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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
I needed this last week!
I needed this .. this morning.
I know this sounds weird but I love clabbered milk! Esp when it is freshly clabbered and not too strong tasting yet. I simply scoop some into a plate and sprinkle lots of Redmond realsalt on it. So so good and I get cravings for it. Just kinda like juicy cottage cheese. What I don’t eat like that, I strain through cheesecloth for a raw cottage cheese.
Soak beef or lamb liver in it for a few hours prior to cooking for a milder tasting meat. Also works well with kidneys, but for kidneys make sure it’s Very sour.
LOVE THIS IDEA!
Yes! I was going to say, it’s great for soaking organ meats in to mellow the flavor.
you can also soak game (like venison) in the milk and it will remove the gamey taste. i used to do that all the time but now i don’t mind the gamey taste 🙂
this is great! I was just lamenting the fact that I have 2 liters of raw in the fridge that is little past its prime and was wondering what to do with it now:)
Oh ok, I guess I’ll have to ask next time. Raw milk is not illegal in TX but it is pricey $8 for cows milk and $12 for goats.
Paying $10/ gal in Florida. Was paying $3.50/ gal in Omaha a couple of years ago.
Hi Mary,
Where in Florida do you get your milk. I am in Tampa and I am looking.
Thanks for your help 🙂
I get mine at Urban Oasis Hydroponic Farm in Carrollwood. Along with the veggies they grow, they also sell raw milk and pastured eggs “for pet consumption” and grassfed beef and local honey etc. Their market is open Friday and Saturday.
Paying $6/gallon up here in the panhandle. =D
I’m also in the panhandle and we pay $9 a gallon – price just went up.
Mary:
Where did you get raw milk for $3.50/gal in Omaha? I’m paying $8.50 in Omaha!
paying $14 a gallon up here in Canada (where it’s totally illegal). My family of 6 drinks about 5-6 gallons a week! $$ but so worth it. I consider it an investment in my kid’s futures 🙂
SOOO worth it… We get our milk in DFW at $7 a gallon, and get 12-13 gallons every two weeks (for two adults and two kids (3 and 1)). It is something that I would get and would sacrifice something else if I didn’t have enough for both. The milk is a priority in our house (and I NEVER liked store milk)…
We pay $7.00 in DFW area also. I wish I could afford more than 2 gallons per week (and I use much of that to make Kefir) for our growing teenage boys. I also do not have room in the refridgerator : (
Where in DFW do you get yours? We go to Campbell’s Classic Dairy
We go to Decatur to get milk, but we live in Fort Worth. We drive about 50 miles there and 50 back to get it every two weeks. We recently got a new (to us) fridge, so put the old one in the garage, and now it is the farm fresh milk and eggs fridge, lol. We put all the 12-13 gallons in there, and then I just shake them every other day to keep them fresh and mixed so the cream doesn’t go back during the two weeks.
Do they use Holstein cows??? I wouldn’t drink that raw if that is the cow they use…. That’s an A1 milk and you want A2 milk instead…
Hi Tiffaney! I live in the DFW area too! Where do you get your milk?
Thanks!
Laurie
Hi Laurie! I’m not Tiffaney but I’m guessing if she’s driving to Decatur, maybe she’s getting her milk from Cheerful Heart Farms:
Hi to both Twinkle and Laurie, I lived in Boyd, TX which is north and a little east of the DFW area and only about 12 miles away from Decatur.
The absolutely wonderful raw milk dairy I went to was the Diamond B Cattle Co, and their certified raw milk dairy was Creamline Dairy. Cheryl and Wayne Buchanan are absolutely terrific folks, love what they do, and I love their wonderful Jersey cows milk, grass fed, immaculately clean facility and fair price.
I could drive the 15 miles (one way) every week and pick up 3 – 4 gallons for just me and my husband. We drink a LOT of milk. I learned how to make raw milk yogurt (without heating it over 102 degrees! in my crock pot no less) and it is amazing! I’m looking forward to learning how to make butter . . . the only problem is that we love our WHOLE raw milk and that I hate the idea that I have to skim any cream off to make butter or have whipping cream . . . /sigh sacrifice!
