my powdered milk cup overfloweth

May 17, 2009 3:08 PM

what the hell do i do with three pounds of whole-fat dried milk?

so, someone at work was throwing away a whole bunch of whole-fat dry milk, originally a sample from a company but not needed anymore.

well, gosh darn it, i thought, what a shame! modern-recession-frugality dictates this need not to go waste! so i brought a big ol'bag of dried milk home. i realized halfway through the bike ride home i have NO IDEA what to do with dried milk. it has been sitting in the fridge for a couple of days now.

Google brings up a lot of lame things, like "add to hot chocolate". LAME. i am also not really interested in drinking powdered milk straight up.

so, mefites, help a sister out! do not let this rescue mission go south!

what are the most awesome things I can achieve with this dried milk?

do you have delicious and tasty recipes that use a lot of dried milk? what about potentially mind-blowing baked goods? art projects? 1980s-yuppie-coke-themed party? that home-made playdough stuff that hippie parents make? i like edible things the best.

(also, the fact that it is supposed to be used for large-scale food processing - relevant?)

posted by chickadee to food & drink (32 comments total)

Powdered milk (once reconstituted with water) works in all baking recipes perfectly. Just like regular milk, but cheaper. Make muffins! Waffles! Biscuits! Go wild!
posted by whimsicalnymph at 3:15 PM on May 17 [2 favorites has favorites]

Reconstitute it, curdle it, and make environmentally friendly milk paint.
posted by maudlin at 3:22 PM on May 17

Kind of a boring idea, but why not package it carefully and set it aside as part of your emergency pantry? Who knows when the power will go out for an extended period due to an ice storm or whatever? In the event of an emergency, you have a decent source of calories and protein and other nutrients right there.

Caveat: I have never heard of dried milk being stored in the refrigerator / needing refrigeration. So this might not work if it has a limited shelf life, obviously.
posted by charmcityblues at 3:23 PM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

Homemade Bisquick

posted by boby at 3:27 PM on May 17

Make Gulab Jamun and other Indian sweets - many of them require powdered milk, and pretty much all of them are AWESOME.
posted by lottie at 3:28 PM on May 17 [3 favorites has favorites]

I say go on a backpacking trip! Use it over oats, with some water and dried fruit, and enjoy a delicious summertime outdoorsy breakfast.
posted by ORthey at 3:28 PM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'd be pretty psyched to get this, because I never want to buy it because it seems like no fun, but it'd be great to have around to use in baking in place of regular milk. It's cheaper, it doesn't go bad, and it's not going to use the last of the milk you wanted for your coffee.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:30 PM on May 17

Reconstitute it, curdle it, and make paneer. And then google up recipes for saag paneer and matar paneer. Yum.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:30 PM on May 17 [3 favorites has favorites]

I would freeze it, instead of refrigerating it.

A number of recipes in Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible use dried milk, including this tasty one. (Sift the dry ingredients over the sponge and let sit in the fridge for 12 - 24 hours for the best flavor. The title sounds really dull, but the bread makes the most amazing toast and grilled cheese sandwiches.
posted by Lycaste at 3:32 PM on May 17

Use it to make homemade gourmet-flavored instant coffee mix (2 parts instant coffee, one part powdered milk, combined with spices of your choosing) and put it in decorative jars to gift to your friends.
posted by amyms at 3:33 PM on May 17

Make cheese!
posted by stavrogin at 3:40 PM on May 17

Here's an illustrated guide. He also has a recipe for soft cheese.
posted by stavrogin at 3:44 PM on May 17

Believe it or not, powered milk can make a very fun explosive, if aerosolized. Throw a handful of it in the air, stick a lighter in the resulting mist, and enjoy the WHOOMP.
posted by arcolz at 3:45 PM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

Can you make yogurt out of it? This is my new favorite thing.
posted by sully75 at 3:48 PM on May 17

Save it up for the apocalypse.
posted by erisfree at 3:51 PM on May 17

Send it to a biochemistry lab; we go through a lot of dried milk when we run Westerns.

