How do you know when almond milk goes bad?

Kimblesnbits
Kimblesnbits Posts: 321 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
So don't laugh at me or anything but im bad at these things...i have the vanilla sweetened almond milk and it says on the box "use within 7-10 days of opening but there is an expiration date on it that says mid july! Soooo.....to be on the safe side i just wanna know....does it get sour like regular milk? How long do you drink yours for?
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Replies

  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    has it already been 10 days since you opened it? Since they come in such small cartons I end up drinking it all within that time anyhow. I've never had any go bad on me.

    I imagine it would smell a little weird. You could pour a tiny bit in a cup and sip it and if it tastes weird toss it.
  • WhisperALullaby
    WhisperALullaby Posts: 67 Member
    I am often in the same boat. Won't lie, it's fine past the 10 days.

    If it starts tasting funny, looks funny, or smells bad, toss it out! That's my general rule with food.
  • GaveUp
    GaveUp Posts: 308
    I wouldn't go by the July date.... 7-10 days sounds right.
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
    My rule is if it doesn't move, I'll eat it.

    Ok that's a lie. If I can catch it, I'll eat it.

    ;)
  • CodyD18
    CodyD18 Posts: 161 Member
    It stays good longer when it is unopened. That's why it says July. Once you open it then it is open to the air and stuff and it goes bad a lot faster.
  • nickiog
    nickiog Posts: 187 Member
    ive kept almond milk for 2-3 weeks with no problem...i think its more a freshness thing then a spoilage thing..just like regular milk can still be drank a week or so after the " expiration " date.
  • katschi
    katschi Posts: 689 Member
    When it starts talking back to you. :happy:
  • jeremygoodell
    jeremygoodell Posts: 2 Member
    I just had a bowl of cereal with some bad almond milk in it. After eating it, I googled and found this thread. I thought I would add my findings.

    First off, I hate to waste anything so I ate it all anyway. I wouldn't have eaten sour cow's milk, that would be gross, but sour almond milk didn't strike me as anything that would cause me bodily harm. Too early to report on side effects. If I live to tell about it, I'll check back in later.

    But I did want to say how I knew it was bad. First, there was an odor, I can't quite explain it, somewhere between nail polish remover and bleach, a definite chemical tang to it. Then the taste, I would say it had a taste similar to the smell. Almost like someone had dumped a half ounce of Listerine in my cereal. And finally the texture, I found several lumpy white solids toward the bottom of the bowl, but I stirred liberally with my spoon and hardly noticed.

    As I said, I ate every last bite, and it's left a horrible aftertaste in my mouth. A full cup of coffee hasn't yet erased it.
  • jeremygoodell
    jeremygoodell Posts: 2 Member
    As someone has kindly pointed out to me, I never did report back on my findings. I'm sure some of you were concerned about my health.

    Well, I'm happy to report that the old almond milk had absolutely no short term effects on me. I didn't die. I didn't even have a stomach ache.

    As for long term effects, we'll just have to wait and see.
  • hsellers
    hsellers Posts: 1
    Haha!!:laugh:
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    Hahaha - jeremy, thanks for the update!

    According to my research the date on the carton is the "good by" date if the carton remains unopened. Once opened, it's supposed to be good for 7 - 10 days (but usually lasts longer). I keep a marker in my kitchen and write the date on the carton that I open it. Easier to keep track that way.
  • numinousnymph
    numinousnymph Posts: 249 Member
    It will smell really nasty -- pretty much like spoiled regular milk. Probably taste disgusting too -- but I didn't try it once I smelled it! Happened to me once when I opened a carton that I had opened about 2 weeks earlier.
  • jjungjr45
    jjungjr45 Posts: 1 Member
    This is not the final word, but I pulled out the 1/2 gallon container (the container was already opened), looked at the 'date' which was 5/02/17. Hmmm, is this good or not. Smelled ok, and a quick taste was ok. Poured me a glass for dinner and smelled it again (cannot be too careful), tasted it again and it still tasted ok. Looked fine with no clumps floating around . . . so I had almond milk for dinner. That was last night and no Ill affects today. My take is regardless of what they say . . . it is good 2 months after the printed date on the container.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    A great question, I'm glad this thread was started,I often buy several different kinds of almond milk, chocolate, vanilla and regular and totally forget when I opened them,I've never noticed them go bad though,now I know what to look/smell for
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,744 Member
    I drink 2 oz at a time every day of the shelf stable cartons and it's still fine by the time the carton's empty.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited July 2017
    glassyo wrote: »
    I drink 2 oz at a time every day of the shelf stable cartons and it's still fine by the time the carton's empty.

    Same here. I have never thrown a carton out after 7-10 days after opening.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    jjungjr45 wrote: »
    This is not the final word, but I pulled out the 1/2 gallon container (the container was already opened), looked at the 'date' which was 5/02/17. Hmmm, is this good or not. Smelled ok, and a quick taste was ok. Poured me a glass for dinner and smelled it again (cannot be too careful), tasted it again and it still tasted ok. Looked fine with no clumps floating around . . . so I had almond milk for dinner. That was last night and no Ill affects today. My take is regardless of what they say . . . it is good 2 months after the printed date on the container.

    For the person who tagged the quoted post as 'woo'...

