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The many uses for sour raw milk at home which, unlike pasteurized milk, does not go putrid, but naturally ferments into probiotic clabber.
One of the most frequent questions I get from readers is what to do with naturally soured milk, also called clabber.
Sour raw milk is quite unlike pasteurized milk that has gone past its “use by” date. Pasteurized milk goes putrid and must be thrown out at that point, but raw milk is still a highly useful item in the kitchen.
The difference is that pasteurized milk is quite literally a dead food. In other words, there are no enzymes or probiotics present. So, when store milk goes bad, it becomes a huge foodborne illness risk to consume it and it must be discarded.
Sour Raw Milk is Safe
Raw milk, on the other hand, is loaded with enzymes and probiotics. When raw milk starts to sour, it simply means that beneficial bacteria called probiotics have started to use up the lactose (milk sugar) which causes the milk to no longer taste as sweet.
Raw milk that tastes sour is still very much safe to drink and is even more beneficial to health as the higher level of probiotics initiates the fermentation or clabbering of the milk.
So if you find yourself with some soured raw milk in the refrigerator, check through this list and see what makes the most sense for using it up. It doesn’t have to be raw cow milk either. Any type of unpasteurized milk will do including sheep’s milk, goat milk, camel milk, and even water buffalo milk!
Whatever you do, though, don’t throw it out! There is no need for even a drop of your nutrient-dense, grass-fed dairy to go to waste!
There are so many uses for the clabber itself as well as the raw liquid whey separated from it.
Uses for Sour Milk (Clabber)
1. Make scrambled eggs with it.
2. Whip up a pan of quiche with it.
3. Add it to a breakfast smoothie.
4. Make homemade pudding with it (if slightly soured).
5. Make hot chocolate with it.
6. Use it for garden fertilizer (just pour around the base of your plants or trees). It really gets the worms going crazy.
7. Give it to your pet. Cats love it!
8. Make egg custard pudding with it.
9. Make this traditional British white sauce recipe with it.
10. Ferment homemade kefir with it.
11. Make yogurt with it.
12. Blend with flour to soak pancake batter.
13. Use it to soak cold breakfast cereal batter.
14. Use it to soak waffle batter.
15. Remove the soured cream off the top and add to homemade soups.
16. Remove the sour cream off the top and add to meatloaf.
17. Just drink it. It tastes like buttermilk and is very good for you.
18. Use to make devil’s food cake.
19. Make omelets with it.
20. Use it instead of water to cook up your soaked breakfast oatmeal.
21. Use it to soak crepe batter.
22. Soak banana bread batter with it.
23. Soak pumpkin bread batter with it.
24. Use it to soak buttermilk biscuit batter.
25. Soak muffin batter (any kind) with it.
26. Separate the liquid whey from the clabber.
27. Remove the sour cream off the top and add to a baked potato.
28. Add buttermilk culture and make buttermilk with it.
29. Take a bath in it. It was good enough for Cleopatra, right?
30. Separate out the liquid whey and make ricotta cheese.
31. Make mozzarella cheese with it.
32. Whip up a pan of flan using it instead of milk.
33. Make sweet potato casserole with the sour cream off the top.
34. Make cottage cheese with it.
35. Use as a base for ice milk (if only slightly soured).
36. Use it instead of evaporated milk to make pumpkin pie.
37. Use it to clear up pinkeye.
38. Soak frozen fish in it until thawed for improved texture and flavor.
39. Soak dull-looking silverware in it for at least 30 minutes and then rinse for a beautiful shine.
40. Use it as a conditioner for your hair. Or, take a bath in it. Remember Cleopatra?
41. Repair fine cracks in your china by boiling them in the soured raw milk (the milk reacts with a chemical in the china to seal the crack). I’ve never done this myself but it supposedly works.
