Powdered Milk Alternative

[pamplemousse]

My family won't touch powdered milk, no matter how I doctor it up.  I have one can open that is used for baking, and it has lasted more than a year.  This stuff is a tough sell at my house.

We went to Salt Lake City last week, and visited Emergency Essentials, Macey's, the Blue Chip Group, and Honeyville Grains.  Several of the places offered samples of their brands of whey-based milk alternatives.  My fussy spouse approved of all of them, plain, chocolate, strawberry, orange, all good.  Shelf life is up to five years.  This is going to make inventory rotation much easier.

I checked prices (plus shipping) at Walton Feed, Survival Acres, Beprepared.com, Blue Chip Group, and Honeyville Grains.  The low price winner was Honeyville Grains.  You can get a case for $60, plus $4.99 shipping.  That will make 36 gallons for $65, not bad.  There's a discount for a 4 case purchase, and I found a 10% off coupon code with an internet search, expires today, sorry.  I'll post a fresh code if they send me one.

I first clued in to this by watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0nT0HRbf-c (External Embedding Disabled)  at the 3:52 mark, she talks about powdered milk and Morning Moo. 
The ingredients aren't as simple as dried skim milk, that's for sure.  But it looks like a good way to get  everybody's calcium requirements met without brute force, so I'm going with it.  Ingredients: Sweet dairy whey, non-fat dry milk solids, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: coconut oil and /or soya oil), corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, mono and diglycerides, lecithin, carrageenan, vitamin A, vitamin D3.

Maybe you'd like to have a little bit of this set aside in your food storage, just in case?

[Tropicalgirl]

PM - Thanks for the research and pricing, I'll order some b/c we have the same issues with powdered milk around here! 

[DimLightbulb]

Same problem here.  Powdered milk tastes horrible.  I've tried several brands and even the canned stuff.  All horrible.
I'll keep what you posted in mind though..maybe pick up something locally to try first.

Maybe my only recourse is to get a cow. 

[pamplemousse]

HONEY58 is the 10% off code, good through 08/11/09, if you are going to order tonight, TG.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a fresh code.

Isn't someone going to flick me shit for the ingredient list?

[Tropicalgirl]

HONEY58 is the 10% off code, good through 08/11/09, if you are going to order tonight, TG.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a fresh code.

Isn't someone going to flick me shit for the ingredient list?

   Nah, all most everything that is storable has a similar list of toxic sludge included!

[Broil]

Yes, but just a little pamplemousse.

For those who want to give the real stuff a last chance before ruining their health with partially hydrogenated fats etc, the way to make instant powdered milk taste better is to stir for a minute, let sit at least 2 hours and preferably overnight, then stir again for a full minute.  Make it slightly stronger than the package says to.

Some people put a tablespoon or so of instant vanilla pudding in a quart, this makes the kids happy and even adults like it.

You can also get instant whole milk powder, it's called Nido and is made by Nestle, and by all accounts it's just as good tasting as whole milk.  It's expensive though.

[Tropicalgirl]

Yes, but just a little pamplemousse.

For those who want to give the real stuff a last chance before ruining their health with partially hydrogenated fats etc, the way to make instant powdered milk taste better is to stir for a minute, let sit at least 2 hours and preferably overnight, then stir again for a full minute.  Make it slightly stronger than the package says to.

Some people put a tablespoon or so of instant vanilla pudding in a quart, this makes the kids happy and even adults like it.

You can also get instant whole milk powder, it's called Nido and is made by Nestle, and by all accounts it's just as good tasting as whole milk.  It's expensive though.

broil - thanks buddy!  Those are good suggestions, might as well try it with the stock we have on hand and buy the other when we can afford to add stock to the pantry.

[cygnus]

You know, I hear all the time that if you let reconstituted dried milk sit overnight in the fridge it tastes better, but I just don't agree.  I make mine a bit more concentrated than they suggest, and make it with ice cold water.  Then I drink it right away.  For me, this is how it tastes best.   If I let it sit overnight, it tastes MORE like dried milk to me. 

Btw, Morning Moo isn't bad, I drink it now and then at my folk's house.  They buy it instead of regular milk. 

[Broil]

Oh, that's right, cygnus ...... it will taste flat from the loss of air dissolved in it, if you don't stir vigorously or better yet shake it for a minute in the morning.  It's just like water that goes flat tasting if it sits too long.

[powerDown]

Try adding a can of condensed milk to every pitcher you mix up. It stores well and will vastly improve the flavor of the powdered.

[Zac]

Condensed milk has lot of sugar.  Evaporated milk has lot of fat (like whole milk).  I'm not sure why people find reconstituted non-fat milk objectionable though.  I remember I used to like the stuff enough as a kid to sometimes eat the dry powder when my parents' weren't watching.  (I liked the dry coffee creamer too.)   

[akaskip]

  If anyone is interested in long term storage of powdered milk beprepared.com is having a September sale on dried milk products, @12.95 a can, it's normally in the $16-$18 range. Look for dehydrated food storage in cans on the left side menu.

                                                   http://beprepared.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1251828349

[akaskip]

Condensed milk has lot of sugar.  Evaporated milk has lot of fat (like whole milk).  I'm not sure why people find reconstituted non-fat milk objectionable though.  I remember I used to like the stuff enough as a kid to sometimes eat the dry powder when my parents' weren't watching.  (I liked the dry coffee creamer too.)   

  If you take a can of evaporated milk and add a can of water it should =24oz of whole milk, if you want 2% milk you add more water.
The price of a can of evaporated milk has almost doubled from last year and the exp. date is short, usually a year or a little more.

[Grower]

You can get non-fat evaporated milk.

And I found Nido at Amazon, around $90 for six cans that make the usual amount. It's better for taste, but it's essential to have full-fat milk on hand if you are prepping for children under 2. It's difficult to find full-fat powdered milk. And Nido doesn't have all that other stuff in it, such as the hydrogenated oils, that are so bad for you.

[pamplemousse]

If you're shopping for a deal

Greetings from Honeyville Farms: SUMMARY: Greetings from our new, state of the art warehouse in Southern California! 10% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER* from Thursday, September 24, 2009 thru Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 6:00PM PST. Simply enter the coupon code NEWHOME09 during checkout. Act now! Don't forget to stock up on staples like Powdered Eggs, Long Grain White Rice, Beans, and our Canned Wheat.