First off there is Nonfat powdered milk and Dry whole milk, I keep both in my pantry. Nonfat is the most popular and the easiest to find. I find my dry whole milk in the Hispanic food section of the store it is called Nido. It does have a higher fat content so the storage life isn’t as long so you will want to watch it and rotate. I have heard it taste better than regular nonfat dry milk ( I don’t drink milk so I can’t tell you if this is correct).

Powdered nonfat milk will last a very long time in storage (20 to 25 years) but I have heard that it will lose some of the nutritional value after a while so be sure to rotate. Some say to repackage other say if stored in a cool dark place that isn’t necessary. I have both some I have poured into half gallon jars and vacuum sealed and some still in the original box. In fact, I opened a box that I have had for 6 years the other day and it is great.

How to improve the taste of powdered milk. You can mix a little sugar and vanilla and make sure you serve it cold, or you can mix half powder milk and half regular milk, my mom use to do this a lot when we were younger.

So what are some things you can make with powdered milk?

Evaporated milk (12 oz can), 1 ½ cups water 1 cup powdered milk Mix well. You can add 2 tbsp. oil to make it whole evaporated milk. This will keep up to a week in the fridge.

Sour Cream, Mix 1/3 cup powdered milk with ¾ cup plain yogurt to replace sour cream in dips and other recipes.

Regular Milk in recipes, mix 1/3 cup powdered milk with 1 cup water. You can add the powdered milk with the dry ingredients and the water with the wet ingredients that will save having to mix the milk before adding to a recipe.

Sweetened Condensed Milk 14 oz can Mix 1 cup powdered milk with ½ cup hot water, and 1 cup sugar blend very well in blender, with a whisk or an emulsion blender.

Butter Milk or Sour Milk, 1 cup water, ¼ cup powdered milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

Cocoa or Chocolate milk mix, 1 cup cocoa, 4 cups powdered milk, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup sugar, combine and store in airtight container. To make 1 cup hot cocoa add ½ cup mix and 1 cup hot water mix well. To make chocolate milk mix the mix with a little water to make a smooth paste then add the rest of the water.

Whipped topping, ½ cup ice cold water,1/2 cup sugar,1/2 cup powdered milk, 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Put water in ice-cold bowl (put bowl and betters in the freezer for a few minutes before starting) Add milk and beat with cold beaters until stiff. Add sugar slowly while beating then add lemon juice and beat just until mixed.

 Dry Pudding mix, 8 cups Powder Milk,4 cups sugar,4 cups Corn Starch,1 teaspoon salt, Stir together all ingredients until well blended.  Store in a covered container. Attach a tag with mixing instructions.

For Pudding, 1 Cup of mix,3 cups boiling water,1 teaspoon vanilla,1 Tablespoon Butter. Place one cup of the mix in a small saucepan.  Slowly add 3 cups of boiling water, stirring as you add the water.  Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened. Add 1 tablespoon of butter at the end of the cooking time once the mixture has thickened. For Chocolate Pudding add 3 tablespoons cocoa powder to the dry mix before cooking. For Lemon Omit vanilla and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. For Banana add 1 tablespoon Banana extract (when you add vanilla) and 1 cup sliced or mashed bananas to cooled pudding.

Cottage Cheese / Ricotta Cheese 3 Cups powdered milk, 6 cups water, Heat to 110 to 120 degrees. Turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup white vinegar and stir. It will quickly start to separate (if not wait 10 minutes and add 1/2 cup more vinegar.) This is the curds and whey. After everything has separated, (doesn’t take long) drain the whey off, and rinse. At this point, you can add a little milk for ricotta cheese or a little cream and salt for cottage cheese. However much milk you use is how much cheese you will get, 1 cup milk 1 cup cheese.

White sauce,  Over a low heat, mix 1/3 cup powdered milk, 3 tablespoons melted butter, 3 tablespoons flour to form a paste, slowly add 1 cup water or milk and whisk until smooth. You can add cheese, mushrooms, broccoli, or whatever you like.

Yogurt, Mix 1 1/3 cups dry powdered milk to 3 ¾ cup water, add another ½ cup powdered milk, over a low heat warm to 110 degrees, add ¼ store-bought yogurt (make sure it has live cultures), or a ¼ cup of yogurt left from your last batch or a package of yogurt starter. Cover and place in a warm spot and leave undisturbed 12 to 24 hours. It should be thick and creamy. Chill and add fruit or whatever flavoring you like.

Cream cheese. Make yogurt, when done put in a dish towel, cheesecloth folded 2 or 3 times, or piece of muslin, place over a bowl and add the yogurt to the center of the cloth. Gather up the edges and tie a knot in the top, use a wooden spoon or chopsticks run through the knot to hang in the yogurt in the container, let the whey drip out for 12 to 24 hours depending on how dry you want your cheese. You can also make Greek yogurt this way just don’t strain as long.

Butter, This is another time you will want to use the full fat powdered milk ( Nido) ¾ powdered milk, 1/3 cup water,1/4 oil ( olive, coconut, sunflower, avocado etc) optional yellow food coloring, salt, and butter flavoring. Pour the milk into the food processor add water, slowly add oil and blend until it comes together, add salt food coloring and butter flavoring.

And last but not least a scented milk bath 2 cups full fat powdered milk ( Nido) ½ cup cornstarch,1/2 cup baking soda, and your choice of essential oils about 10 drops. Mix dry ingredients well then add oils mix well and store in an airtight jar ( I like to use a mason jar) let sit at least 24 hours to let everything combine. To use pour 1 to 2 cups under you running hot water.

Do you have any other uses for powdered milk? If you do please share.