42. Use it ice cold to soothe the discomfort of poison ivy.
43. Dab some on mild sunburn for instant, cooling relief.
44. Rub dry skin patches with it several times a day to make skin soft again.
45. Make cheese sauce for Welsh rarebit with it.
46. Make paneer (easy South Asian cheese that requires no rennet).
47. Make potato cheese soup.
48. Freeze the milk and use it later when you have a dire need for clabbered milk.
49. Make tapioca pudding with it.
50. Make bread pudding (soak the bread in the milk).
Need More Ideas? Let’s Keep Going…
51. Stew pork loin in it.
52. Make no-bake cheesecake with it.
53. Make lassi with it (Indian yogurt-style smoothie).
54. Use it instead of water (or a blend with water) to cook up amaranth porridge.
55. Separate the whey to use as a natural facial toner.
56. Use to cook up teff breakfast porridge.
57. Use blended with water to make cream of buckwheat porridge.
58. Make fermented almond milk.
59. Make homemade orangina soda.
60. Brew some detoxifying beet kvass.
61. Make homemade ginger ale.
62. Add a cup or two of the separated whey to a warm detoxifying bath instead of vinegar.
63. Make fermented lemonade.
64. Use instead of yogurt to make fermented potatoes.
65. Make homemade sauerkraut.
66. Use the separated whey instead of sauerkraut juice to make homemade pickles.
67. Make apricot butter.
68. Make probiotic mango chutney.
69. Use whey instead of raw ACV to make homemade mustard.
70. Use the whey to make fermented corn relish.
71. Blend up some probiotic thousand island dressing using some of the separated whey.
72. Make raw cream cheese.
73. Make fermented cilantro salsa.
74. Use whey to make homemade ketchup.
75. Add the whey to homemade mayo so it lasts three times as long in the fridge.
76. Add separated whey to potassium broth for extra minerals and digestibility.
77. Use to make cultured rice water.
78. Blend some to homemade wild rice milk to add probiotics.
79. Mix a teaspoon into a glass of homemade electrolyte beverage to add more minerals.
80. Use whey separated from clabber instead of kombucha to make a maple dijon salad dressing.
81. Stir a teaspoon of separated whey into homemade barbecue sauce to add probiotics.
82. Use liquid whey instead of raw ACV to make homemade cocktail sauce.
83. Use whey to make fermented salsa.
84. Substitute whey for lemon juice to make homemade steak sauce.
85. Whip up some homemade teriyaki sauce.
86. Add a drizzle of whey to artichoke dip to add probiotics and enhance the flavor.
87. Liquid whey is an important ingredient in hypoallergenic DIY baby formula.
88. Whey from clabber is also a key ingredient in homemade goat milk baby formula.
89. Add a drizzle of whey to sweet potato casserole baby food to add probiotics.
90. Liquid whey separated from clabber (or yogurt) is a key ingredient in homemade baby formula.
91. Use clabber blended with flour to make soaked waffles.
92. Whip up a pan of gluten-free soaked cornbread.
93. Make homemade tomato bisque using the soured milk instead of plain milk.
94. Use it to soak homemade quick oats.
95. Make a pan of Mexican mac & cheese.
96. Use instead of water to cook a pot of whole grain millet.
97. Make a buttermilk-style egg nog with it!
98. If only slightly sour, use it to make a refreshing matcha frappe.
99. Use as a substitute for water in this easy rice cakes recipe.
100. If only slightly sour, use to make a red rooibos latte.
101. Drizzle some into your cup of dandelion coffee if the sourness is very mild.
Do you have more suggestions to add? Please share with us in the comments section!
I’m sure there are literally dozens more uses for soured raw milk and the liquid whey separated from clabber that I’ve missed!
More Information
Organic UHT Milk
A1 vs A2 Milk
Why Skim Milk Makes You Fat
Low Temp (Vat) Pasteurized Milk Compared to Raw
hung curdle milk also known as (paneer in india)
Hi, I meant to post this comment here, not directly at Tiffaney only…sorry Tiffaney!
“Just curious if anyone knows if corn/grain fed raw milk is better than pasteurized anyway? I know that grass fed is the ideal best, but wouldn’t raw corn/grain fed be the next best?”
But then I got this message back from Tiffaney:
Author: Tiffaney
Comment: “So what type of milk do you have, A1 or A2? What kind of cow? What is the diet? What is the temp of the milk on the way home? What is the temp of your fridge? Do you shake the milk every other day if it sits? There are so many questions you need to answer to determine if raw milk is safe to drink….I would NEVER drink raw milk from an A1 Holstein cow that was fed grain. EVER!!!”
Soooo, what are the differences and does anyone have any website links to share? Is the main concern that the corn/grain is GMO? And why are Holstein cows undesirable? Even if they’re grassfed? I know Jerseys provide more cream. I’ve read quite a lot about raw milk and have only sparsely come across mention of corn/grain vs grass fed, A1 vs A2, etc. Thank you for more info to research again! Additional links or books titles/authors would be appreciated! Thanks again!
–gb
For milk, you always want them to eat grass. Cows cannot digest corn/grain, so they end up getting sick, which requires antibiotics, which decreases milk, which then brings growth hormones to boost supply. Instead, feed a cow grass and they will be healthy without the need for extra things. Of course GMO corn/grain just doesn’t help, but ultimately, it is because cows don’t digest grains like they do grass.
