The Student Room Group

How long can milk stay out of the fridge for?

Ok I had a late tea last night (11pmish) and left my milk out on the side, forgot about it and went to bed.

I realised this morning and put it back in the fridge (about 9am), will it be ok to drink/use?

It was sorta near a radioator, but sorta not =/
Reply 1
sniff it.
Reply 2
probably not. taste it
Reply 3
Does it look OK? Smell OK? Taste OK? (Remember, do the taste test LAST).

If you're worried, don't drink it. Milk ain't expensive y'know :P
Reply 4
Just no. Seriously!
Reply 5
Remember that people didn't have fridges until recently and, as such, used to keep milk in a larder cupboard - where admittedly it'd be reasonably cold - for a couple of days.

Chances are it'll be fine.
Reply 6
Ice_Queen
Does it look OK? Smell OK? Taste OK? (Remember, do the taste test LAST).

If you're worried, don't drink it. Milk ain't expensive y'know :P


I will do that after I've returned from Uni. lol!

Thanks :smile:
Reply 7
Yeah, depending on how close to expiry it was you can usually leave milk out of the fridge for a day or two. In fact I recall seeing a table somewhere which showed you how long you can leave milk uncooled in certain circumstances. Think it was on a milk carton, actually.
Reply 8
If it smells, looks and tastes ok, chances are its ok, though it might not last till the expiry on the bottle - just check it before using it.
Reply 9
Generally the rule is nothing should be out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. Although alot of people dont follow this (eg sandwiches for lunch etc)

But as people say look at it (has it gone lumpy or changed texture) sniff it and then taste a bit. If it were me id just not drink it and get some more later.
Reply 10
sheepgirl
Generally the rule is nothing should be out of the fridge for more than 2 hours.


Guess I ought to climb back in, then :frown:
Reply 11
Turn the bottle upsidedown, if any sticks to the bottom or the texture is weird it's off.
Reply 12
sniff it/taste a teeny weeny bit
Wow people are paranoid. It'll be fine!
Reply 14
Totally. I had a mate get paranoid because the roast I had cooked stayed in the (cold) over overnight. FFS.
Reply 15
UPDATE: The milk was fine. lol!
I drink milk that I've left 18 hours out the fridge all the time, I think after about 24 hours you should think about throwing it away, this is either right or I'm just hard core Stomached😈😈😈😈😇😇😇😴😴😴😴
If you had a gallon of milk unopened but out for 2 hours and it's at 80 degrees, sorry milk isn't expensive enough for me to take a chance plus the quality has probably degraded significantly. Opened dairy products in a home setting I wouldn't leave out longer than 2 hours.

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