Dollar Tree

[forcast]

Milk.

I dont like the taste at all. Even with chocolate mix added. Maybe ok for cooking. Be sure to check the expiration date.

 

[LadyLocust]

This is why I asked. To me, evaporated milk would be partially dehydrated not a chemical formula. I keep it for emergency cooking but I might look into shelf-stable as a more natural option. I am allergic to milk as well as all these mystery chemicals so don’t drink it. I can get away with small amounts of raw straight from the cow milk but the pasteurization and even moreso the homogenization do me in.

 

[Weedygarden]

I keep shelf stable milk for emergencies. My extra fridge is kept at 34°, it's top shelf is the milk shelf. We drink A LOT of milk, the colder fridge keeps it good. There is four gallons in there now, will be three more after I hit the store for ice storm stock up later. After the 14 hour power outage, that fridge was still at 38°! To stay on the subject, a new Dollar Tree opened in the little town closest to me!

Do you drink milk that has a week or so expiration date or do you buy milk that has been treated and is good for a month or so? I have half a gallon in my fridge now that says good until March 2, 2024.

 

[Weedygarden]

Best by Nov. 2, 2024

This is the kind of milk that is used in many places where people do not have access to refrigeration. I think our military uses UHT milk when we are in places like Afghanistan.

 

[Amish Heart]

We store that exact milk and drink it. Little granddaughter likes it fine. She hates raw milk. If it gets past expiration date, the cats or the chickens get it. Never had it taste off or sour. I try to keep 2 cases of it. When covid hit and we lived in New Mexico, not on a farm, this is all we had. There wasn't milk anywhere for a couple of weeks. No one complained. Then all we could get was cream. So I'd buy that and mix it with water.

 

[Weedygarden]

Buying milk like this means that you are paying $5 a gallon. I know that milk is typically less than that, but I don't think this is a bad price for milk in storage. A box of 12 of these quarts means 3 gallons of milk. I ordered it online and went to the designated store to pick up the box of 12.

It should be refrigerated after opening, but if no refrigeration is available, then using a quart in a day would not be that much to process. A case of 12, means that 2 1/2 boxes/cases a month, if you used one carton a day. At $15 a carton, that would mean 37.50 a month for milk. Your preferences and family dynamics determines your consumption and needs.

I use milk in some recipes. I use it in tomato soup. I do drink some here and there, but nothing like @Pearl !

 

[Caribou]

I dont like the taste at all. Even with chocolate mix added. Maybe ok for cooking. Be sure to check the expiration date.

My wife is the milk drinker in the family. Today she has raw milk and homogenized milk in the kitchen fridge. She has a case or two of ultra pasteurized milk in the spare fridge. They all taste different to her. She wants milk so she drinks what is available. She drinks the shelf stable milk before it goes bad so she doesn't have to throw it out.

When I was growing up grocery store milk would last two days, if we were lucky. Many a jug of milk was bad when it was opened. The milk just didn't survive the barge trip from Seattle. I ate many a bowl of cereal with reconstituted canned milk. Powdered milk became a staple. If memory serves, half warm water to dissolve the powdered milk, half cold water to quickly chill, refrigerate, pour back and forth to aerate. It took awhile to make milk but that was almost like the real thing.

Each type of milk tastes different. Everyone has a different taste. Each of us is different in our likes and dislikes. For me, goats milk is a bridge too far. I would probably adapt if I had no choice.

 

[Pearl]

Do you drink milk that has a week or so expiration date or do you buy milk that has been treated and is good for a month or so? I have half a gallon in my fridge now that says good until March 2, 2024.

A gallon of milk lasts a day here!! We never get close to the expiration dates.

 

[Weedygarden]

When I was growing up grocery store milk would last two days, if we were lucky.

