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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
We can’t buy raw milk in Iowa 🙁 I have come up with a technique to make dry cottage cheese from sour pasteurized milk. The first step is to boil it well for safety, (which any seasoned cheesemaker will say is a no-no. That’s okay. We’re not trying to make Brie here.) It is good for making cheese to use for perogies or lasagna and the leftover whey is great for baking bread.
http://www.stealthymom.com/2011/08/cottage-cheese-recipe-from-out-of-date.html
I use it to bathe in 🙂
THANK YOU SARAH!!!!
I just went back to drinking raw milk and ordered a bunch as I was CRAVING it and then I decided to start GAPS and my family cannot drink all that I ordered! They live milk… I LOVE MILK! lol!
I accidently spilled it once on a dirty floor, and it cleaned it up very nicely!
Alright you all. I know you probably didn’t expect a huge raw-milk debate coming from one person. I’ll leave you alone. If, though, you feel that you want to continue to debate me, come and debate me over on my own website, since I’m clearly inundating the author here. http://www.mysuburbanhomestead.com/reasons-drinking-raw-milk/
I understand and appreciate your argument. Everyone should understand and know the risks involved with everything they do, including what they consume. There are pro’s and con’s with everything. One example is prescription medications and modern healthcare. There are benefits to these, but there are also side effects as well. Sometimes the side effects are more severe then the original symptoms, sometimes resulting in death. But people must make the best educated decision, what is best for them, understanding that there is risk with everything. Most of us have decided that the benefits from raw milk products far outweight the risks. I have personally experienced amazing health benefits.
Yes, outnumbered on here. I appreciate you taking this to another site, as this one was not the appropriate place for a debate, is is an idea for raw milk post, not do you think it’s safe. I am leary of raw milk, but that is due to my still becoming familiar with it. We have consumed it, it taste 100% better than store bought. Store bought tastes nasty to me, and it has for about the last 10 years, not sure what has changed. But I couldn’t beleive the taste difference when I tried fresh, it tasted like it did when I was a kid.
“Even bacteria well adapted for growth in milk die off when introduced into perfectly fresh milk.” This is a quote from Ron Schmids book The Untold Story of Milk in the chapter on The Safety of raw vs. pasteurized milk. I recommend this book to give you the facts you seek Josie.
My husband works in dairy sanitation and tells me that i would not drink store bought milk if I knew what he pulled out of the lines and what gets sucked up when the milkers are not on the cow. They sterilize factory milk because it is icky and comes from unhealthy animals.
oops, sorry Josie. I meant these comments for My Suburban Homestead.
My Suburban Homestead-
You’re a little out numbered here. Read and learn, but remember this is how we live. We have taken this experiment and applied it to our lives and have found that this has made them better.
It would appear that there are many things that one can be outspoken against. Alcohol is a great one, I have never found that substance to be of any benefit to any person, family, or community and causes countless deaths, abuse, and illnesses that can be swift and fatal or chronic as well as affect the mind. Yet, this is legal and accepted.
Again, this is how we live and have experienced the benefits. We have tried it for ourselves instead of listening to what is “accepted” and as a result our lives are better.
Raw milk = healthy tummy for me.
I agree Josie, I’ve felt so much better since making the switch to raw [full fat] milk from skim past&hom milk. My digestion is better, my hair and nails are growing like weeds and my skin has cleared up really well. I’m definitely an advocate, just wish it was legal and widely available here in Australia. I only have access to it because my partner lives and works on a dairy farm. It’s funny how people think it’s bad for you…my grandparents and parents are all pretty healthy and they all drank raw milk [and in some cases, didn’t even have a proper fridge to store it in]
I find many of the comments distressing. Having grown up on a farm, I have ingested more than my share of raw milk and raw milk products. I recently purchased two Nigerian Dwarf goats so I can have fresh goat milk My older doe kidded last Monday (the 26th) so it won’t be too very long before I have my own fresh goat milk outside my door.
Regarding illness because of raw milk; there most certainly have been some serious illnesses and we had some a few years ago in our own county: “An outbreak of E. coli bacteria that has sickened 11 or more people, four critically, has been linked to a dairy that was ordered by the state in August to stop selling raw milk.” I personally know one the mothers who nearly lost her child to this. She is a healthy food advocate but will *never* use raw milk again. It was apparently only one “batch” (milking) that was bad, but it takes only one. I remember how very, very careful my mother and grandmother insisted the milk be handled; if there was any question the milk was contaminated by even a fleck of manure from the cow or elsewhere, the milk was given to the chickens. I cannot imagine that all milkers are that careful.
