Thoughts About Powdered Milk

I don't know about you but I was raised in the 70's. I had one friend, just one, whose mother used powdered milk. I just remember it as being vile tasting. I swore I'd never use it. I raised my son on a very limited budget and still was able to not even consider using powdered milk.

When milk (and all other grocery) prices started edging up and my husband's paycheck wasn't cutting it anymore we began to reassess our priorities. I had ALWAYS purchased organic milk. So I switched to non-organic milk to save a few bucks. But my girls seem to drink a lot of milk. I have never been fond of milk and my husband is lactose intolerant. My son, when he is here (he moved into his own apartment last year), only likes whole milk and I have bought skim milk since my youngest turned 2.

When the girls started going through spurts of milk drinking I found that we were wasting a lot of milk some weeks and other weeks we'd go through more than we could keep in stock. I'd find myself running up to the store (wasting time & gas) to buy more. I didn't want to buy more than our normal amount during my weekly shopping trip because I didn't want it to spoil if it was one of our "off milk" weeks.

So I thought I'd give powdered milk a try. I bought a box. I have to admit I was embarassed to purchase powdered milk. I had always pictured powdered milk as something that was associated with "government cheese". I was raised in an upper middle class neighborhood and it's difficult sometimes to humble yourself enough to accept that your life is not exactly as you pictured it to be.

I washed out the half gallon plastic bottle that we had just finished with milk and sneakily made the powdered milk after the kids went to bed that night. The next morning, they both wanted milk and neither of them detected any difference. OK! I thought, this might work until our finances get back on track. Every little bit helps afterall. Sometimes I'd buy regular milk and if it was a big milk drinking week, I'd mix up a bit of powdered milk and we'd be good to go until the next planned grocery trip. So, I was saving not only in the overall cost of milk but also I was saving gas and time by not having to do those late night "oh my gosh, we're not going to have enough milk to make it through tomorrow morning" trips.

I finally bought a glass half gallon container at Walmart and I now am completely using powdered milk. My kids drink chocolate milk most of the time so they really don't have a clue. Even when they drink it plain they've never said anything about the taste being different (and they're both pretty particular).

By no means do I plan on using powdered milk for the long term. But during this time of financial crisis for us, it has been a real blessing.

A couple of tips if you decide to try powdered milk:

Use a glass container. It cleans easier and won't hold odors. Also, the top is larger so it is neater when pouring the milk powder into it. I picked one up at Walmart for $5. When I go back to organic milk I can use the glass container for juice.

If you can, make it the night before and let it sit in the fridge. It tastes better if it's allowed time to develop and get very cold.

You can mix reconstituted milk with whole milk. It doesn't alter the flavor/consistency of whole milk much and it will save you some money and get the family used to the idea.

One final thought, powdered milk is excellent to have around the house if you do a lot of baking. So, when you are able to go back to organic milk for drinking, keep some powdered milk around for baking and emergencies (like ice storms).


Blessings,

Karen