Yes, but the processing of milk now is different. What is it that they do to milk and other foods that makes them shelf stable? Even the milk in the cooler at the stores is treated with UHT. Organic milk is usually treated this way.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-organic-milk-lasts-longer/
JUNE 6, 2008
2 MIN READ

Why does organic milk last so much longer than regular milk?​

If you’ve ever shopped for milk, you’ve no doubt noticed what our questioner has: While regular milk expires within about a week or sooner, organic milk lasts much longer—as long as a month.

So what is it about organic milk that makes it stay fresh so long?

Actually, it turns out that it has nothing to do with the milk being organic. All "organic" means is that the farm the milk comes from does not use antibiotics to fight infections in cows or hormones to stimulate more milk production.

Organic milk lasts longer because producers use a different process to preserve it. According to the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, the milk needs to stay fresh longer because organic products often have to travel farther to reach store shelves since it is not produced throughout the country.

The process that gives the milk a longer shelf life is called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) processing or treatment, in which milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 degrees Celsius) for two to four seconds, killing any bacteria in it.

Compare that to pasteurization, the standard preservation process. There are two types of pasteurization: "low temperature, long time," in which milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes*, or the more common "high temperature, short time," in which milk is heated to roughly 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds.

The different temperatures hint at why UHT-treated milk lasts longer: Pasteurization doesn’t kill all bacteria in the milk, just enough so that you don't get a disease with your milk mustache. UHT, on the other hand, kills everything.

Retailers typically give pasteurized milk an expiration date of four to six days. Ahead of that, however, was up to six days of processing and shipping, so total shelf life after pasteurization is probably up to two weeks. Milk that undergoes UHT doesn’t need to be refrigerated and can sit on the shelf for up to six months.

Regular milk can undergo UHT, too. The process is used for the room-temperature Parmalat milk found outside the refrigerator case and for most milk sold in Europe.

So why isn’t all milk produced using UHT?

One reason is that UHT-treated milk tastes different. UHT sweetens the flavor of milk by burning some of its sugars (caramelization). A lot of Americans find this offensive—just as they are leery of buying nonrefrigerated milk. Europeans, however, don’t seem to mind.

UHT also destroys some of the milk’s vitamin content—not a significant amount—and affects some proteins, making it unusable for cheese.

There are, of course, lots of reasons people buy organic milk. But if it's the long shelf life you're after, I would recommend you buy nonorganic UHT milk and avoid being charged double.

*Correction (6/6/08): This sentence originally said "milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 seconds." (The error occurred during editing by the staff of ScientificAmerican.com and is not the fault of the expert.)

 

[Caribou]

Yes, but the processing of milk now is different. What is it that they do to milk and other foods that makes them shelf stable? Even the milk in the cooler at the stores is treated with UHT. Organic milk is usually treated this way.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-organic-milk-lasts-longer/
JUNE 6, 2008
2 MIN READ

Why does organic milk last so much longer than regular milk?​

If you’ve ever shopped for milk, you’ve no doubt noticed what our questioner has: While regular milk expires within about a week or sooner, organic milk lasts much longer—as long as a month.

So what is it about organic milk that makes it stay fresh so long?

Actually, it turns out that it has nothing to do with the milk being organic. All "organic" means is that the farm the milk comes from does not use antibiotics to fight infections in cows or hormones to stimulate more milk production.

Organic milk lasts longer because producers use a different process to preserve it. According to the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, the milk needs to stay fresh longer because organic products often have to travel farther to reach store shelves since it is not produced throughout the country.

The process that gives the milk a longer shelf life is called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) processing or treatment, in which milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 degrees Celsius) for two to four seconds, killing any bacteria in it.

Compare that to pasteurization, the standard preservation process. There are two types of pasteurization: "low temperature, long time," in which milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes*, or the more common "high temperature, short time," in which milk is heated to roughly 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds.

The different temperatures hint at why UHT-treated milk lasts longer: Pasteurization doesn’t kill all bacteria in the milk, just enough so that you don't get a disease with your milk mustache. UHT, on the other hand, kills everything.