Holsteins are undesireable because they are a new breed, that has A1 milk. When you pasteurize A1 milk, the casein is denatured and changes drastically. Many who are casein sensitive are only sensitive to A1 and not to A2 milk, even when the A2 milk is pasteurized. But raw A2 milk is much healthier than raw A1 milk. And while a grass fed Holstein would be better than a grain fed Holstein, I would still prefer to drink milk from a grass fed A2 cow instead…
Jerseys are normally A2 cows. Guernsey, Brown Swiss are also normally A2 cows. I personally don’t like milk from the store, never have. When I drink raw milk from a Brown Swiss, it reminds me of the milk from the store, pretty thin as compared to the Jersey milk we get. If you look at the different fat contents of the milk, realize that 1% has 1% cream, 2% has 2% cream, Whole milk has 3% cream, Holsteins/Brown Swiss raw milk has 3.5% cream, and Jerseys have around 7-9% cream. So it is a surprisingly big difference, even though it doesn’t seem like much. The cream level in my normal gallon size containers goes to the bottom of the handle when it sits a couple days. When I drink the Jersey milk, it is thick and frothy. The Brown Swiss was not like that at all. And while it was okay, it sure was not what I liked….
Hard to give links, because there isn’t much out about A1 vs A2. And dairies that have A1 cows state “A2 isn’t better”, but to me, that is because they don’t sell A2 milk… The A2 dairies are proud to be A2…
is a good place with some personal information from a dairy farmer.
http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/the-devil-in-the-milk-dr-thomas-cowan-on-how-a2-milk-is-the-answer-to-the-mystery-of-why-even-raw-milk-sometimes-does-not-seem-to-be-enough-of-an-improvement-over-store-bought/ is a great article on it also.
makes it easy to start to understand.
has some good information also…
Most of you guys are crazy! To all of you city people out there, telling that poor woman you would never drink milk from a cow fed corn…shame on you! I grew up on a farm, with a Jersey and a Holstein for milking, as well as hogs, chickens, orchards, catfish, gardens and several worm beds (fish bait). We grew up on mostly raw, home made dairy products. And, especially in the winter, we HAD to feed our livestock some grain. The fresh raw milk from our cows was absolutely head and shoulders above store bought milk…and our cows were as healthy as can be…as were all our animals. Stop being so snooty about this and remember something…Country folks have been drinking and processing their own raw dairy products forever. We’ve always known that the reason people can’t drink milk is because they drink dead, store bought crap. Lactose intolerance is only an issue if you drink pasteurized milk, because raw milk has the enzyme lactase, which is what is required by the gut to digest lactose. Country folks who drink their raw milk and eat their raw honey are also free from most allergies. It’s only in the last several years that others have re learned what we’ve known all along. To the woman who asked if raw milk from grain fed cows is better than store bought milk, I will answer you emphatically, YES! Almost anything you can pour down your throat is better than store bought milk! Just make sure the cows aren’t doctored up with antibiotics and hormones. And, As far as Jersey versus Holstein milk, I always loved Meme’s (our Jersey’s) milk much more than Sugar’s (our Holstein) because it just tasted better…and yes, there was a LOT more cream from the Jersey. Which is probably why we all liked her milk better. And, if you can, buy a few chickens for your back yard and feed them table scraps and allow them to eat bugs and grass from your yard. If you think raw milk is awesome, wait until you taste your first cage free, organic (well, organic if you eat organic. Chickens are omnivores just like us) golden yolked egg! One taste of food the way God intended it, and you’ll be hooked!
So is anyone sure if sour milk would taste nice as a substitute for milk in spinach quiche? Anyone tried it?
What about low temperature pasteurized? That’s the closest I’ve found around here. Is it safe to consume when soured?
I don’t think it would naturally sour since it is pasteurized…. I would think it would spoil since it doesn’t have the probiotics like in raw milk…..
You can separate the curds and make Milk Paint with it. Milk Paint is one of the most durable paints out there, I’ve been painting my fence with it.
What a neat idea. The kids would love this on their playhouse. 🙂
How long does clabbered milk that hasn’t been opened last?
Marinate deer meat or other wild game to take the wild taste out before cooking it
Marinate deer meat or other wild game to take the wild taste out before cooking it
I use it to soak my cut oats for 24 hours, before cooking them.
lol! @ the suburban homestead