Category · Dairy

How long does dairy last?

48 dairy items with cited storage and handling guidance. Open an item for its supported periods, state-specific conditions and sources.

Whole Milk Fridge 5–7 days · Freezer 3 months
Skim / 2% Milk Fridge 5–7 days · Freezer 3 months
Greek Yogurt FoodKeeper lists 1-2 weeks refrigerated from purchase for general yogurt. This guide applies that category reference to commercial refrigerated Greek yogurt; it is not a new allowance after opening or a tested Greek-specific safety deadline. Follow the exact package instructions and retain the purchase and temperature history.
Regular Yogurt Fridge 1–2 weeks · Freezer 1–2 months
Butter Yes: NCHFP recommends freezing high-quality butter made from pasteurized cream, tightly wrapped against air and moisture. Its 6–9-month freezer recommendation guides storage quality; it is not a sudden safety cutoff. Refrigerate unsalted butter.
Cream Cheese Fridge 10–14 days
Sour Cream Fridge 2–3 weeks
Heavy Cream Fridge 7–10 days · Freezer 3 months
Cottage Cheese Fridge About 1 week (opened)
Hard Cheese (Cheddar, Swiss) Fridge 3–4 weeks · Freezer 6 months
Soft Cheese (Brie, Camembert) Fridge 1 week · Freezer 2 months
Parmesan (block) Fridge 3–4 weeks (opened) · Freezer 6 months
Shredded Cheese Fridge 3–4 weeks · Freezer 6 months
Half & Half Fridge 3–4 days · Freezer 3 months
Ricotta Cheese Fridge 5–7 days · Freezer 3 months
Mascarpone Fridge 3–5 days
Whipped Cream (aerosol, real dairy) Fridge 3–4 weeks
Whipped Cream (homemade) Fridge 1 day · Freezer 1–2 months
Milk Kefir Package Keep refrigerated after opening and follow the printed sell-by date
Condensed Milk (opened) Fridge 4–5 days · Freezer 3 months
Evaporated Milk (opened) Fridge 3–5 days · Freezer 3 months
Paneer (fresh) Fresh paneer is a high-moisture soft cheese. A New Mexico State University fresh-soft-cheese reference gives five to seven refrigerated days, but it is not a paneer-specific guarantee. Keep the original making or package date: changing storage water does not create a new period.
Curd / Dahi (homemade) Fridge 3–5 days
Curd / Dahi (store-bought, set, opened) Fridge 7–10 days
Khoya / Mawa Fridge 2–3 days · Freezer 1–3 months
Malai (clotted milk cream) Fridge 2–3 days · Freezer 1–3 months
Chaas (homemade) Fridge 2–3 days
Lassi (sweet/salted, homemade) Fridge 2–3 days · Freezer 1–2 months
Shrikhand Fridge 3–4 days (homemade) · Freezer Up to 2 months (quality)
Processed Cheese Cubes / Spread (opened) Fridge 2–3 weeks · Freezer 6 months
Ice Cream (Opened Tub) Freezer 2–3 months (opened)
Cultured Buttermilk (opened) Fridge 1–2 weeks · Freezer 3 months
Fresh Mozzarella (in Water / Opened) Package Keep at 40°F (4°C) or below and follow the package use-by and after-opening directions; use promptly after opening.
Feta Cheese (in Brine / Opened) Package Keep refrigerated and follow the printed package date and after-opening directions; brine formulations and package instructions vary.
Gulab Jamun (Fresh / Homemade) Fridge 1–4 days
Margarine Whether to freeze margarine depends on the actual product. Land O’Lakes treats sticks and tubs differently; Country Crock distinguishes Plant Butter from its other tub spreads. The named instructions below do not create a general margarine or opened-spread period.
Pimento cheese Keep packaged pimento cheese refrigerated and follow the maker’s directions. Palmetto says to discard its cheese after the date on the lid, even though the lid calls it Sell-By. Its freezing advice is for later recipe use.
Eggnog Keep eggnog refrigerated and use the right starting point. FoodKeeper gives commercial eggnog three–five days from purchase for quality, without saying whether it is opened. Organic Valley Reduced Fat Eggnog quart gives seven days after opening for freshest taste. USDA gives safely cooked, promptly chilled homemade eggnog two–four refrigerator days; counting from preparation is our reading of the chart’s homemade-food context.
Coffee creamer Choose the creamer’s format first. International Delight’s US refrigerated creamer bottles have a fourteen-day freshness instruction after opening, with return to the fridge after every use and no use after the code date. Its unopened singles are shelf stable, but opened remainders need refrigeration. Dry powder has separate purchase and opening references; one keeping time does not fit all these formats.
Powdered milk (food ingredient) Match both the fat level and the preparation state. USU’s opened nonfat dry-milk guidance and Anchor’s Pacific/Caribbean whole-milk powder instructions apply to different products. Mixing powder with water changes the storage conditions. This guide excludes infant formula, clinical feeds and protein supplements.
Kulfi Store milk-based kulfi frozen at 0°F (-18°C), following its package date and directions. Parsi Dairy Farm advises keeping its kulfi sealed and frozen until serving. No generic month-count is established for every brand or homemade recipe.
Rasgulla (rosogolla) For fresh traditional rasgulla, FSSAI’s illustrative guidance says to refrigerate and consume within two days from manufacture. That is not two new days after buying it. Unopened commercial tins and opened packs must follow their own labels.
Mithai (traditional Indian sweets) FSSAI says sweet shelf life depends on ingredients and gives an illustrative list counted from manufacture: same-day kalakand, two-day refrigerated milk or Bengali sweets, four-day ladoo or khoya sweets, seven-day ghee or dry-fruit sweets and around 30-day drier sweets. These examples do not create a universal mithai or after-opening timer.
Prepared Pudding (Commercial, Refrigerated) For prepared pudding sold refrigerated, keep it at 40°F (4°C) or below and follow the package use-by date. FoodKeeper and Virginia Cooperative Extension list 2 days refrigerated after opening. Check your exact product: some sealed pudding cups are shelf-stable, while others need refrigeration even before opening.
Burrata (refrigerated, packaged) Burrata is a fresh cheese with a cream-filled center. Keep it cold in its original liquid and follow its own use-by and opened-pack directions. M&S says to keep its product in brine and eat within one day after opening; that instruction is product-specific and its endpoint is unstated.
Halloumi (packaged refrigerated cheese) Halloumi is a refrigerated, brined semi-hard cheese, often sold in vacuum packs or brine. Follow the exact package: A. Polycarpou says consume its fresh halloumi within 3 days after opening, while Agromax says 5 days for its product. Their pages do not define the endpoints, and the periods are not interchangeable.
Blue Cheese (packaged, refrigerated) Refrigerate blue cheese promptly and follow the maker’s wrapping and package-date directions. Maytag recommends its original foil inside a bag in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks to retain moisture and texture; its freezer advice is also for its own cheese. Blue veins are intentional, but unfamiliar surface growth needs product-specific evaluation.
Fresh Goat Cheese (Chèvre) Fresh chèvre is a moist, unripened soft goat cheese. Keep it cold and follow its package. Vermont Creamery recommends using its fresh goat cheese within 5–7 days after opening; Montchevre recommends five days. These are named-maker directions, not a universal timer for all chèvre.