If you are wondering how to tell if oat milk is bad? One way to determine if your oat milk is bad is its odor. If it has a musty or rotten smell, it may have gone not good. If it has visible mold or small cracks, it’s likely gone bad. In addition, the milk should have a neutral flavor and be light beige.
If it has any of these characteristics, it’s probably spoiled. Second, you should look for the expiration date of the oat milk, and it should have at least one month left before it goes bad. It should still be okay to consume if it’s not spoiled. If it has gone bad, it has mold and bacteria growth and is unsafe to drink. However, after three days, oat milk mixed with coffee can also go bad.
Another way to determine if your oat milk has gone bad is its texture. The texture should be creamy and not lumpy or slimy. The Colour should also be white or cream. You can check this by pouring a small amount into a bowl or sink and looking for any lumps or uneven texture.
You can also check the oat milk for mold if it has a yellow tint or is discolored. Mold-ridden oat milk has mold spores. Decay can occur because the container was opened or the product had a small defect. The milk is usually creamy white or light brown. If you notice spots or solid yellow milk, throw it out. It’s best to use fresh oat milk whenever possible; there’s no reason to risk eating spoiled milk.
How to Tell if Oat Milk is Bad?
Dates on oat milk containers are suggestions, but your eyes, nose, and taste buds will tell you if the milk is still good to use. After the carton of oat milk has been opened, its nutritional value slowly decreases. Oat milk doesn’t go bad all at once.
Instead, it changes in Colour, smell, taste, and texture over time. After a certain amount of time, the texture, Colour, taste, and smell of oat milk will change. Unfortunately, oat milk can go bad after its expiration date if you don’t store it right.
Texture
- Fresh oat milk should be smooth and silky, but it goes bad if it gets thicker or lumpy. If the milk looks lumpy or has an uneven texture, it’s probably spoiled. Sip a little bit of oat milk into the sink.
Color
- The Colour of oat milk is creamy white. If the oat milk changes Colour and turns yellow or light brown, something goes wrong.
- Your milk is no longer good for us if it has a yellow tint, which does not apply to flavored or infused oat milk that is naturally colored.
- It hasn’t gone well if mold spots are on the oat milk.
Smell
- Every kind of plant milk smells different from animal milk, but you’ll know how it smells once you make or buy oat milk.
- If the smell changes and becomes sour, you should throw away the oat milk.
- First, oat milk that has gone bad will smell bad and rotten.
- When it tastes sour, it’s a dead giveaway that it’s bad, so you should throw it away.
- Aside from the smell, it will be thick and maybe even slimy. Don’t waste your money on spoiled oat milk.
Taste
- Surprisingly, oat milk tastes a lot like cow’s milk, but it’s slightly lighter and a lot sweeter than any other plant milk.
- If oat milk tastes change and it gets stale or sour, it hasn’t gone well.
- If you leave opened oat milk in the fridge for more than seven days, it’s probably gone bad, but before you throw it away, give it a taste or smell to be sure.
You should check whether the basic ingredients of the oat milk are separate. While this does not happen with raw oats, your oat milk may have been frozen. If this is the case, it’s time to throw out the old oat milk and buy fresh oats. But be careful! You might be surprised at how quickly a spoiled bottle of oat milk spoils.
What can I do with Expired Oat Milk?
If you have expired oat milk that is not spoiled, you shouldn’t be rushing to throw it out, as there are numerous ways to use it.
- Use it as part of your body care routine- Expired oat milk is great for your skin and can easily be added to your body care routine- It makes your skin look lighter, smoother, and younger. You can use oat milk to make soaps or bath bombs or put it in your bath.
- Put oat milk on the stove and heat it until it thickens. This can be used as a face mask or a natural way to treat acne- Leave the show for 15 minutes, then wash it off.
- Make glue safe for kids- If your kids like to play paper mache, you can cook oat milk until it gets thick and use it for fun games.
- Use it to eliminate smells on your clothes and furniture- Oat milk works well to eliminate odors like a pet or baby puke.
Can you Get Sick from Expired Oat Milk?
Yes, you can get sick if you drink sour oat milk. As we said above, unopened shelf-stable oat milk can be used for months after its expiration date as long as it is stored properly and the carton is not damaged or swollen. When oat milk is opened, bacteria and other pathogens can contact the air.
Once oat milk is opened, it loses some of its nutritional value, so it’s best to drink it while still fresh. However, as long as it hasn’t gone bad, you can drink or use it without worry. If the oat milk has gone bad and is sour, you could get food poisoning quickly with symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, fever, tiredness, etc. You can drink oat milk that has gone bad, but you should throw it away if it has moldy spots or smells strange.
Can you Freeze Homemade Oat Milk?
Yes, both store-bought and homemade oat milk can be frozen. You can also freeze homemade oat milk if you made a lot of it and want to keep it around. Pour it into a container that won’t let air in but leave about an inch of space at the top because oat milk expands when it freezes. The main ingredient is water, and since water expands when it freezes, the package blows up.
Frozen oat milk will be good to use for up to three months. When homemade oat milk thaws, you can expect it to be a bit grainy, so it’s not good to use it in coffee, tea, or other dishes where you can see the texture. Check the “best before” date to see if your oat milk can last on the shelf.
Most shelf-stable oat milk comes in cardboard containers and isn’t in cold mode. This kind of oat milk is usually still good for three months after the “best before” date, but there’s no guarantee of its quality after that. If you’re unsure, put the item in the fridge and smell it to see if it has a bad smell.
How Long does Oat Milk Last?
There are two kinds of oat milk and an extra shelf-life.
The first kind is oat milk which can stay on the shelf for a few months after its expiration date, but only if it hasn’t been opened. Once it has been opened, shelf-stable oat milk is best for up to 7 days. The best time to buy shelf-stable oat milk is nine months and a year after it was made.
The other kind of oat milk is oat milk that has been put in the fridge.
Even if it hasn’t been opened, refrigerated oat milk only stays good for a few days after its expiration date. It remains at its best for a few weeks after it was made, but things don’t go well. After opening, refrigerated oat milk can still be used for up to 7 days if kept in the fridge.
Store oat milk properly – sealed and refrigerated – this way, it will last for up to 5 days.
Conclusion
When your oat milk is bad, it will start to separate from the other liquids in the carton and get lumpy. It might also get slimy and watery, and its Colour might change slightly. If any of those things occur, it’s time to dump the milk.
Do not drink oat milk that has changed color, odor, or flavor. Try a sip even if you don’t notice these indicators on the container. But this is just a rule of thumb, and it can’t be used to decide whether the water is safe to drink.
Most grocery stores sell shelf-stable oat milk, while non-shelf-stable oat milk is usually found in the frozen foods or dairy section. When you buy oat milk, you can look at the packaging to see if it will last on the shelf. If it doesn’t, you should put it in the fridge. You can also throw away the milk if it can be kept on the shelf.
