Pantries and Preparedness. Powdered milk in your pantry.

Today I want to talk about powdered milk as a staple. The number one thing I know people run out to the shops for is milk. It is also one of the first things we run out of when the shops are shut or for some reason we can't get to the store. It is also the base of so many recipes and things I rely on like milk in my cup of tea!  Powdered milk as part of our pantry and storage just makes sense. But we might not think about what a good idea it is until we need it and then it is often one of the first things to be sold out. Here it is often sold out anyway for the same reason the baby formula is in low stocks. Powdered milk is given as a gift in some countries it is so valuable.

I have kept powdered milk on hand for emergencies. But I have not had much experience using it otherwise. Once upon a time I did use it to stretch fresh milk. I would mix half made up powdered milk with half fresh milk in a jug. No one could tell the difference when I did this.
I asked Teri about this subject and how she used powdered milk in cooking etc. She replied...

 "When I am baking, I just add the dry milk to the dry ingredients and the amount of water to the liquid ingredients.  When I am making a white sauce or scrambling eggs, I use the milk reconstituted.  If I want to use milk in my smoothie, I will often put dry milk in and just add a bit more juice/water/yogurt.  It just adds a bit more nutrition, I think."

I could see Teri knew all about this so I asked her to share and she has kindly written up information for us.
So over to Teri....

WAYS TO USE POWDERED MILK

I started using powdered milk years ago. It was hard

at first but I needed to learn this skill because it would

help with the budget, our kids were young and

growing and I wanted a way to have shelf-stable milk

since running to a supermarket (big or small) wasn’t

always an option. I was also looking for a way to

have long-term storage. So, today, I would like to

share some ways I have found to use powdered milk.

1. To have “fresh” milk on hand, I mix up a quart of

milk at one time. My powdered milk is noninstant,

so I use . Cup of powder to one quart of

warm water. I stir this with a whisk, adding 1

teaspoon of sugar and store in the refrigerator. I

use this in my coffee, with cooked oatmeal or

granola, stir a bit into eggs when scrambling, I

make white sauce and gravy, etc.

2. During winter, I drink a lot of hot cocoa

(sometimes just stirring some into my coffee). So, I

make my own using powdered milk, sugar,

unsweetened cocoa powder, salt and a small

amount of powdered vanilla. I store it in a reused

#10 can and then fill my pantry jar from

that. It tastes much better than the packets from
the store and costs much less. (I also buy my

unsweetened cocoa in bulk or in a large

container from Costco).

3. When our kids were home, I would mix half

regular milk and half reconstituted powdered

milk, then put it all in the jug from the store and

they never knew until they were grown! Lol If I

need half and half for a recipe or to pour over a

fruit crumble or cobbler, I mix a small container of

heavy cream with some reconstituted powdered

milk and use that. Works great!

4. We have talked a bit about making our own

mixes. This is just one more way to use powdered

milk, cut expenses and stay out of the store for

just one item.

5. I love using my SOS mix for condensed soup but

here’s a recipe I use when I have lots of extra

chicken broth. I make a BIG batch of

homemade condensed cream of chicken soup,

using reconstituted powdered milk. This recipe

makes approximately 2 cans worth (that’s why I

3x or 4x the recipe, storing extra in the freezer).

1 1/2 Cups chicken broth, . 1/4 teaspoon onion

powder, .1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, . 1/4teaspoon

salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon dried

parsley (any other seasonings you would like

depending on what you made your chicken

broth with). Bring this all to a boil. Meanwhile,

mix 1 1/2 cups milk with 3/4 cup flour. Whisk well.

Add to broth, stirring constantly with a whisk and

cook until thickened. I use this as is but you could

add some leftover cooked chicken. Also, if you

would like to use fresh mushrooms and/or fresh

onions and garlic, just chop and add to the broth

to cook a bit before thickening. This stores well in

the freezer and is so convenient!

6. One of the items Brandy (The Prudent

Homemaker) mentioned she was buying this

month was powdered cheese. I shared my

Cheese sauce recipe in the comments of her

post but thought I would share it here, since you

make the mix with powdered milk. (This makes a

lot so I cut the recipe in half when I made it a few

years back. I still need to get some cheese

powder). Mix together 4 1/2 cups cheese powder,

2 2/3 cups powdered milk (this is the non-instant

kind, more if using instant), 2 2/3 cups butter

powder (this is optional-I just use a pat of butter

when making the sauce as the butter powder is

hard for me to find sometimes and expensive),

2 2/3 cups flour and 2 teaspoons onion powder.

Store in an air tight container. (Other

herbs/spices could be added if desired). To

make the sauce: combine 1 cup water and a half

cup cheese sauce mix. Bring to a boil stirring with

a whisk; cook a couple minutes to thicken. If

desired, sprinkle a little dried parsley on top for

color. (If cooking in the microwave, watch to

make sure it doesn’t boil over and stir a couple

times! That’s because I have had the pleasure of

cleaning my microwave! HA!)

7. I make my own sweetened condensed milk and

evaporated milk from my powdered milk. The

sweetened condensed milk can be frozen, so I

make several batches at a time and freeze the

extra.

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK:  (makes a 14 oz. can) 

1/2 cup hot water         1 cup dry powdered milk

1 cup sugar        1 Tablespoon butter

Blend very well in a blender or processor.  It thickens after being in refrig. for awhile.

EVAPORATED MILK:  (makes a 12 oz. can)

1 1/2 cups water   1/2 cup+ 1 Tablespoon dry powdered milk

Blend very well in a blender.  A whisk works too as that's what I have done.

8. When baking muffins, cookies, breads, etc. and

your recipe calls for milk, just add the powdered

milk dry to the dry ingredients and the water to

the liquid ingredients. If I need buttermilk (I don’t

buy the powdered buttermilk cans), I just add

vinegar or lemon juice to the liquid ingredients

with the water.

9. Everydayfoodstorage.net (here) has tons of information,

conversion charts and mix recipes all using

powdered milk, powdered eggs, whole wheat

and other shelf stable food. I use Crystal’s

pancake mix which is way better than store

bought and gleaned lots of information on food

storage from her.

10. Having `our pantries full of food/supplies that

we use on a regular basis is so convenient. I save

trips to the store plus make my own mixes, which

saves money. When you invest your time in

making your own “boxed/packaged” items, you

will save yourself a lot of time by just pulling things

off your pantry shelf and making an easy meal,

lunch treat or yummy dessert!

One thing that I wanted to mention is the

measurements are different for non-instant/instant

powdered milk. Crystal explains this on her blog, if

you are interested in knowing this.

I hope this helps you get started/continue using

powdered milk. Rotation is so important with all our

pantry staples, so try using your powdered milk! Start

by baking a batch of oatmeal cookies! No one will

be the wiser!  Teri

Thank you so much Teri! I am going to use much more powdered milk now especially in cooking and save myself so much lugging around heavy containers as well. Milk also looks lovely made up in a jug in the fridge or on the table. 

How have you added to your pantry this week? I have reached the stage I need to spend some time organising and labeling in the cellar. But I have made progress!
Like little ants if we keep at it we will make amazing progress! xxx