strange tasting defrosted BM

LittleSteph

i started defrosting my oldest BM from when my baby was first born and it tastes like fish oil!!  it's not rancid, but just "off" tasting.  i've done a random sampling of my earliest milk and it's all tasted the same.  i have tasted my milk when it's freshly expressed and i've never experienced this flavor.  i'm not sure if this is a freezing technique issue or perhaps the stage of my production, but i have had to throw away a ton of milk b/c my DS doesn't seem to care for it.  i don't have any fish products in the freezer, but i do take a fish oil supplement.  like i said, all the fresh milk i have tasted has not had this flavor.

has anyone else had this or anything like it?  i'm baffled.  i would hate to have to throw away all my reserves, but if i keep going up in dates and it still tastes like this, i will have to start pumping fresh.

Lucy_Plus_One!

It is possible that you have the same problem that I do with my EBM. I have high levels of the enzyme lipase (its not very common) and it makes my milk change flavor much faster than normal. Its not sour, but after about 20 hours (it can be less or more for different women) in the fridge it tastes quite soapy and has a funky metallicy aftertaste. If this sounds like what your milk tastes like, you should do some research on how to scald your milk after you pump it (before it gets that funkyness) before you freeze. That will stop the enzyme from breaking down the fat in the milk and changing the flavor so much.

Here are some great links if you think this could be your issue.

https://forums.llli.org/showthread.php?t=297

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/lipase-expressedmilk.html

My DD was crying when I tried to feed her frozen EBM, but she was fine with fresh EBM. Now she will take the frozen again just fine since I am scalding it. 

PM me if you ever have any questions about it!

GL!

adarlingzta

I have the same lipase issue. The more women I talk to, the more I hear about it. scalding worked for us too. GL