Glad to hear that there are other Jersey cow raw milk dairies in the DFW area.
“Sweeten it” with some Baking Soda
Does this really work? Has anyone else heard of doing this? How do you do it? I’d love to be able to remove the “cheesey” aftertaste of slightly soured milk so my family will still drink it!
Thank you so much!
I tried making kefir with some grains that I ordered in the mail. They looked like they were dissolving. I put them in milk. After more than 24 hrs. the milk hadn’t soured, and smelled and tasted like throw up. I’m guessing the grains weren’t strong enough for that amount of milk (6 cups). What do you think?
HI Onika,so far that I know ,sometimes 24 h..it is not enough, you have to keep changing the milk,maybe every other day to nurture your grains ,be patience,,we I just order mine and that it is what they toll me, last years I order and the same happen to me I pay 19.95 ) and end in the garbage ,but in this web I have been learn a lot.good luck,maggie from Fl
Also Onika, you don’t have to waste to much milk,only a little bit more to cover the grains
kefir grains prefer high fat to proliferate well. mine lovs unhomogenised jersey milk, raw if i can get it.
@Adriana Bueno – I think it differs from state to state, but here in Ohio, buying fresh milk is illegal, but you can drink milk from a cow that you own. So we have dairy farms that allow you to “buy” into the herd. You buy a share of the heard for a set dollar amount. For every share you own, you pay a monthly boarding fee. You are basically paying the farmer to care for your part of the herd. For every share you own and pay a boarding fee for, you are entitled to 1 gallon of milk per week. It is a little pricey up front, but when it’s all said and done, it ends up averaging $5.50 a gallon (not including your upfront fee to join the herd), which is cheaper than the organic ultra heated junk in the store. At our farm, you drive there once a week or every two weeks and fill your own containers. We own 4 shares and I go every two weeks and get 8 gallons. There are several share owners that drive more than an hour to the farm. We are fortunate to be about 25 minutes away. All 8 gallons are typically gone the day before (sometimes 2 or 3 days before) it is time to go again. I go today to pick up milk and we ran out yesterday. I miss my glass in the morning!! We LOVE fresh milk!! I was making yogurt and butter, but then we ran out WAY too early!! I’m hoping to add another share in the next month or two just so I can go back to homemade butter and yogurt.
@Adriana Bueno – I think it differs from state to state, but here in Ohio, buying fresh milk is illegal, but you can drink milk from a cow that you own. So we have dairy farms that allow you to “buy” into the herd. You buy a share of the heard for a set dollar amount. For every share you own, you pay a monthly boarding fee. You are basically paying the farmer to care for your part of the herd. For every share you own and pay a boarding fee for, you are entitled to 1 gallon of milk per week. It is a little pricey up front, but when it’s all said and done, it ends up averaging $5.50 a gallon (not including your upfront fee to join the herd), which is cheaper than the organic ultra heated junk in the store. At our farm, you drive there once a week or every two weeks and fill your own containers. We own 4 shares and I go every two weeks and get 8 gallons. There are several share owners that drive more than an hour to the farm. We are fortunate to be about 25 minutes away. All 8 gallons are typically gone the day before (sometimes 2 or 3 days before) it is time to go again. I go today to pick up milk and we ran out yesterday. I miss my glass in the morning!! We LOVE fresh milk!! I was making yogurt and butter, but then we ran out WAY too early!! I’m hoping to add another share in the next month or two just so I can go back to homemade butter and yogurt.
We have 2 cows of our own, a jersey, and jersey guernsey cross. I recently discovered the best way to have fresh butter and lots of cream in the milk, too, is to ONLY skim off the really thick layer of cream at the top of the jar. There is much less “buttermilk” left over, and the milk is still very creamy! It also means less time washing the butter! 🙂
Here in Australia, it is illegal to sell raw milk for drinking EVERYWHERE. I am one of the lucky ones, my partner works as a dairy farmer and I get all the raw milk I want. It saddens me that there is so much fear-mongering about raw dairy to the point that informed adults aren’t even allowed to make the choice to buy it or not, the government has taken that choice away from us.