Powdered milk?

Question

I have a large family (7 people) and we go through about 10 gallons of milk a week, it was fine when milk was only $2.25 a gallon but now it is $3.99, I was thinking about buying powdered milk for things like cereal and cooking...does any one drink powdered milk and is their a big difference in the taste. Also what is the best kind to buy.

My husband refuses to drink anything other than milk and my kids get three glasses a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) I have told my husband several times to quit drinking milk so much and drink water or tea but everything goes in one ear and out the other

Answer 1

Powdered milk is going to taste different no matter what brand you buy. Try mixing it 1/2 and 1/2 with the regular milk so your family like it on their cereal or if they want to drink a glass of milk. If you are using it in cooking I don't think anyone will notice a difference in the taste or texture. I've used it in puddings and gravy and no one complained.

Answer 2

I don't think you will notice too much of a difference with it in recipes. However to use just to drink would be bad. My mom used to mix powdered milk with cows milk, at a 50% ratio. That is pretty palatable, and it would cut down your cow's milk purchases by 50% as well. If you have kids under 5 you can always see if you are eligible for WIC, which gives you free milk for your kids. Also, soy milk is another option, and that tastes pretty good.

Answer 3

I drink powdered milk and there is no difference in taste as long as you follow the measurements when preparing. My favorite brand is NIDO and it's usually in the international aisle or just go to an international foods market. It is absolutely delicious. Your family will never miss the regular milk

If you're thinking local, there's this brand with a cow on the box (I can't remember the name) but it's in the baking needs aisle at your local grocer, right next to evaporated canned milk. It tastes good too.

Hope you find what you're looking for.

Answer 4

The best tasting powered milk to me is made by Nestle and is called Nido. It is dry whole milk that comes in a can and is sold in the Latin food isle of the store. It is very close to regular milk, and the taste is great. I would suggest using it for morning cereal. As for cooking, regular dried milk is good. I keep Nido for guests who come over to my place. I use soy milk, but not all my friends care for soy milk. So, I keep Nido to make them milk for breakfast.
As for your husband, how about making lattes? It is half coffee and half milk and tastes great. If that does not work; tell him that milk is actually cow mucus. That might slow his consumption. Plus, too much milk is not a good thing. It could be he just wants something cold to drink...this may be true for your children too. So, try to keep cold water, or Kool aide made with Splenda in the fridge.

Answer 5

My mother used to do what Ellen says- mix the powdered milk half and half with whole milk, to improve the taste. Not that it's "bad", but it's skim/low fat, so it seems watery compared to whole milk. Make it the night before, so it's nice and cold in the morning, since it tastes better cold. Perhaps you could cut back on milk consumption for the adults and add more cheeses and yougurt to your diets for dairy and calcium concerns while trying to keep your budget under control.

Answer 6

Yeah, big difference in taste, but fine to cook with. Wouldn't want to drink it, but it might be okay in cereal if you made it nice and cold. I tried Carnation and it was okay, but that's the only one I've tried. That's a lot of milk, even for seven people, maybe switch to tea or lemonade some......

Answer 7

Try a 50/50 mix...a quart of prepared powdered milk with a quart of the regular liquid milk yielding a half gallon and see how it goes.

Answer 8

That is unusual as I would think milk would be cheap and plentiful in your part of the world. It could be a waste issue, or a cost cutting measure. You could bring a little from home, if you have some where cool to store it, or have a Thermos flask.

Answer 9

i use powdered milk for cooking but don't like the taste of it for drinking or cereal

Answer 10

yes, powedered milk and regular milk are VERY different tastes, in fact i struggle to find any similarity in taste between them! you should tru buying low fat milk instead as it can be sometimes cheaper