I grew up with fresh milk, both from cows and from goats, so when I had to use powdered milk, it was disgusting. Anyone who has gone from fresh to powdered knows that it can be quite horrible, so today, we’re going to look at how to make powdered milk more palatable.
Simple Ways to Make Powdered Milk Taste Great
Trying to figure out how to get your family to drink the milk you’ve bought in bulk for your food storage? Not to worry! Here are my top tips on making it taste much better.
Use warm water to reconstitute it.
Warm water helps the tiny particles of fat in the milk powder dissolve and blend in. Of course, you don’t probably don’t want to drink warm milk, so go ahead and chill it for a day before serving.
Let it stand.
If you leave freshly mixed powdered milk for a day, it will taste a lot more like regular milk. That’s likely due to the fact that it has had time to fully dissolve and rehydrate. After all, if you drop raisins into water and then eat them two minutes later, they won’t be as plump and juicy as they would be after 12 hours of soaking.
Add some cream.
Everything tastes better with fat, so it makes sense that adding half a cup of heavy cream to a gallon of powdered milk will help it taste much better. However, most of us don’t have cream sitting around if we’ve run out of milk, so the next option is to use a can of evaporated whole milk. Warning, don’t use condensed milk, since that will make it very sweet!
Mix the milk in a glass container.
You should really skip the plastic when you’re trying to make powdered milk. The plastic can leach flavors into the milk and may end up making it taste even worse. Glass is your best option and as a plus, it will help the milk chill faster, too.
Add a carrot.
Weird suggestion? We thought so, too, but it actually has a purpose. First, the carrot adds a teensy touch of color to the milk, but it also changes the flavor ever so slightly. It seems to absorb the “weird” flavor in the milk. This is best used in combo with other tricks, though, because it doesn’t really render the milk completely great on its own. To use a carrot, just peel, cut into several pieces lengthwise and drop into the milk. Soak overnight and remove before serving.
Chill the reconstituted milk.
Another good idea is to chill the milk thoroughly before drinking. You can do this to a certain extent even if you are without power. Just wrap a damp cloth around the container you mixed the milk in (metal or glass is best), and let it sit in the shade. The water will evaporate and cool the container. Alternatively, you can tightly cap the container and put it in a stream or lake to cool.
Add some flavor.
No one is touching the milk after all that work? Not to worry. You can make your powdered milk tastier by adding some flavors. Ideas include:
- Vanilla (1 teaspoon per gallon of milk)
- Chocolate drink powder
- Strawberry drink powder
- Sugar (to taste)
Keeping a few flavor options on hand can really increase the chances of your family drinking their milk when you make it. Not to mention, chocolate milk is a great way to calm a child during a survival situation and make them feel better about the entire thing.
Buy the right powdered milk.
Not all dry milk is the same and the faster you find the best brand for your family, the faster you can stock up on something they will actually drink. Some powdered milks are just disgusting while others are more palatable. Here are some of the dried milks that are considered to be the best tasting, by people who regularly use them.
It really does matter which brand you use and this is one case where buying the cheapest option isn’t a great idea.
How Long is the Powdered Milk Shelf Life?
If you’re going to use powdered milk in your food storage, you’ll want to make sure it’s going to last. Most milk will last for about 12 months according to the best before date. This is when you can drink it easily. After the year mark, you’ll probably want to just use it for cooking (that’s right, don’t throw it out!).
Hopefully, with the tricks in this post, you’ll never need to worry about throwing anything out, now that you know how to make powdered milk taste better.
