CH several months ago, although not about the almond variety. Soy milk is not a liquid that occurs in nature, it's a man-made suspension of particles in liquid and as such has to be shaken before use to redistribute the particles. Soy milk manufacturers are kind of devious about this IMO but somewhere on your carton should be the admonition to 'Shake before using.' Try that (every time, 2 or 3 good shakes) and see if it eliminates the clumping problem which may just be the result of a lot of particles settling out in the bottom of the carton.

Disclaimer: I've only used Almond Soy once, didn't care for it (don't care for any of the flavored soy milks except occasionally strawberry).

Re: the OP, it takes me 2 weeks plus to use up a carton (refrigerated) of soy milk, other than the clumping problem the first two times, I've never detected any spoilage.

[coll]

No, shaking doesn't help once it's over the hill.

[CanadaGirl]

I believe the OP is asking about milk made from almonds, not flavoured soy milk. If you've never had almond milk (I'm partial to Blue Diamond) you should give it a try. Delicious.

[laliz]

that's the brand I buy, unsweetened.

[brucesw]

I believe the Silk Pure Almond is what I had; I'm sure it was a Silk product and my mistake for calling it a soy milk. - it's been several years. Anyway, it's the same principle.. Neither soybeans nor almonds have udders and can be 'milked.' Almond milk is made from ground almonds, not milked almonds, but whether the clumping can be avoided by shaking I'll leave to others who use the product.

[paulj]

There's a difference between an unopened box sitting around for a long time, and an opened one in the fridge. Sometimes the boxes have a 'use within xxx days of opening' label, or there might be FAQ on the manufacturer's website.

Soy Silk says 'will stay fresh 7-10 days after opening' - but that does not mean it will spoil after that. With less protein I suspect almond milk has a longer 'after opening' life.

[laliz]

Thanks Paul.

[laliz]

I get it at Costco in a large pkg (unrefrigerated) of individual cartons.
I threw it away, (didn't even smell it) I can use a carton up at work during the week, but not on the weekend. will resort to plan B.

**off to figure out Plan B**

[Bacardi1]

I wonder why that is, since I checked a few manufacturers' websites, & they all say that almond milk is non-refrigerated shelf-stable until the expiration date or until it's opened. After opening, it does have to be refrigerated.

I can only guess that our Costco wants to keep it in the same place as the other dairy products for customer ease in finding it. I mean, I wouldn't normally look for it amongst the canned goods.

[laliz]

Its not refrigerated at my Costco (Azusa CA)

[pine time]

It's sold in either non-frig. aseptic boxes, or chilled cartons where I live.

[DagingKuda]

Right. Both say to refrigerate after opening, and recommend consuming within 7-10 days of that. Before they're opened though, the 64 ounce cartons must still be kept refrigerated (up to 3 months ?), whereas the 32 ounce aseptic boxes can be kept unfrigerated for a much longer time.

[Bacardi1]

Ah - so maybe the ones I'm seeing in Costco's refrigerated section are the 64-ounce ones. I don't recall the size.

[DagingKuda]

In my area, the 64 ounce cartons come 3 in a box the size of a laptop case.

[Bacardi1]

There should be an expiration date somewhere on the carton, & you can take it from there. I use it up fairly quickly, so can't help you via personal experience.

[childofthestorm]

Considering I buy it at Costco where it just sits there on the shelf, unrefrigerated, and then I throw the big box in my basement, unrefrigerated...I think you'll be fine.

[Bacardi1]

Wow - I'm very surprised. Around here all Almond Milk is refrigerated. Even at Costco.

[Stephanie Wong]

What climate zone are you in?

[Bacardi1]

I'm in Zone 7 Virginia.

[Ruth Lafler]

It depends on how it's packaged -- if it's in regular milk cartons it's refrigerated, but it also commonly comes in aseptic aka Tetrapak packaging which is shelf-stable and needs no refrigeration.

How long it keeps once opened it a completely different question. My sense is that it won't spoil nearly as quickly as dairy milk. I've never had it spoil.

[laliz]

well thanks everyone for your input.