Some dairy advice please

[blibblibs]

I've been lurking on lots of these threads and have slowly started to make sure the cupboard are a bit fuller but I need to turn my attention to dairy products and I've no real idea.
We get through about 20pints of milk a week, and although I can't stock that much I would like to have a few days worth. So can I just pop it straight into the freezer? How long can I leave it in there for?
I've been trying longer life milk like almond and oat and although I like it DC aren't keen. Moo is the best one we've tried so far but can I cook with it?
Also can I freeze butter, cheese, youghurt?
Can I make a roux (?) and freeze that?
Sorry, I know some of this will be very obvious but I've never felt the need to do any of this and I don't want to waste freezer space by doing it wrong.
And advice from seasoned peppers would be most appreciated.

Frozen milk defrosts weirdly. You can get UHT cows milk. I would also reccomend bonsoy and oatly, both pretty inoffensive. Cheese can surely be stored in the wax in a cool dry place?

Actually never thought of frozen roux. That's an interesting suggestion, say in an ice cube tray.
Most dairy can be frozen (I think) but as has already been said, patchy results defrosting. Nut milk (even uht versions) are what I do. I had to use some Oatly Barista recently - pack of 6 from Amazon- and it was yum.
Also find out how to make your own nut milk as an idea.
I have powdered egg which I remember from childhood. I haven't tried it yet but I would use it.
Cheese? Italian hard cheese. Also yeast flakes are supposed to be what vegans use to add a cheesy flavour as well as get b12. Vegan ideas are handy, I think.

Another dairy I have just remembered is ghee. Again you can make your own or be lazy like me and buy some. It is shelf stable.

Have you tried powdered milk? Nido full fat or Marvel skimmed.

Butter and hard cheese (cheddar etc) can be grocery)

For yoghurt, have a look at easiyo - it's basically a shelf stable powder which you mix with water, keep warm overnight and get yoghurt.

I wouldn't bother freezing Roux as you essentially end up freezing a shelf stable product (flour) which takes up precious freezer space. I'd freeze the butter and have flour and powdered milk on the shelf.

Evaporated milk tin (unsweetened)
Condensed milk tin (sweetened)
UHT ss cows milk... about 55p/litre in Aldi

You can freeze milk, but I think FF goes funny after defrosting... get SS. Also decant to the 75% mark as when water based liquid freezes it expands and splits the bottle/cap.

You can deffo freeze butter. Hard cheese like cheddar is fine, but may go a bit crumbly. A ball of mozzarella in water is great to freeze, just chuck the bag in as it is... great to go on pizza.

Don't think you can freeze yoghurt (unless you're making frozen yoghurt dessert)... I would definitely get UHT for this. Also, if you use UHT milk, you don't have to heat it to 84C first like fresh, just mix in a spoonful of starter from the last batch into the yoghurt maker or vessel and keep warm.

Do you mean roux or béchamel sauce? I don't think there's any point freezing little pucks of roux, but freezing HM white sauce is a useful idea if you have space.

I freeze milk all the time without any problem. I just literally sling it into the freezer. Never noticed any difference. I would however buy UHT and save the freezer space.

i found shelf stable cheese spread (primula) in home bargains last week for £1 a tub. Lasts until the autumn.

The water and fat separate but combine again when liquid. I always freeze milk.

Thank everyone, I think I'll give the freezing milk a go, it's the only drink one DC has so would be good to have some spare.
And yeah I meant bachemal sauce not really much point in freezing flour and butter
And lastly where would I find powdered eggs and milk in the supermarket? And I presume that there fine for baking with? Especially pancakes and Yorkshire puddings as they are a weekly occurrence here.

I'd buy the packets of bechemal sauce. There are various types that can be made using water.

powdered milk is available in all supermarkets. powdered eggs are not easy to come by. You can buy it on amazon but its expensive. Eggs freeze though. Crack them, mix the yolk and the white and freeze. Perfectly fine to use in baking.

I freeze all types of cheese, cheddar, stilton, mozzarella, goats cheese, camembert, feta, parmesan (although that lasts for ages anyway) All perfectly fine.

cloudtree can I ask how best to freeze the eggs, as in do you freeze them one at a time & then put multiples in a bag - like cubes of spinach?

My Aunt has ex-batt hens & they lay less in winter & loads in summer so it would be a bonus to freeze some & have the same amount year round.

I have hens and so we have loads of eggs. I freeze them in twos in a small tub and then pop them out once frozen and put into a bag. yes just like cubes of spinach.

I then use them in baking during the winter months.

Re powdered milk you can choose from
Nido - full fat - amazon and Asda
Marvel - Skimmed - cheapest at B&M
Supermarket own brand skimmed, certainly Tesco do it not sure about others
Lactose Free - on amazon

It's usually either found in the world foods or with the UHT milk

I freeze semi skimmed milk in 4 pint bottles.
The bottle swells slightly when it freezes so depending on the brand there is a chance the bottle can split.
To defrost, leave it out on the side overnight so at least 12 hours I sit mine in a pasta bowl so if it has split the milk just leaks into the bowl -rarely happens.
Give the bottle a good shake before opening it & if it's still too full of ice crystals leave it a while longer ( depends on house temperature)
I found it just takes too long with 6 pint bottles which is why I freeze in 4 pints.

I freeze eggs, just break them into small boxes & once frozen drop the 1 block = 1 egg into a larger storage container.

I also regularly freeze cheddar & butter - butter seems the same coming out, cheddar tends to be more crumbly after defrosting but still good.

You probably can freeze yoghurt, as I make yoghurt lollies in the summer, but I don't know what they'd be like if you defrosted them & tried to use like normal yoghurt.
Stuff like easiyo (packet only requires you to add water) or making your own from scratch is a better solution.

Thanks for the egg freezing advice

Non dairy spreads freeze as well.

You can freeze a sauce of milk flour oil. We eat it with veg and cooked pasta. I freeze it with the cooked veg. It fills the spaces in between the veg.

I used to freeze milky porridge when a student with a glut of milk. That would waste a lot of space though.

You can get vegan egg replacer for baking as an alternative.

I think chick pea water (e.g water left over from tinned chick peas) has an extra use as vegan alternative to egg white .