Done carefully, lighting up aerosolized powders like dried milk is great fun.
posted by ubersturm at 4:12 PM on May 17

I keep powdered milk on hand for making bread and other baked goods. But here's another good idea, and one that just might make you feel good too: How about donating some or all of it to a food pantry, homeless shelter, or other worthy cause? You could also freecycle it to folks in your community who might have need for it.
posted by DrGail at 4:15 PM on May 17 [3 favorites has favorites]

Use it for homemade bath and beauty products! For example, some of these or these
posted by aka burlap at 4:16 PM on May 17

might not be a tremendously awesome idea, but you could use it to stretch regular milk for drinking. when you've drunk half of the (regular, non-powdered) milk in the gallon jug or whatever size you get, add however much reconstituted powdered milk it takes to re-fill the jug. that way you aren't drinking powdered milk straight up.
posted by fancyoats at 4:27 PM on May 17

My favorite all-purpose bread uses powdered milk. I envy you your stash!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

2 Tbsp (shy) yeast
4 c whole wheat flour
3 ½ - 4 c flour
½ c honey
1 Tbsp salt
3 c water
½ c dry milk powder
2 Tbsp oil
Optional: melted butter
Optional, for sweet version: brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins

In a large bowl, combine 3 c whole wheat flour, dry milk powder, salt, and yeast. Mix well. Heat water, oil, and honey until warm (115-120 degrees). Add to whole wheat flour mixture. Beat at low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat at medium for three minutes. Beat in remaining wheat flour and enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for five minutes. Let rise in greased bowl; cover, and put in a warm, draft-free place for about an hour. Punch down; divide in half. Let dough rest 10 minutes. Shape and place into two 9” x 5” x 3” well-greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until double (about 45 minutes). Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Optional: Brush loaves with melted butter as they come out of the oven. Makes two loaves.

Note: Honey Whole Wheat Bread can be made into a sweet bread. After the dough has rested, take one half and roll it flat; aim for a rectangular shape, which, when rolled, will not be wider than your pan. Sprinkle liberally with brown sugar; sprinkle with cinnamon to taste. If you want raisins, sprinkle them on the dough. Starting at the end closest to you, roll dough into a cylinder. Pinch together the dough at the seam; pinch each end closed, and fold the ends under the loaf as you place it in the greased pan. Repeat with other half of dough. Bake as above. Delicious as a breakfast bread!

P.S. Hillbilly Housewife has a good page on storing and using powdered milk.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:35 PM on May 17 [4 favorites has favorites]

Make it double strength and use it in soup.
posted by zinfandel at 5:07 PM on May 17

Seconding aka burlap. A couple cups dumped into a drawn bath = milk bath!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:14 PM on May 17

I forget the ratios, but I used to make Potato-Cheese Soup for backpacking from the NOLS cookbook.

1 bag with
Powdered Milk
Powderd Potato Spuds
Powdered / DeHydrated Onion
Powdered Garlic
Salt & Pepper

1 bag with
Powdered Parmesean Cheese (or cabot cheddar popcorn shaker cheese)

Boil water, add first bag and cook for 3 minutes.
Kill heat, mix in cheese. Its not only palatable - its frickin awesome after 15 miles of packing...
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:35 PM on May 17 [2 favorites has favorites]

I like to keep some powdered milk around for when we run out of regular milk. It's fine on cereal or in cooking, though I also don't drink it straight. Don't you just keep powdered milk on the shelf? I do.
posted by DarkForest at 5:56 PM on May 17

Just pray that it didn't originate in China...
posted by DarkForest at 6:02 PM on May 17

Use it like protein powder: frozen strawberries, vanilla, splenda, and a little water in a blender makes for a nice morning shake.
posted by aquafortis at 7:18 PM on May 17

Fry it in butter until you get butter powder, then make butter pork ribs.
posted by rxrfrx at 7:28 PM on May 17

Make a lot of chai mix. You can leave a jar in the office at the coffeepot for non-coffee drinkers to enjoy.
posted by knile at 8:14 PM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

thank you all!!

these are totally awesome things to do with dry milk. EVERYONE OF THEM. google is trumped once again.
posted by chickadee at 9:15 PM on May 17

Dried milk will make pancake mix magical. Really. Don't buy cheap pancake mix though. I currently have 3 pancake mixes (and Dakota Mill buttermilk is the undisputed best mix) in my house & 2 (of many more) recipes in regular rotation and each is much improved with powdered milk. The two gold star recipes are from: joy of cooking (old) & Feed me I'm yours a baby food book.
posted by zenon at 10:12 PM on May 17

I saw a recipe once for 'protein balls'. I can't find it, but I think you just mix the milk powder with peanut butter, make it into balls and coat it with raisins. Sounds like a good snack if you like those things.
posted by Not Supplied at 4:20 AM on May 18

Seconding making cheese. Thirty-minute mozzarella is delicious.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 6:06 AM on May 18