Retailers typically give pasteurized milk an expiration date of four to six days. Ahead of that, however, was up to six days of processing and shipping, so total shelf life after pasteurization is probably up to two weeks. Milk that undergoes UHT doesn’t need to be refrigerated and can sit on the shelf for up to six months.

Regular milk can undergo UHT, too. The process is used for the room-temperature Parmalat milk found outside the refrigerator case and for most milk sold in Europe.

So why isn’t all milk produced using UHT?

One reason is that UHT-treated milk tastes different. UHT sweetens the flavor of milk by burning some of its sugars (caramelization). A lot of Americans find this offensive—just as they are leery of buying nonrefrigerated milk. Europeans, however, don’t seem to mind.

UHT also destroys some of the milk’s vitamin content—not a significant amount—and affects some proteins, making it unusable for cheese.

There are, of course, lots of reasons people buy organic milk. But if it's the long shelf life you're after, I would recommend you buy nonorganic UHT milk and avoid being charged double.

*Correction (6/6/08): This sentence originally said "milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 seconds." (The error occurred during editing by the staff of ScientificAmerican.com and is not the fault of the expert.)

UHT milk was available in my youth. It was very expensive and tasted like it was collected from the cow's anus rather than the udder. I agree, processing has improved over the decades. We used the UHT milk on the fishing boat. The lack of refrigeration didn't help the flavour of the milk. We also used canned butter on the boat. That stuff was great, Red Feather if I remember.

Our milk spent a week rocking back and forth on a barge while sitting inside a 40' refer van. I suspect that current refrigeration is a higher quality and that newer refer containers have better insulation.

Today I use UHT cream in my coffee. I keep one open quart and 3 or 4 unopened quarts as backup. It is not always available so I want to keep a good stock. I put collagen in my first cup so the cream helps hide the taste.

 

[Amish Heart]

That's interesting. Didn't know that about organic milk. In 1984 my husband took a job in France, so we moved. All that was available was the UHT milk in a carton (like the Dollar Tree one), and I like to drink milk, so that was that. I would dump chocolate syrup into it to make it better. We were an hr away from Italy, and would go for a day trip, and I'd always order milk at a restaurant because they had regular milk.

 

[Pearl]

With my morning being off, I totally forgot about stopping at the new Dollar Tree! Dang it!

 

[joel]

Dollar store is the close store to my house, so if I need one or two items, I go there.
It is not higher price, when you count gas, oil, ware & tear on truck & not as many knuckles heads to deal with.

 

[Weedygarden]

Today I use UHT cream in my coffee.

I'm curious where you get it? You can get it at Trader Joes, but it was pretty expensive there in comparison to buying it in grocery stores.

 

[Caribou]

I'm curious where you get it? You can get it at Trader Joes, but it was pretty expensive there in comparison to buying it in grocery stores.

Three Bears, Safeway, Fred Meyer's (Kohl's), A&P. It is mixed in with the regular dairy so you don't know unless you read the label. They call it ultra pasteurized.

Edit: Heavy whipping cream.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

I have home canned milk, cream and whipping cream. It's hitting a year on the shelves and still good.

The whipping cream is, stand a spoon in it, thick. I found that if you push it through a sieve, it re liquifies and then whips up like normal. For some dumb reason I know not, if left thickened it turns to butter almost immediately.

 

[Weedygarden]

Three Bears, Safeway, Fred Meyer's (Kohl's), A&P. It is mixed in with the regular dairy so you don't know unless you read the label. They call it ultra pasteurized.

Edit: Heavy whipping cream.

I get heavy whipping cream from Safeway. I will have to check the labels for whether they are Ultra pasteurized or not. The one I do buy, its almost impossible to read the date on it. If I have a couple in the fridge, I just try to organize them with the first purchased in the front and the newest ones to the back.

