Dry Milk

Types of Dry Milk

Nonfat Dry Milk This is pasteurized skim milk reduced to a powdered concentrate. It can be found in two forms, regular and instant. They are both made from milk in a spray-drying process, but the instant variety has been given further processing to make it more easily soluble in water than regular dry milk. Both types have the same nutrient composition. The regular variety is more compact and requires less storage space than the instantized variety, but it is more difficult to reconstitute. The most easily found variety is the instant, available in nearly any grocery store. The regular variety has to be sought out from baking and restaurant suppliers and storage food dealers.

It takes about 3 tablespoons of instant nonfat dry milk added to 8 ozs of water to make 1 cup of milk you can drink or cook with just like fresh milk, albeit with a considerable flavor difference. Combine the dry milk with water at least several hours before you plan to use it to give it time to dissolve fully and to develop a fresher flavor. Shaking the fluid milk vigorously will incorporate air and will also help to improve flavor. I don’t care for the stuff to drink, but instead add the powder to baked goods, gravies, smoothies, hot cereals, casseroles and meat loaf as a nutrition booster. It can also be used to make yogurt, cheese and most any cultured dairy product that does not require a high fat content.

Flavored Nonfat Dry Milk This may be found packaged in a variety of forms from a low calorie diet drink (artificially sweetened) to the other end of the scale, as cocoa mix or malted milk. The key ingredient is the dry milk so buy and store these products accordingly.

Dry Whole Milk This dry milk has a higher fat content and therefore a shorter shelf life than nonfat. Other than that, it can be used in exactly the same way. Dry whole milk is difficult to find, but can sometimes be found where camping and outback supplies are sold.

Dry Buttermilk Dry buttermilk is for use in recipes calling for buttermilk. Since it has a slightly higher fat content than nonfat dry milk, it generally does not keep as long.

Buying Dry Milk Products

* Be sure the dry milk you are buying has been fortified with vitamins A and D. All of the nonfat dry milks I’ve seen come fortified with these two vitamins. The dry buttermilk does not come this way, at least the SACO brand does not. I don’t know if the flavored mixes and the dry whole milk do or not.

* There should be no artificial colors or flavors. I believe it is illegal to add preservatives to any dry milk sold in the U.S. so a claim of “no preservatives” on the label is of no consequence. Other nations may be different, however.

“Extra Grade” on the label indicates the manufacturer has held to higher processing and quality standards and the milk is somewhat lower in fat, moisture and bacterial content, is more soluble, and has fewer scorched particles.

There are still some manufacturers of dry milk that sell ordinary Grade A product, but they are becoming fewer. Every brand of instant powdered milk in my local grocery store is the “Extra Grade,” even the generic store brand. This, too, may vary outside of the States.

* Try to buy your dried milk in containers of a size that makes sense for the level of consumption in the household. Once it is opened, powdered milk has a short shelf life before undesirable changes in flavor and nutrient content occurs. If you buy large packages and do not use much at one time, consider breaking it down and repackaging into smaller containers at the time of purchase.

* As with any storage food you buy, try to deal only with reputable dealers. It is particularly important to do this with dry milk because of its short shelf life and sensitivity to storage conditions. Check expiration dates, then date and rotate packages.

Storing of Dry Milks

Dry milk products are especially sensitive to storage conditions, particularly temperature and light. Vitamins A and D are photo sensitive and will break down rapidly if exposed to light.

The area where your dry milk is stored should be kept as cool as possible. If it is possible to do so, air-conditioning or even refrigeration can greatly extend the nutrient shelf life.

If the storage container is transparent or translucent then it should be put into a second container opaque to light or stored in a dark room.

Dry milk will absorb moisture and odors from the air so storage containers should be impervious to both air and moisture. The dryer it can be kept, the better it will keep. Oxygen also speeds decomposition. Powdered milk canned with nitrogen or carbon dioxide to replace air (which contains oxygen) will keep longer than powdered milk exposed to air. Vacuum canning also decreases the available oxygen.

If the dry milk purchased was not packaged for long term storage then it should be repackaged right away.

I purchase the instant variety at my local grocery and repack it when I get it home. I’ve seen a number of methods used for this and any of them should work.

