alexist

I was making something to eat earlier and went to get the milk out of the fridge. There were 2 cartons (½ gallon), one half-empty (or half-full, choose your perspective) and the other unopened.

I opened the used one first and my nostrils were immediately assaulted. One look told me more than I wanted to know. It wasn't just sour, it had lumps. I poured it out and looked at the container. Its sell-by date was 23 May. I thought a minute and remembered that I hadn't bought milk this week because there was an unopened carton. Therefore, this milk was the stuff that had been half-used when I went last week. Before you ask "why do you buy such big cartons then?" the answer is that normally we do go through half a gallon (~1.89L, for those of you who can't be bothered to work out our strange American measures) a week. For some reason I haven't had any milk (except some of my secret childhood throwback indulgence, prepared Nesquik) for the past few days.

Anyway, this made me cautious. I looked at the date on the 2nd container: 31 May. (This is the sell-by date, not the use-by.) In theory it could be OK, but since I knew I bought it 10 days ago, I was suspicious. I opened, and had a sniff. It was nowhere near the horror level of the previous carton, but there was a definite sharpness. I'd say that it was probably OK yesterday, and will be definitely sour tomorrow. Down the drain it went.

Luckily I hadn't started the actual cooking yet, so I got to run out for a new carton.

(For those of you noticing my music: Yes, I've been on a Radiohead kick the past few days.)