Freezing milk in small quantities

[FrogFairy]

I have frozen milk in the past in the original container, but in the current situation I want to eek it out as long as possible. I plan to put it in some ice cube trays and small Tupperware type containers.

My question is whether I should just wash them in hot soapy water before using, or should they also be soaked in Milton. Just to be clear, this is nothing to do with Covid-19 just wanting to ensure the milk does not go off.

I just freeze the whole bottle. I've got 4x4 pint bottles in the freezer.

Thanks, I used to do that when DS was here. Now it is just me and I want to ration my milk to make it last.

I think scrubbing with very hot soapy water, then hot rinse (maybe from kettle just off the boil?) would be hygienic enough, OP

(I’ve got 1 2-litre bottle frozen atm
Would like to have more but need more space!)

I regularly freeze milk and just put it in plastic tubs out of the tubs drawer and it's always fine.

They will have been washed in the dishwasher previously but that could have been hours, weeks, months before. It's never occurred to me to wash them again.

I’ve got a 2 pint in the freezer too although I’ve never freezed milk before
Do I need to put it in the fridge a day before when I need to use it and how long can I freeze it for before it needs to be used? Thanks

@H1978 IME you’d be best leaving it out on the counter overnight.

When I put a 2-pinter in the fridge recently it barely even started to melt after 12 hours or more (although tbf my freezer is stuck on the coldest setting). It did much better on the counter.

I think it can stay in for a month? Needs to be blue top really, I believe lower fat milk doesn’t freeze as well. There was no discernible change in quality which was nice

@GiantKitten thanks for the info that’s great

I’ll use it next week as I’ve had it in the freezer for a couple of weeks now and we’re on day 6 of self isolation so I can use it up before I have to brave the shops for more 😕

Thank you all for your replies, very helpful.

@H1978 turns out I’m wrong about blue milk - too much fat for a normal -18 freezer apparently. Maybe my freezer bring stuck on coldest is a good thing

Also turns out freezer life is actually c 3 months (but I reckon it makes sense to rotate as much as possible)

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/can-you-freeze-milk-uk-twice-how-long-preserve-plastic-carton-bottles-a8118621.html

I found the best way to defrost milk is leave it overnight in a bowl of cold water.