Is It Safe to Drink Milk Left Out for 3 Hours?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Greg Bernhardt
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
Leaving 1% milk out for nearly three hours raised concerns about its safety for consumption. The general consensus is that if the milk still feels chilled, it might be okay to drink, but caution is advised. Many participants suggest using sensory checks—smelling and tasting the milk—to determine if it has soured. The "Danger Zone" for food safety, defined as temperatures between 41-140°F, is critical, with four hours being a common cutoff for spoilage. Some shared personal anecdotes about consuming milk that had been left out longer, emphasizing that pasteurized milk typically has a lower risk of harmful bacteria. However, if there is any doubt about the milk's freshness or if it is close to its expiration date, it is safer to discard it. The discussion also included humorous exchanges and tangents, reflecting a light-hearted approach to the topic. Ultimately, the recommendation leans towards caution, suggesting that if in doubt, it's better to toss the milk than risk foodborne illness.
  • #51
Moonbear said:
Yeah, Hurkyl and me. I'm sure it'll be a great service, 10,000 men and 6 women signed up...yep, the odds sound about right to me. :approve:
Yeah, I know it was Hurkyl. I think he's cute too.

Hm, remind me not to drink and post at the same time.
 
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  • #52
I think TSA and Greg are cute too.

Yeah, someone had better shut me up soon.
 
  • #53
honestrosewater said:
I think TSA and Greg are cute too.
Yeah, someone had better shut me up soon.

oh I'll shut you up... now go to my room! :biggrin:

(sorry, my protein shake gets me a little loopy)
 
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  • #54
Just stopping by... interesting discussion.

What do you mean by "protein shake," are you shaking protein??
 
  • #55
Mk said:
What do you mean by "protein shake," are you shaking protein??

To prepare for the upcoming spring soccer league I'm starting my training early. I bought 20 pounds of a powdered protein substance that I mix into milk and it gives me an easy 30g of protein. I drink 2 a day. As a side effect it also gives me a very hairy complection as you can see from my recent mug shot on the left.
 
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  • #56
20 pounds of a powdered protein substance that I mix into milk and it gives me an easy 30g of protein. I drink 2 a day.
Wow, twenty pounds, I'm surprised anybody can carry that. And I bet there is more milk than protein, so... that's an at least 40 pound drink. You must have a big stomach. And two a day! High metabolism to accompany.
 
  • #57
Greg Bernhardt said:
To prepare for the upcoming spring soccer league I'm starting my training early. I bought 20 pounds of a powdered protein substance that I mix into milk and it gives me an easy 30g of protein. I drink 2 a day. As a side effect it also gives me a very hairy complection as you can see from my recent mug shot on the left.
So does that 20 calories/cup difference between 1% and 2% disappoint you too? I mean, shouldn't it be more? That's not much, 20 calories...

Hm, or am I still just strange?
 
  • #58
Greg Bernhardt said:
oh I'll shut you up... now go to my room! :biggrin:
(sorry, my protein shake gets me a little loopy)
Um, I'm not ignoring this, BTW. I just can't reply, wink wink.
 
  • #59
Has anyone ever noticed that slightly off milk smells and tastes slightly of strawberry I always thought that was odd? Good bench test make a cup of tea/coffee, put some milk in if it curdles bin it, if it doesn't drink it. Works for me. Barring a thunderstorm or a witch walking past or Cane or Satan, leaving large quantities of chilled stuff out for a few hours will do no real harm, that's just thermodynamics for you:wink: :-p
 
  • #60
Oh c'mon, I was hoping somebody that wasn't in gold or blue or green would post.

I think old milk does not taste good. One time I took I big drink, and whew was that bad!
 
  • #61
I really wish some magician would make this thread disappear. :redface:

So, Mk, you think bad milk tastes bad, huh? That's quite a revelation.
 
  • #62
I'm a bit amazed at the number of pages a thread on milk has gotten.
 
  • #63
Yeah, imagine if it was chocolate milk[/color]. :bugeye:
 
  • #64
Whoa. Just imagine.
 
  • #65
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
 
  • #66
honestrosewater said:
Yeah, imagine if it was chocolate milk[/color]. :bugeye:

Can someone start a thread on chocolate milk? There are serious implications at issue, the whole chocolate and milk dichotomy and the implications to diet and the underlying psychosexual implications. This needs to be Raised!:-p :wink:

Ok threads up, just don't say I've never contributed anything to serious debate on these forums.
 
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  • #67
Greg Bernhardt said:
I left 1/2 gallon of 1% milk out for nearly three hours. Still felt chilled. Think I should drink it? I really don't want to go out to the store tonight!
Don't do it!
 
  • #68
dav2008 said:
Don't do it!
Whoa, just in the nick of time.
 
  • #69
honestrosewater said:
Whoa, just in the nick of time.
:smile: Yeah, if it's still sitting out, I'd say don't even touch it let alone drink it!
 
  • #70
Personally I wouldn't drink it. I'm really finicky about my milk. I can taste the difference after a few minutes. It may just be in my head, but if it doesn't taste just right, I won't drink it at all.
 
  • #71
Yeah of course it is in your head. But me too. :biggrin:
 
  • #72
franznietzsche said:
Personally I wouldn't drink it. I'm really finicky about my milk. I can taste the difference after a few minutes. It may just be in my head, but if it doesn't taste just right, I won't drink it at all.

I'm like that too. I like my milk ice-cold from the fridge. If it sits out just a few minutes and starts to get warm, it doesn't taste the same to me and I don't like it. But, the funny thing is, if I heat it on the stove, then I like warm milk. So, I'm not sure what it is about the more tepid milk that I don't like. But it's still okay in coffee.
 
  • #73
Moonbear said:
I'm like that too. I like my milk ice-cold from the fridge. If it sits out just a few minutes and starts to get warm, it doesn't taste the same to me and I don't like it. But, the funny thing is, if I heat it on the stove, then I like warm milk. So, I'm not sure what it is about the more tepid milk that I don't like. But it's still okay in coffee.

Exactly. Once it warms up at all it tastes different.
 
  • #74
The right time to drink milk is after it's been kept out just long enough that the CO2 produced by the bacteria causes the jug to inflate like a balloon. :biggrin:
 
  • #75
Perhaps colder means less evaporation so you don't 'taste' (smell) it as much. If that were true, then I imagine you guys wouldn't swish the milk around in your mouth. True or false?

Of course, even if you don't swish it, I'm not sure how to explain your liking warm/hot milk. Maybe it's just some inbetween taste that you don't like. Hm.

It might also be disgust, which is presumably (over)protecting you from spoiled milk. http://www.people.virginia.edu/~jdh6n/disgustscale.html links to some interesting articles on disgust, which propose that disgust began as revulsion at the prospect of oral incorporation of an offensive object. I like this explanation better. Do you guys feel disgust?
 
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  • #76
Greg Bernhardt said:
I left 1/2 gallon of 1% milk out for nearly three hours. Still felt chilled. Think I should drink it? I really don't want to go out to the store tonight!
Geez, it's been sitting out for over two months now! Just drink it and get it over with!

Uh, :rolleyes: , you might need to drink it with a fork.
 
  • #77
mmmmm.. save me a slice of milk!
 

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