When you buy milk at the grocery store (poll)

[y4m]

When you buy milk, do you buy whichever carton is in front, or do you dig for the latest expiration date?

For some reason everytime I buy milk I think about this, and I wonder what MM would say.

[Deleted]

I grab the one with the latest expiration date out of the ones I can see. I don't dig.

[Deleted]

I will look at about 3 containers and take the one with the latest expiration date.
I dont dig thru all but I will not just take the first one there.

[y4m]

May 1, 2013 11:58:57 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

I grab the one with the latest expiration date out of the ones I can see. I don't dig.

But if that one is in the second row and behind one with an earlier expiration date, do you move the older milk to get it?  That's digging.

I dig by that definition, but then I wonder if people think I'm nuts.  And then I think "I bet everyone on MM does this too"

[Deleted]

May 1, 2013 12:00:54 GMT -5 y4m said:

May 1, 2013 11:58:57 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

I grab the one with the latest expiration date out of the ones I can see. I don't dig.

But if that one is in the second row and behind one with an earlier expiration date, do you move the older milk to get it?  That's digging.

I dig by that definition, but then I wonder if people think I'm nuts.

I'm not looking that hard. The only way I'm grabbing a jug from the second row is if it's immediately behind the one I initially grab.

[lya]

I note the expiration date on the ones in the front.  If its getting close, then I dig in the back.  If I'm confident in using the milk before the data, I'll use one in the front.  We usually buy Nature's Promise Organic milk that seems to have dates usually at least a month out.

[sporky]

I'll dig through the first couple, but we buy organic milk anyway and that shit lasts forever.

[womet]

We buy organic milk (H thinks it tastes better), and the expiration dates are farther away. I bought milk last night, and it doesn't expire until June 15th. Since it'll be gone by the end of the week, it doesn't really matter whether I grab the closest one or the one with the latest expiration date.

[jenny1223]

Yeah, I answered the first option but "dig" is probably too strong of a word! If the first one I grab has an acceptable date, I'll keep that one. Now that DS is drinking so much milk, we go through it faster and I'm not as concerned with expiration dates.

[Deleted]

I find the latest expiration date I can among the jugs in the front row. I am not one of the milkmaids from Clerks.

[winnied]

H and I go through milk quickly so expiration date has never been an issue.

[aspentosh]

I look back a couple rows to see expiration dates. It takes me two weeks to go through a quart. DD now goes through a gallon in 10 days, so I don't worry as much about hers.

[mrssandro]

I always dig. I have taught DH to do this as well.

[starlily]

I used to dig for the latest expiration date, but after DD started drinking milk we go through it quickly enough that the expiration date doesn't really matter.

[cjeanette]

By expiration date. Which makes no sense considering a gallon won't last 3 days in my house of dairy lovers. Plus the local milk we buy usually only has one date on the inventory since they can't keep it on the shelves.

[ECB]

May 1, 2013 12:01:38 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

May 1, 2013 12:00:54 GMT -5 y4m said:

But if that one is in the second row and behind one with an earlier expiration date, do you move the older milk to get it?  That's digging.

I dig by that definition, but then I wonder if people think I'm nuts.

I'm not looking that hard. The only way I'm grabbing a jug from the second row is if it's immediately behind the one I initially grab.

This.  I would never even think to look w/ any real intent at the jugs that aren't in the first row.  If I happen to catch that the one behind the one I grabbed has a later date, I'll grab it.  But that's it. 

[arch01]

I dig for DH since it takes him awhile to go through a gallon and don't dig for DS-he goes through 2 gallons a week.

[zacksbride]

i do the same for yogurt, cottage cheese, bread, bags/boxes of salad greens.  i dont take tons off the shelf or anything, but look a few back to find the last expiration date.   

[halfpint]

If the date in front is more than a week out, I settle for that. Otherwise, I'm looking behind to see if I can find a better one. I've purchased other brands to get a better expiration date.

[LaceyV]

I said dig, but it depends on where I am. The shoprite by me usually has milk good for 2 weeks out so I can just grab the first one. The walmart by me will sell milk that goes bad the next day so I'll dig until I find the oldest one.

[Deleted]

I almost always take the first one(s). I think it's a tiny bit selfish to dig for a later expiration date, since that means that either someone else will have to buy the milk that's expiring sooner or that it won't get sold at all and will just be thrown out. If you won't finish a whole gallon in the time before the expiration date (which is usually 5 days or more, it's very rare for me to see less than that), then get half a gallon. It's never a problem for us because we go through 2-3 gallons per week - I have trouble comprehending how some people can buy a half-gallon and it still goes bad before they finish it!

Anyway, this is the sort of thing that doesn't scale - if everyone gets the milk with the furthest out expiration date, then the older stuff just sits there until it goes bad. To be clear, I'm not judging anyone for looking for a good expiration date, I just think it's interesting how a lot of tricks like this really wouldn't work if everyone did them.

[y4m]

I also often wonder if people see a moral issue with it!

[simpsongal]

SS - We buy 3-4 gallons of organic at a time. That's usually all the store has stocked, and organic expiration dates are like 3 months+ out.

[Deleted]

I used to dig but we go thru so quickly it doesn't matter now. I do dig for latest expirations for bagged salad and bread.

[8675309]

I wouldn't call it digging. If its in the second row I grab the one with the later expiration. To add to this my husband is a total digger. To the point that it annoys the crap out of me. From cereal boxes to cans of flippen soup, dude will pull everything off the shelf to get the VERY back one. This is why I don't shop with him.

[raangoli]

I dig and I know MH usually does, too. I also do this for most perishables like yogurt or bagged salads etc.

[liveintheville]

No. I think they restock milk daily.

[sillygoosegirl]

I used to dig for the latest expiration date, but now that I make a latte at home every day, milk going bad just isn't a problem. I do check that the expiration date is at least 1 week in the future, but it's been ages since I've seen one that wasn't. (I wish all our milk wasn't ultra high temperature pasteurized these days--so much for home cheese making--but it is certainly convenient.)

[mollybrown]

I dig, and see absolutely no moral issue with it. I'm not obligated to buy older milk because it's in front. I honestly don't care if the store has to throw it out if it's too old. They should carry fresher milk if that's an issue. I usually just buy organic to ensure that I get the farthest out expiration date, since I go through nonfat very slowly. I buy a gallon because it's more cost effective, so I want it to be good for at least 3 weeks.

[midwest07]

May 1, 2013 12:25:23 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

SS - We buy 3-4 gallons of organic at a time. That's usually all the store has stocked, and organic expiration dates are like 3 months+ out.

This is crazy to me.  I saw someone else say 6 weeks on their milk.  We buy milk from a local farm (sold at grocery stores), and the milk comes in glass bottles.  It is not organic, but I think they try to limit antibiotics, etc.  The furthest out I have ever seen a date is 12-14 days.  And it usually does go bad within a few days past the expiration date (my H won't even smell it if it's past the date, he just throws it out).

One time I did buy a paper carton of milk at Target and couldn't believe the date was almost 4 weeks out.  I think it may have been organic but I don't recall (Horizon Farms maybe?).

I would have thought organic milk would expire quicker.  Kind of like buying fresh bread from the bakery versus packaged hamburger buns that contain preservatives.

Can someone explain this to me?  Does the milk really taste good the whole time, even if it's been open for a month?  Does it last longer in a paper carton?