Here is the factor, although: Regardless that it’s not a dairy product, know that oat milk can nonetheless go dangerous pretty rapidly. So identical to you’ll with common ol’ cow’s milk, you wish to ensure your carton of oat milk is *not* spoiled earlier than you drown your treasured granola in it or pour it into your morning matcha latte. Here is how lengthy you have to be storing your oat milk earlier than it spoils, plus a meals scientist’s suggestions for protecting it contemporary for so long as attainable.
How lengthy does oat milk final?
In line with London-based meals scientist Natalie Alibrandi, CEO of Nali Consulting, as soon as the container has been opened, store-bought oat milk sometimes stays good for about seven to 10 days within the fridge.
There are elements that may cut back the shelf lifetime of oat milk, nonetheless—like leaving the opened container at room temperature for quite a lot of minutes at a time, for instance, particularly on a heat summer time day. “As quickly as you might be performed utilizing the milk, put the cap again on and return it to the fridge,” Alibrandi says. “And no matter you do, don’t depart your oat milk out on the counter uncapped for a number of hours of time—or, ideally, any span in any respect—as you’ll rapidly cut back its perishability restrict.”
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The primary concern with oat milk, Alibrandi explains, is mildew development that may make you ailing in the event you ingest it. Whereas some manufacturers of oat milk are produced in aseptic cartons and may final for so long as 12 months at room temperature when unopened, Alibrandi explains that you must at all times comply with the “finest by date” on the carton for finest outcome—and hold the carton within the fridge if the packaging advises doing so. When you open the carton, your seven to 10 days begins. “The precise milk is often utterly sterile earlier than it has been opened,” says Alibrandi. “Subsequently, the one publicity to different microbes is thru the air as soon as the product is opened.”
So, how are you going to inform that it’s time to chop your losses and toss that carton of oat milk sitting round within the fridge for greater than per week? Modifications within the texture of the oat milk—if it turns into thick and chunky, for instance—are indicators that it has gone dangerous and ought to be discarded, Alibrandi says, including that you just also needs to take note of the colour and scent of the milk.
“If the colour modifications drastically from when the carton was initially opened, I might advocate smelling the product to see if it smells bitter,” says Alibrandi. “In the event you can’t decide if the scent is bitter, then take a small pattern and sip it to see if the flavour has modified a lot from what it initially tasted like. If the flavour is bitter, or has a bitter aftertaste, you must discard the milk earlier than consuming any extra.”
The best way to make your alt milk last more
Oat milk ought to be saved at a temperature of 40°F, says Alibrandi. To increase the shelf lifetime of oat milk, she recommends storing the container on the decrease cabinets of the fridge fairly than on the door, which she notes is the warmest a part of any fridge. Alibrandi additionally says that completely different manufacturers and kinds of oat milk (“barista” oat milk, for instance, is has the next fats content material than common oat milk and is due to this fact thought-about higher for steaming and foaming) might every have barely completely different tips on the subject of correct storage and shelf life, and that it’s at all times finest to stick to the directions on the packaging.
“You shouldn’t see an enormous distinction in perishability between various kinds of oat milk, unique vs. barista for example,” says Alibrandi. “However nonetheless comply with the principles, as completely different merchandise could have completely different formulations which have an effect on shelf life.”
