Dairy products are renowned for having short and inconsistent shelf lives, even in a cold fridge. How can dairy producers extend the life of their products? How do you keep your dairy items fresh at home?
Consider some insights for 2025 on how best to store your much-appreciated dairy items to extend their lifespans.
1. Storing Milk
Milk is best stored at 37 degrees Fahrenheit, whether whole cream or skim. It’s convenient to unpack your milk and put it directly into your fridge’s door shelf, but while it’s easily accessible there, that’s not the most suitable storage area. You could always adjust the fridge’s temperature and do so, but that might cause the back of your fridge to ice up, meaning you’ll end up with unhygienic excess water once you readjust the temperature setting.
Instead, to extend your milk’s life and prevent extra hassles down the line, immediately store your milk toward the back of the fridge on a lower shelf where it’s coldest. Every time you open the fridge door, the temperature fluctuates as warmer outside air sneaks in, affecting fridge door items and those near the front. Even lying your milk on its side is preferable to taking a mouthful of turning milk — and it will be colder.
If you’ve bought excess milk, there’s no need to panic as long as you have space in your freezer. You can store it in a plastic container for up to three months before its expiration date, and it’ll be fine to use when defrosted. The thawed milk may look odd, as any cream will separate, but a good shake or quick blender spin will solve that problem. However, ensure you use it within two to three days after defrosting, as it will turn soon after that.
2. Storing Cheese
Store your cheese, no matter its type, in the fridge crisper drawer with humidity control. This action prevents the cheese’s aroma from spreading to other foodstuffs and, conversely, from their smells affecting the cheese. The vegetable drawer offers an adequate alternative if you have no space in that drawer. Cheese needs a stable temperature of between 34 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain its health and quality — you’ll encounter less microorganism growth and slow down enzymatic reactions that way.
After opening, how you wrap or pack your cheese significantly affects its life span. Exposing cheese to oxygen can prompt mold growth, which affects the cheese’s freshness. Dairy producers should consider using nitrogen packaging for large quantities to prevent mold and extend cheese’s quality and shelf life. If you’re a cheese lover at home, also take your cheese packaging seriously.
As an alternative to nitrogen packaging, wrap harder, aged cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano in wax paper and tightly cover that with cling film. A resealable plastic container will do nicely for softer cheeses like Brie, Camembert, Cheddar or Gouda.
3. Storing Yogurt
How often have you opened a yogurt container and left it in the fridge to expire after your first helping? Although tasty, yogurt is one of those dairy products that remain open in the fridge for weeks, and when you finally want some more, it has become overwhelmingly pungent. If you’re a gym fanatic, you’ll know — the Greek yogurt you eat when on a muscle growth cycle could stay in the fridge uneaten when you move to a different cycle, and when you want it again, it’s useless.
If adequately covered, you can keep pasteurized yogurt in the fridge for up to 10 days after expiry, which is impressive in itself.
4. Storing Butter
If you produce butter in bulk, leaving it at room temperature for a day or two is safe but not advisable. Likewise, at home, forgetting your butter on the table overnight won’t harm it, but be sure to refrigerate it again soon. If it gets difficult to spread, you can change that by removing it from your fridge 15 minutes before you need it.
As butter absorbs odors from other foods, keep it wrapped in cling wrap or other vapor and moisture-proof material while refrigerating for an extended life span. Alternatively, leave it covered correctly in its original wrapper. Butter will be safe in the fridge for a month or two if properly covered and for six to nine months when frozen. If you’re freezing it, overwrap the original wrapper first — you can also cut your butter into smaller blocks to freeze, but wrap each one appropriately before doing so.
5. Storing Frozen Dairy Products
If you produce or buy ice cream or other frozen desserts, don’t allow them to partly thaw before freezing them. They’ll go from smooth and fluffy in texture to dense and grainy when opened. If you’re buying frozen dairy products and will be away from home for a time, request the store double bag them to reduce the chance of melting. You could also take an insulated bag to the store in preparation.
If unopened, you can leave frozen dairy goods in the freezer for up to two months, but if you anticipate an extended freezer stint, it’s better to overwrap the original plastic containers with freezer paper. When opening after a long frozen period, layer plastic wrap directly over the product’s surface before refreezing to prevent crystallization.
Look After Your Dairy Products
Dairy products are perishable and expensive. If you’re storing them, extend their lives for as long as possible to save on extra expenses while ensuring their prolonged fresh taste and goodness.
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