Friday, January 8, 2010


Make sure you get to the question at the bottom of this post even if you don't want to read about powdered milk :)

I had a comment on the powdered milk post about the difference between instant and non-instant powdered milk.  There are two basic kinds of powdered milks, instant and non-instant or "regular".  They are processed a little differently so the end products are not the same.

You can tell the difference in the texture.  I dropped a small spoonful of each on some dark paper so you could see the difference.  Non-instant on the left, Store Brand instant on the right.  Some instant powdered milks look more "flaky", this one's "grainy", but the non-instant is definitely "powdery".

Instant powdered milk dissolves faster in water than the non-instant which is why it is called "instant" powdered milk.  It can mix easily in cold water and you have milk relatively quickly.  Instant also tends to taste more like real milk.  It is usually more expensive than the non-instant (although not always), and easier to find.  It takes more instant milk powder than non-instant to make the same volume of milk.  (see chart below)  Instant powdered milk:

Non-instant powdered milk is available at the LDS Church's cannery and probably other places as well, I just haven't looked around for it because I get it at the cannery.  It is powdery and clumps easily.  It is best mixed into warm water with a blender or a whisk and then allowed to cool overnight in the refrigerator before drinking.  It does have a distinctive flavor to it that is not quite like real milk.  I normally use the non-instant milk because it is less expensive and I don't use it to make "milk", I use it in baking.  I do have a few cans of instant milk for making milk to drink that would taste better if I need to.  Non-instant powdered milk:

Here's a quick chart for reconstituting powdered milk so you can see the difference in amounts needed of instant and non-instant:

Milk Desired and Amount of Water
Instant Dry Milk
Non-Instant or Regular Dry Milk
1/4 C.
1 T.
3/4 T.
1/3 C.
1 1/2 T.
1 1/4 T.
1/2 C.
2 T.
1 1/2 T.
2/3 C.
3 T.
2 1/2 T.
1 C.
1/4 C.
3 T.
1 pint
1/2 C.
1/3 C.
1 quart
1 C.
3/4 C.
1/2 gallon
2 C.
1 1/2 C.
1 gallon
4 C.
3 C.

And now the question for you: Do you have powdered milk? If yes, what kind/brand and have you tasted it? If you have tasted it, did you like it?

Okay, I guess that could count as three questions . . . Let me know your answers in the comments. :)


marci357 said...

I use whatever store brand is available cheapest - or carnation is what is usually available if the storebrand is not available.

Powdered milk is the ONLY milk I use anymore - unless the grandkids are going to be visiting for meals :)

I don't taste it - I ONLY use it for baking, cooking, and gravy, chowder, etc. As there is only ME in my house, I don't buy real milk. I use water on my oatmeal and cereal, and after 20 year of that, it is just fine to me :) said...

I use carnation because I can get it for a decent price, but I can taste it in my cooking and would rather have something better, I just don't want to waste money trying to find a better product. We still drink bottled milk, but only because I have yet to find a great substitute.

Your Impact Matters said...

I also use store brand, from Wal-Mart and it's called Great Value. We don't drink it either, but I use it when making bread and in other recipes. I haven't quite started storing powdered milk yet with the rest of my preps, because I'm working on getting the grain stored first. (just found wheat in 50 lb sacks for $7.00 woot!)

When I do store it, there is an LDS cannery about three hours from me, and I'll be driving up there I think to can some. Again, I'll use it mostly for cooking because we have goats and I think the family would prefer the goat milk over powdered when it comes time to drink.

As far as regular milk goes, our big family goes through about 11 gallons per week! I'm hoping that if we had some sort of crisis, I could mix the goat milk and powdered to make a concoction that would taste more like 2% cows milk that we're all used to.

Wendy said...

I use Country Cream. It is more expensive, but I taste-tested the others and this was by far my preference. My milk is instant and actually only uses 2/3 cup of dry milk per quart of water. So, I actually use less powdered milk than non-instant (cannery milk is 3/4 cup per quart).

I didn't know that cannery milk was non-instant. Thanks for the information.

By the way, cannery milk is going up to $7.05 per #10 can (was $5.30). The price difference between cannery milk and Country Cream ($8.88 @ Maceys) right now might allow you to consider trying this milk. Country Cream usually costs around $14.00 a can. I only buy it on sale.


theotherryan said...

Interesting topic. I keep some of those little juice box like things of UHT milk around. Good for when we run out of normal milk unexpectedly, always in the morning after I pour a bowl of cereal. Will have to get some powdered milk as it is cheaper and we keep a decent amount of cereal around. Might just have to write about it. Thanks for the idea!

Anonymous said...

A trick to make your instant powdered milk taste better should you need to drink it regularly?

Add a little liquid cream. I buy the large 1 quart whipping cream to make home made ice cream (we don't have a cow yet).

I mix the milk per directions, add about 1/4 cup of cream and then chill over night.

I plan to buy pwodered cream if I can find it and test that someday, soon.

BTW - NIDO is a brand of whole powdered milk made by Nestle. Available in Hispanic groceries, supposedly.

Also - where did you find 50 lbs of wheat for $7?

The Hermit said...

I never knew there were differences in powdered milk. I just thought it was all "powdered milk." Good to know there are two "types." I have powdered milk, I bought several pails of it from Waldon Feeds some years back. My wife uses it for cooking sometimes, I never just drink plain milk.

Sondra said...

Thanks for this information. Just the other day I watched a video from "Fun with food storage blog".. She made sweetened condense milk and explained you had to use more instant if you don't have non-instant from the cannery.

Anyway - it made me check what I have. I purchase mine from Emergency Essentials. My brand is Provident Pantry Instant Nonfat Dry Milk.

During my Mock 2 week emergency last year we drank it to see what it tastes like. It tastes just like real milk - Yeah! It was good.

I always have a pitcher in the fridge to use for baking. I just had not tasted it on it's own until the challenge.. I never was that brave - LOL!

Dunappy said...

I currently have Albertson's brand Instant non fat milk in the cabinet, but I've used several different ones mainly for cooking and rarely for plain drinking, but I will drink ti if need to and Keith doesn't care one way or the other he uses it a lot.

theotherryan said...

Speaking of this I ran out of normal milk this morning. Tomorrow afternoon is grocery day but the morning cereal needs milk and the coffee sure likes it also. I have some of the UHT stuff but at 30 cents a tiny box the cost adds up fast. Like 60 cents for my normal morning. Wifey mentioned that we have some powdered milk lying around. She uses it to bake. I mixed up a quart and will use it for a couple days. Twill be interesting. Probably need at least one more can of the stuff.

Chief Instructor said...

Thank you for that tutorial. I didn't even know there were two types.

I've only used the Instant (it's all any of the stores in my area carry), and I hate the taste of it. I use it in a lot of my Just Add Water recipes that I have made up for camping and Bug out/Get home Bags.

Cream soups, instant pudding mixes, gravy, etc.

theotherryan said...

I made some instant this week. Ran out of normal milk (can't really stock up on it with the short shelf life) and didn't feel like going to the store. Had it in my morning cereal and coffee for two days. I wouldn't just drink a cup of the stuff but it is fine for my normal purposes. Also Wifey uses it regularly for baking because it is cheaper. We never notice in in a recipe.

Anonymous said...

We use the Provident Pantry brand from Emergency Essentials. It is instant and so you can drink it right away. We were amazed at how good it tasted. It works really well when cooking as well.

Anne said...

Thanks for this post and the comments. It was super helpful!

North Mountain said...


I'd like to quote part of your article on powdered milk for a church newsletter insert.