    I've also had a half gallon container of cashew milk that smelled, looked, and tasted no different two months after I opened it. Might as well go ahead and call 'woo' on me to, but I drank it and nothing happened so I'll continue do so until I can see or smell a 'bad' product. Not wasting my money dumping perfectly good food down the drain.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,252 Member
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    jjungjr45 wrote: »
    This is not the final word, but I pulled out the 1/2 gallon container (the container was already opened), looked at the 'date' which was 5/02/17. Hmmm, is this good or not. Smelled ok, and a quick taste was ok. Poured me a glass for dinner and smelled it again (cannot be too careful), tasted it again and it still tasted ok. Looked fine with no clumps floating around . . . so I had almond milk for dinner. That was last night and no Ill affects today. My take is regardless of what they say . . . it is good 2 months after the printed date on the container.

    For the person who tagged the quoted post as 'woo'...

    I've also had a half gallon container of cashew milk that smelled, looked, and tasted no different two months after I opened it. Might as well go ahead and call 'woo' on me to, but I drank it and nothing happened so I'll continue do so until I can see or smell a 'bad' product. Not wasting my money dumping perfectly good food down the drain.

    Ah, but did they mean "woo" as in "what a load of woo" or did they mean "Woo! Your milk was fine!"
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    jjungjr45 wrote: »
    This is not the final word, but I pulled out the 1/2 gallon container (the container was already opened), looked at the 'date' which was 5/02/17. Hmmm, is this good or not. Smelled ok, and a quick taste was ok. Poured me a glass for dinner and smelled it again (cannot be too careful), tasted it again and it still tasted ok. Looked fine with no clumps floating around . . . so I had almond milk for dinner. That was last night and no Ill affects today. My take is regardless of what they say . . . it is good 2 months after the printed date on the container.

    For the person who tagged the quoted post as 'woo'...

    I've also had a half gallon container of cashew milk that smelled, looked, and tasted no different two months after I opened it. Might as well go ahead and call 'woo' on me to, but I drank it and nothing happened so I'll continue do so until I can see or smell a 'bad' product. Not wasting my money dumping perfectly good food down the drain.

    Ah, but did they mean "woo" as in "what a load of woo" or did they mean "Woo! Your milk was fine!"

    This is an internet forum... I'd be willing to make bets. LOL. :wink:
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    This question contributed to my stopping the consumption of almond milk. One too many times drinking it after it was obviously bad. Generally speaking I would lean toward no more than 3 weeks past the day you open it.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    SafioraLinnea wrote: »
    This question contributed to my stopping the consumption of almond milk. One too many times drinking it after it was obviously bad. Generally speaking I would lean toward no more than 3 weeks past the day you open it.

    Okay I have to ask... If it was obviously bad. Why would you drink it? Seriously, you know it's bad, but choose to drink it anyway? I'm not understand that logic. Am I missing something?
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Once it says "almond milk" on it, it's bad.
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    edited July 2017
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    SafioraLinnea wrote: »
    This question contributed to my stopping the consumption of almond milk. One too many times drinking it after it was obviously bad. Generally speaking I would lean toward no more than 3 weeks past the day you open it.

    Okay I have to ask... If it was obviously bad. Why would you drink it? Seriously, you know it's bad, but choose to drink it anyway? I'm not understand that logic. Am I missing something?

    I only had a sip or poured it on cereal without checking first. It is very frustrating to waste an otherwise great bowl of cereal because my almond milk was bad. My post was worded poorly. My apologies.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    SafioraLinnea wrote: »
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    SafioraLinnea wrote: »
    This question contributed to my stopping the consumption of almond milk. One too many times drinking it after it was obviously bad. Generally speaking I would lean toward no more than 3 weeks past the day you open it.

    Okay I have to ask... If it was obviously bad. Why would you drink it? Seriously, you know it's bad, but choose to drink it anyway? I'm not understand that logic. Am I missing something?

    I only had a sip or poured it on cereal without checking first. It is very frustrating to waste an otherwise great bowl of cereal because my almond milk was bad. My post was worded poorly. My apologies.

    I like cereal, but I'm not brave enough to eat milk that I know is bad so I don't have to throw away a bowl of cereal that was probably worth mere cents. All you...

    And now I'm curious how asking someone why they'd eat bad milk is woo... *SMH*
  • LVNF04
    LVNF04 Posts: 2,607 Member
    If you bit the dust..its no good.
  • K810248
    K810248 Posts: 1 Member
    edited February 2018
    Drank some 14 day old (open date) Silk chocolate last night & puked within minutes. :s It did not look, taste or smell weird. Spoil dates for almondmilk search led me to this older thread. Had coffee a bit ago with Silk creamer that will be on 7 days tomorrow. Stomach upset again, but not as severe as last night. I've had Kroger brand almondmilk that was similar age & have been fine. Maybe it depends on brand? Idk but I'll never forget to write the date on the carton again!
  • madwells1
    madwells1 Posts: 510 Member
    I have kept the stuff (and consumed) probably too long (2-3 weeks) and found no issues. After that, I usually forget I have it and lumps form. That is a definite sign!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited February 2018
    Honestly, same way you tell anything else has gone bad. Smells off, tastes off. If you don't want to risk having to smell or taste something that is off then I'd throw it out by the recommended date (10 days after opening) and get another one. If you find yourself regularly throwing it out then perhaps by a smaller package size.

    Food going "bad" is just the bacteria in it growing enough to start converting the nutrients into biproducts you wouldn't want to injest. This is usually accompanied by a change in smell, taste or texture. Bacteria will grow in anything that has a mix of nutrients required for growth which means pretty much anything that has a mix of protein, fat and carb is going to be able to grown something and I'd imagine almond milk would qualify. Things that are pure one macro like pure sugar or pure protein powder typically don't go bad...if anything they end up decomposing over long periods of time.
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