 

[Caribou]

I have home canned milk, cream and whipping cream. It's hitting a year on the shelves and still good.

The whipping cream is, stand a spoon in it, thick. I found that if you push it through a sieve, it re liquifies and then whips up like normal. For some dumb reason I know not, if left thickened it turns to butter almost immediately.

How did you can it?

 

[Caribou]

I get heavy whipping cream from Safeway. I will have to check the labels for whether they are Ultra pasteurized or not. The one I do buy, its almost impossible to read the date on it. If I have a couple in the fridge, I just try to organize them with the first purchased in the front and the newest ones to the back.

Mine comes in a heavy plastic bottle. The waxed cartons seem to be the regular stuff.

 

[Weedygarden]

With my morning being off, I totally forgot about stopping at the new Dollar Tree! Dang it!

If you try it and like it, know that you can order it by the case. I see UHT milk in grocery stores, same size carton for around $4.00.

Mine comes in a heavy plastic bottle. The waxed cartons seem to be the regular stuff.

The kind I buy come in a heavy plastic bottle as well. It says that it is Ultra-Pasteurized. No mention of UHT, but is that the same? Does it have to be refrigerated before it is opened?

 

[Caribou]

If you try it and like it, know that you can order it by the case. I see UHT milk in grocery stores, same size carton for around $4.00.


The kind I buy come in a heavy plastic bottle as well. It says that it is Ultra-Pasteurized. No mention of UHT, but is that the same? Does it have to be refrigerated before it is opened?

I believe it is the same. I buy it in the refrigerated section and I keep mine in the fridge, and would whether it needs it. Mine lasts for months. Okay, I got up and looked. Both say to refrigerate. The Darigold says to use in 15 days after opening. I've had the current bottle open at least that long and the expiration date is last November sometime. The Lucerne says to use within a week of opening. I never read the bottles before and I haven't ever had a problem. My stroke kept me away from home for 3 months and I never threw away a drop of cream when I got home.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I've never been to a Dollar store before. I guess if they all closed down it wouldn't affect us any.

 

[Pearl]

If you try it and like it, know that you can order it by the case. I see UHT milk in grocery stores, same size carton for around $4.00.


The kind I buy come in a heavy plastic bottle as well. It says that it is Ultra-Pasteurized. No mention of UHT, but is that the same? Does it have to be refrigerated before it is opened?

No, I was just trying to get the thread back on track !

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

How did you can it?

Pressure canner.

Although you don't normally have to sterilize the jars first because canning automatically does it, in this case I do because it's such a short period of time.

Use cold milk.
Load the canner, vent it as usual for 10 minutes
Add the weight
When weight starts to jiggle turn off heat immediately
Let cool completely
Done

If you over process it, the milk will caramelize slightly. Still good but different. Much longer and it will be like evaporated milk. Best to keep a close eye on the jiggler.

 

[Weedygarden]

UHT also destroys some of the milk’s vitamin content—not a significant amount—and affects some proteins, making it unusable for cheese.

It says that UHT milk is not usable for cheese. But powdered milk is.

Maybe we should be talking on a thread about powdered milk and UHT milk.

When I searched Dollar Tree for milk options, these were the two top rows. Everything else seemed to be chocolates.

 

[Tim Horton]

.........evaporated milk...... I keep it for emergency cooking but I might look into shelf-stable as a more natural option.
== ==
When I lived in the ...bush... we kept shelf stable milk for cooking... We also had evaporated milk on hand... There is a way to make caramel in the can with that.. It is pretty good... Being lactose sensitive I only use milk in cereal a couple times a year... Anything cooked or baked is OK...

More trivia....
In the mid 1980s I worked at a machine shop in St Paul that invented the technology and packaging machines to package shelf stable milk... They sold the proto types, production run machines to a Swedish company..

 

[Weedygarden]

In the mid 1980s I worked at a machine shop in St Paul that invented the technology and packaging machines to package shelf stable milk... They sold the proto types, production run machines to a Swedish company..

