22 Uses for Sour Milk Clabber

A few months ago, we made the decision to switch to drinking raw milk. There are so many raw milk benefits that it was really a no-brainer for our family. One of the benefits of raw milk is that even when it is past it’s expiration date, it’s still usable. The solid, creamy substance raw milk turns into is called clabber and there are so many uses for sour milk clabber that it might surprise you!

We waste so much food but finding new uses when we can helps teach us how to reduce food waste. 

Wasted food not only means less waste overall, but also less wasted money. Finding ways to use spoiled milk is just one step in learning to reduce that waste.

Uses for Sour Milk Clabber

I do want to clarify something: you can not get clabber from pasteurized milk. The milk you get in stores has been cooked. This kills the beneficial bacteria so when pasteurized or store bought milk goes bad; toss it.

It is no longer safe to use.

Ways to Use Sour Milk Clabber

But raw milk – raw milk, even when it spoils isn’t really spoiled if you know the different ways to use spoiled milk.

Instead of the putrid mess that store bought milk becomes, raw milk becomes a creamy, sour edible product that is full of beneficial bacteria and can make your food taste amazing as these ways to use sour raw milk will show you.

What is Clabber?

Clabber is a by product of soured raw milk and is technically a fermented food. You can make it by leaving your raw milk on the counter to sour.

Yes, you could make it in the fridge as well, but it will take longer. My own raw milk takes over 3 weeks to naturally sour in the fridge.

As the raw milk sours, it will begin to separate into two things – clabber and whey. Both have their uses.

You will know you have reached clabber stage when your sour milk is more of a solid than a creamy liquid.

Ways to Use Clabber

Use it in your garden

Because it has so many beneficial bacteria in it, clabber is great for your garden and trees. Pour it directly on the ground and just allow it to do it’s thing.

Make cottage cheese

One of my favorite ways to use sour milk is to make raw cottage cheese. It saves me money from buying cottage cheese and I don’t have any waste.

Make ricotta cheese

While you can make an easy ricotta cheese recipe, you can use sour milk to make real homemade ricotta cheese.

Make pancakes with sour milk

Have you ever seen Clabber Girl baking powder? It is named as it is because before baking powder was widely available, clabber or sour milk was used to provide levening in recipes.

They quite literally named it for the product it was replacing.

In this case, use clabber to help make your pancakes fluffy. Replace buttermilk or milk with the sour milk.

Use it in biscuits

Like pancakes, use sour milk in your favorite biscuit recipe to help them be light and fluffy. Simply replace the liquid called for in your recipe with clabber.

Give it to your pets as a treat

Because clabber is full of beneficial bacteria, it makes a great treat for your pets. They’ll love the taste of it too!

Make yogurt with clabber

You don’t need an InstantPot or a yogurt maker to make homemade yogurt. Clabber and a slow cooker are the basic tools provided you have a good yogurt recipe.

Make homemade sour cream

Since raw milk is full of real heavy cream, the cream that sours and settles on top of the milk is literal homemade sour cream. Skim it off the way you would to make homemade heavy whipping cream, whip it up and use it like store bought.

Make homemade mozzarella cheese

If you have a good mozzarella cheese recipe, your sour raw milk can be used to make that. It won’t taste any difference between cheese made with fresh milk and cheese made with soured milk.

Make muffins

Because clabber has a leavening effect, make your favorite banana nut muffins recipe with it!

If you’re making a quick bread recipe such as my chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe, it works great too!

Make scrambled eggs

Do you use a bit of milk in your scrambled eggs? Sour milk will substitute just fine.

Use it to cook fried chicken

If you frequently use buttermilk in your fried chicken, you can make a buttermilk substitute with sour milk clabber quite easily. Just soak your chicken as you normally would.

Use it in place of evaporated milk

Slightly soured milk can still be used in place of evaporated milk for things such as mashed potatoes. You should not even be able to taste the sour taste.

Remove the lake taste from fresh fish

Steve and I often fish for food but if fish taste too “lakey,” I can’t eat it. A salt brine fixes this, but clabber can too. Simply soak the fish for at least 2 hours and rinse.

Shine silver with sour milk

Believe it or not, you can clean silver with sour milk. To do so, soak the silver for at least 45 minutes, rinse and polish well.

Treat mild sunburn

If you got a little too much sun, sour milk can help. Soak cloth rags with it then lightly wash onto the light sunburn. Allow it to dry fully.

Make a cake

Replace the liquid in your cake recipe with sour milk and you’ll have an amazingly moist and tasty cake!

Take a bath with sour milk

Cleopatra was known for taking milk baths because of the benefits to her skin. You can do the same. Use milk that has only slightly soured in the bath for soft skin.

Make Clabber Cheese

I have never tried this, but once your milk has reached clabber stage, you can use it to make clabber cheese.

Soak grains in it before cooking

Do you often make fresh grains? If so, soak your grains in your sour milk to help soften them before cooking. They will soak up the milk and all the yummy nutrition in it.

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Make Homemade Pudding

Grab your favorite homemade pudding recipe and use your sour milk to make homemade pudding.

Make whey

Once raw milk has soured to the point of clabber, it will separate from the other liquids. The liquid left over is known as whey.

Whey is a force to be reckoned with in it’s own right. There are a ton of uses for whey so be sure you save it too!

Have you ever used sour milk or clabber? What did you use it for?