The method I now use is to pour the powder into clean, dry half-gallon canning jars. Once the jars are filled I add a small desiccant pack and seal. They are dated and stored in the ubiquitous cool, dark place. They must be guarded against breakage, but they offer the advantage of not holding odors, thus allowing for reuse after suitable cleaning. Since they are as transparent the contents must be protected against light. Vacuum sealing and then storing in a dark place may be the best method. Larger jars of 1 gallon size could be used and then re-vacuum sealed after each use. An O2 absorber would take care of any remaining oxygen and would, itself, last longer when used in conjunction with the vacuum sealer. Being glass, the jar can be reused as well as the lid and ring if they’re properly cleaned.

Clean, sound plastic one and two liter soda bottles can also be used, but probably should be used just once since the plastic is somewhat permeable and will hold odors.

If you have access to a can sealer, #10 cans make wonderful storage containers for dry milk, particularly if used in conjunction with O2 absorbers.

Another method I’ve seen used is to remove the paper envelopes of milk powder from the cardboard box they come from the grocery store in and to put them in dated plastic bags. These bags are not sealed. The unsealed bags are then placed in a larger, air tight, opaque container. I’ve heard of plastic buckets, fifty cal and 20 mm ammo cans being used for this purpose. A healthy quantity of desiccant was also placed in the container. This would be another area where O2 absorption packets should serve well. It’s important to remember the containers should be clean and odor-free.

Canned Goods (Metal Cans and Glass Jars)

Liquid Milk

Preserved liquid milk comes in a number of forms, none of which are very similar to each other. The most common forms of these packaged milk are as follows:

Canned Milks These are commonly called UHT milks (Ultra High Temperature) for the packaging technique used to put them up. They come in the same varieties as fresh liquid milks: whole, 2%, 1% and skim. Just recently I’ve even found whipping cream in UHT packaging (Grand Chef - Parmalat), though this may be offered only in the commercial/restaurant market. In the U.S. they have vitamin D added. The lesser fat content milks do not keep as long as whole milk and their “use by” dates are correspondingly shorter term. This milk is packaged in aseptic containers, either cans or laminated paper cartons. It has the same composition as fresh milk of the same type, and can be stored at room temperature because of the special pasteurizing process used. The milk has a boiled flavor, but much less than evaporated milk. I buy the whole milk and the dates are usually for as much six months. The milk is still usable past their dates, but the flavor soon begins to go stale and the cream separates. I am told by a friend who lived in Germany not long after this kind of canned milk began to come on the market there that they were dated for a year.

With only a six month shelf life this type of canned milk naturally requires a much faster rotation cycle than other types. The only brand name for this milk I’ve seen is Parmalat. It’s a lot of bother, but to me it’s worth it to have whole, fluid milk. Recently, I have discovered that it makes excellent yogurt, with the boiled tasted disappearing. We have begun using this method for using up our Parmalat as its dates come up and it is rotated out of storage.

Evaporated This is made from fresh, unpasteurized whole milk. The process removes 60% of the water; the concentrate is heated, homogenized, and in the States vitamin D is added. It is then canned and heated again to sterilize the contents. It may also have other nutrients and chemical stabilizers added. A mixture of one part water and one part evaporated milk will have about the same nutritional value of an equal amount of fresh milk. There is generally no date or “use by” code on evaporated milk.

Health and nutrition food stores often carry canned, evaporated goat’s milk, in a similar concentration.

Sweetened Condensed This milk goes through much less processing than evaporated milk. It starts with pasteurized milk combined with a sugar solution. The water is then extracted until the mixture is less than half its original weight. It is not heated because the high sugar content prevents spoilage. It’s very high in calories, too: 8 oz has 980 calories.

Although it is often hard to find, the label has a stamped date code which indicates the date by which it should be consumed. Sweetened, condensed milk may thicken and darken as it ages, but it is still edible.

Shelf Life of Canned Milks

Unopened cans of evaporated milk can be stored on a cool, dry shelf for up to six months. Canned milk (UHT) should be stored till the stamped date code on the package (3 - 6 months). Check the date on sweetened, condensed milk for maximum storage.