If you don't drink cows' milk, what do you do for unexpected guests?

[lemonmeringuepi]

If I know that someone is going to be calling round for a cup of tea/coffee, then I buy cows' milk (even though it's wasteful to buy a pint just to put milk in one or two cups of tea).

The problem is what to do about people popping in unexpectedly. I tried freezing cows' milk in very small containers, so that I could thaw it in the microwave, but when it was thawed the fat stayed separate and looked off-putting. I guess that would not happen with skimmed milk, so I could freeze skimmed milk, but not everyone likes it.

Another option would be to get single-portion tubs of UHT milk, like some B&Bs have, but is UHT milk horrid?

Personally I drink oat milk, but people would not necessarily want that in their cup of tea/coffee.

What do you do, if you don't drink cows' milk?!

“We only have oat milk, would you prefer that or black tea/coffee?”

You need homogenised semi skimmed. It freezes fine - kind of half thaw it in a lidded container and give it a good shake.

Otherwise I’d just get the wee portions of uht and apologise 🤷🏼‍♀️

If they were unexpected and staying for 30 mins or so, nothing. If they were staying for a few hours, I would pop to the corner shop and buy a pint of milk and send it home with the guests when they left.

I’m afraid I offer them tea or coffee but say if they don’t fancy oat milk it will need to be black.

We do always have some cold drinks and herbal teas, so it’s not like their only options are black tea or coffee

I agree that homogenised semi-skimmed freezes very well and although most tea drinkers find skimmed milk a waste of time in tea, semi-skimmed is completely standard.

If I was the guest I would just drink it black or have a herbal tea. Same as I would expect someone to do at my house if they don’t drink cow’s milk because I wouldn’t want it going to waste.

your thread title makes no sense

If you know someone is coming over they are not unexpected. just ask them what they want you to buy or to bring stuff you don't stock with them.
I can't think of anything more practical.

we don't buy decaf coffee. if anyone asks for it I'm prepared to say "sorry, we don't have any"

Depends how fussy your visitors are and how frequently they visit.

IMO unsweetened/no-sugar almond milk has a very similar taste and texture to skimmed milk and certainly tastes more milk-like than UHT which is vile. You can buy it in a long-life carton that doesn’t need to be refrigerated until opened, so ideal to keep in the cupboard.

That said, I have some relatives who wouldn’t stomach anything other than full-fat dairy milk so I try to keep a small bottle of cravendale milk in for them. It lasts about 3 weeks unopened in the fridge.

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba

your thread title makes no sense

If you know someone is coming over they are not unexpected. just ask them what they want you to buy or to bring stuff you don't stock with them.
I can't think of anything more practical.

we don't buy decaf coffee. if anyone asks for it I'm prepared to say "sorry, we don't have any"

She means unexpected visitors. Perfectly clear.

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba

your thread title makes no sense

If you know someone is coming over they are not unexpected. just ask them what they want you to buy or to bring stuff you don't stock with them.
I can't think of anything more practical.

we don't buy decaf coffee. if anyone asks for it I'm prepared to say "sorry, we don't have any"

Read the OP! She clearly says that for expected guests she'll buy in cows milk but asks what to do for unexpected guests. Did you mean to be so rude?

pressed to soon

if they are truly unexpected then the answer is that you are not a supermarket or special items store and you don't have to stock up on stuff you don't use to cater for hypothetical, uninvited people.

it sounds a bit OTT to me

They have oat milk 🤷 if they don't want that then they have it black, or have a different drink. I'm not a cafe, and I don't expect other people to have oat milk in for me if I happen to pop by!

Fruit teas are a good idea, they keep for ever.

So I’d offer tea or coffee, and ask if they’re ok with oat milk and say it could be black or there’s fruit tea if they don’t want the oat milk.

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba the OP is asking what to do when she doesn’t know the guests are popping in- hence the title.

I usually just say, it’s with oat milk, is that ok? And 9 times out of 10 people actually quite enjoy it!

Do you get so many unexpected guests that this is a problem? Just say "sorry, if I'd known you were coming I'd have bought a pint of cows milk but as it is we've only got oat"

I have the same issue with biscuits but I'm not going to leave that kind of temptation in the cupboard just in case someone pops round. A person can cope just fine without milk and biscuits!

I just offer them what I've got or they can have it black, just like I would if I went to their house.

Don't buy the little portions of UHT milk - think of the plastic!

Your options are:
*offer oat milk only, or black
*buy milk and give it to the guest to take home
*get some powdered cows' milk in - it will last for years
*set an expectation with anyone who is likely to pop in, be it expected or unexpected, that they bring their own milk

I don't keep things on hand for people who aren't expected to be in my home. That's madness. If said people do enter my home, they are welcome to what I have or they can wait until they go back to their own home.

I only have oat or soy milk. I’d only get dairy in if we have family staying.

When you stay in hotels take the little uht milk pots home with you or if your in a cafe, I always take the unused ones home. I always keep a small supply of milk, teabags, sugar & coffee sachets as my husband always forgets to tell me when we run out (I very rarely use any of them so don’t think about checking).

What’s wrong with using powdered coffee whitener? I use it on holiday when I don’t have a fridge.

I'd be fine, I drink my tea without milk anyway! unhelpful

I'm happy with my tea black, it's preferable to any of the non-dairy or UHT alternatives.

I just offer oat milk or black tea/coffee. We have lots of herbal teas and cold drink options as well. I've experienced it in reverse as well that when I visit other people's houses they say "oh sorry we only have cows milk" and that's fine too. No one is going to die from having a glass of juice instead of a cup of tea on one occasion. If I'm going somewhere I think there's unlikely to be non dairy milk I take my own in a little pot. Everyone who visits me knows I'm vegan so would know in advance to either bring their own or expect plant milk.