On picking the right milk carton
When I’m grocery shopping I always reach for the milk with the more distant expiration date. Does this really matter?
It never hurts to reach into the nether regions of the supermarket fridge in order to grasp the freshest milk. I always do, because it makes me feel clever. But whether it "matters" depends. If you're a nice happy cow who goes through a lot of milk, it doesn’t matter. If you sometimes end up with expired milk in your fridge, it matters.
But there’s a more important quality indicator than date. (Insider tip alert!) Next time you hit the market, look closely to see if any of the milk cartons are puffy. The "walls" of a carton should be straight-sided. They should not be even a tiny bit inflated. A puffy carton is a sign of microbiological growth inside the container, probably resulting from temperature abuse. (More on that here). That's no bueno.
Maybe the display fridge isn’t quite cold enough and the outer most carton gets a little warmer than the others. Maybe the entire crate of milk cartons was left on a loading dock for too long while the dude responsible for transporting it watched ASMR unboxing videos on YouTube. Whatever the case, warm temperatures will allow “spoilage organisms” (yeast, mold, and some bacteria) to grow in milk. And since these organisms breathe–horrifying, I know–their exhalations remain trapped in the sealed carton. Hence the puff.
The moment you realize the milk still tastes good
Is this milk unsafe to drink? Probably not. Spoilage organisms impart bad flavors and vommy smells on food but they alone won't make you sick. They just degrade the quality of the food to a point where it becomes unappetizing.
So, pop quiz: You’re wavering between the last two cartons of milk at the supermarket. Option A is expiring tomorrow but looks normal. Option B is bloated but has a week left. Which do you pick?
Pencils down. The correct answer is Option A. An expiration date is just a prediction about when the milk will begin to lose peak quality. A bloated carton, on the other hand, means that spoilage is already underway.
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