I have often wondered about how it is processed so that it stays fresh in the packaging. There are other foods that are sold as shelf stable, such as Indian dal.

 

[Caribou]

When I was home I checked out the cream my wife keeps in the house. She buys Kroger brand ultra pasteurized. It says "refrigerate AFTER opening." We keep it in the fridge. It has the best taste of the three but when I put it in my coffee I can't tell the difference.

Correction: Fred Meyer's is Kroger not Kohl's.

 

[Weedygarden]

When I was home I checked out the cream my wife keeps in the house. She buys Kroger brand ultra pasteurized. It says "refrigerate AFTER opening." We keep it in the fridge. It has the best taste of the three but when I put it in my coffee I can't tell the difference.

Correction: Fred Meyer's is Kroger not Kohl's.

I think that the business of refrigerating after opening is fairly standard for most foods that come in a container that is probably shelf stable until it is opened, such as canned goods and jars of food. We are getting more and more of the irradiated pouches of foods that are shelf stable as well, until they are opened.

I do agree with you about the cream. I keep it in the fridge as soon as I bring it home from the store. The stores keep it in the coolers, so it seems to be the way to do it.

 

[Weedygarden]

https://apnews.com/article/dollar-tree-discount-inflation-16f0d9b7e2d41d95ee6e6402d96169d0

Dollar Tree to close nearly 1,000 stores, posts surprise fourth quarter loss​

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN
Updated 6:22 PM MDT, March 13, 2024
Dollar Tree swung to a surprise fourth-quarter loss and will close nearly 1,000 stores after the discount retailer slashed the value of a rival chain it acquired almost a decade ago.

Dollar Tree plans to close about 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of this year and 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores over the next several years.

Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar for more than $8 billion in 2015 after a bidding war with rival Dollar General, but it has had difficulty absorbing the chain.

On Wednesday, Dollar Tree said that it would record a $950 million impairment against the trade name Family Dollar, on top of a $1.07 billion goodwill charge. Family Dollar will spend more than $594 million closing or rebranding stores, essentially erasing profits from the holiday season.

Shares of Dollar Tree tumbled more than 14% Wednesday.

For the three months ended Feb. 3, Dollar Tree lost $1.71 billion, or $7.85 per share. A year earlier the Chesapeake, Virginia, company earned $452.2 million, or $2.04 per share.

Stripping out certain items, earnings were $2.55 per share, which is still short of the per-share earnings of $2.67 expected on Wall Street, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue climbed to $8.64 billion from $7.72 billion, a bit below Wall Street’s estimate of $8.67 billion.

“This dramatic cull is the coup de grâce in the rather botched acquisition of the Family Dollar chain, which has caused Dollar Tree nothing but hassle since it was completed back in 2015,” wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. “Basically, almost ten years on, Dollar Tree is still sifting through the mess it inherited and has not been able to completely turn around,” Saunders said.

Saunders said in an emailed statement that nearly 12% of current Family Dollar stores will be closing over the next three years.

Dollar Tree has been attracting consumers that have been stung by inflation as they seek to cut spending. During the quarter, sales at Dollar Tree stores open at least a year climbed 6.3%, with traffic up 7.1%. While more shoppers were heading to stores, they were closely watching how much they spent, with average ticket down 0.7%.

At Family Dollar, sales at stores open at least a year slipped 1.2%. Traffic edged up 0.7%, but average ticket fell 2%.

For fiscal 2024, Dollar Tree anticipates earnings between $6.70 and $7.30 per share. Revenue is expected in a range of $31 billion to $32 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect full-year earnings of $7.04 on revenue of $31.68 billion.

Dollar Tree expects first-quarter earnings of $1.33 to $1.48 per share on revenue in a range of $7.6 billion to $7.9 billion.

Wall Street anticipates first-quarter earnings of $1.70 on revenue of $7.68 billion.