I have three young granddaughters and will not give them raw milk, not because I feel it will be dangerous for them but because it is not my decision to make. Last year, I made a lot of ice cream from raw goat milk but I used cooked custard and cooked all the milk (and eggs) and did not add the second half after the custard was cooked.
Though I fully support the sale of raw milk, I also believe it should carry a warning label that it is raw milk and may have certain bacteria in it. I wish there were also some way of doing the same with eggs – I’m talking about the ones sold at the grocery store which are undoubtedly weeks old by the time many are purchased – as well as all food we buy!
Raw milk, like any of our food, is as safe or as dangerous as any other food purchased from someone else (stores, farms, individuals) and is affected by the way we, the purchasers, handle it after it is in our possession.
Thank you Glenna, fellow grandmother. Our first grandchild was born this past year, my daughter in law and son have gone the route of giving her all vaccines, my daughter in law is a nurse, and she failed at breast feeding, so our granddaughter only had breast milk for 3 weeks. Surprisingly she is very healthy and robust, a super happy content baby. She hasn’t been sick yet, even though her parents have had several colds since she was born. Back to your comment. I’ve given them tons of info from WAPF, etc. and we’ve discussed these things, but they are going in the opposite direction of what I’d hoped. I yearn to give her traditional foods when she can have solids, like liver and egg yolk, but they are already talking first foods being rice cereal at 6 months. But as only the grandmother, I have to respect what they will tell me to do in regards to feeding her. I shall certainly cringe when I see the processed junk food begin, but I’ll keep suggesting healthy, traditional foods for her. They see raw milk in my fridge every visit, but opt out of drinking. They are leery of my homemade full fat yogurt too, but I’ll keep trying and also forwarding Sarah’s site plus any other traditional food sights to them. Sometimes kids just won’t listen to their parents and have to learn from others! But I agree with you, it’s not my place to sneak her raw milk or the like…..now pastured egg yolks and liver, well, nothing “dangerous” about those because they are going to be cooked!
Thank you so much for this timely article as I have a 1/2 gallon of sour raw milk in my fridge presently. My familie’s health has never been better since incorporating raw dairy as part of our nutrient dense traditional food WAPF diet. I think My Suburban Homestead is a plant from one of the out of control governmental agencies that don’t want us to have a single item with real nutrition in it. What is a raw milk hater doing on a WAPF chapter leader blog site in the first place that doesn’t believe a single article written on the WAPF website? As a WAPF member and reformed Western trained RN who has extensively researched these issues I found her comments offensive and inappropriate here.
Not a government plant at all. Come and see for yourself that I am a real, caring human being.
Here here.
You are correct, Nutrition Nut Nurse, odds are My Suburban Homestead is employed by the govt. I make a lot of posts in David Gumpert’s blog, thecompletepatient.com. He wrote the book, The Raw Milk Revolution. You learn to recognize the govt presence, especially when people start citing “Mary McGonigle”. The basic M O of these govt disinformation types is to harp on these rare alledged disease cases, over and over and over, leaving out the fact that the govt’s own numbers show 10 million raw milk drinkers in the US, and leaving out that if you talk to drinkers, you find tons of testimonials to the healing power of raw milk. There are probably hundreds of thousands of testimonials you could find attesting to the prevention of and curing of serious illness using raw milk. So even if the government’s disease numbers are true, which they aren’t, they are so small they are meaningless, compared ot all the people healed and lives saved with real milk. As I write this, David’s current article is called ” Can Homestead Creamery Raw Milk Cheese Case Be Resolved Sensibly? 1/25/2013″ It’s very relevent because in the comments I debunk Mary McGonigle, as she makes the same crazy kinds of statements as My Suburban Homestead is doing here. Sorry to interrupt this fine discussion here on clabber. I found your site looking to learn about clabber, I’m reading along here, and it just sickened me to see these govt disinformation people constantly fear mongering against what is probably the safest food their is, raw milk. For a better understanding of why the establishment slanders milk, see my posts in David’s blog. I’ve been posting there for four months. Btw clabber sounds awesome, but I always drink all my raw milk before it ever gets to that…