Powdered Milk Question

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Interesting tidbit:
Parmalat UHT whole milk has a longer shelf life than Nedo dried whole milk!

I first learned of Parmalat in the early 1980s when I visited my sister in Kenya. She was teaching at a mission school there. Because refrigeration was not that common then, the only milk you could buy at "convenience stores" (if you can call them that) was Parmalat. And the only soft drinks you could buy were hot Cokes, LOL.

I never saw Parmalat again for many years, but I remembered it well.
 
EastenerWesterner said:
My wife got tossed off a facebook freeze drying group for saying “why would you spend $5 freeze drying something that cost $5 for something you can buy 3x as much for $10. Think it was a buttermilk conversation.
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I've seen people get tossed off of places or completely angered people for saying what I considered to be so totally benign, but people will get upset about the silliest things. I'd say it was not a group to want to be in.
 
DrHenley said:
Interesting tidbit:
Parmalat UHT whole milk has a longer shelf life than Nedo dried whole milk!

I first learned of Parmalat in the early 1980s when I visited my sister in Kenya. She was teaching at a mission school there. Because refrigeration was not that common then, the only milk you could buy at "convenience stores" (if you can call them that) was Parmalat. And the only soft drinks you could buy were hot Cokes, LOL.

I never saw Parmalat again for many years, but I remembered it well.
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Nido dried whole milk must have a short shelf life. I've never looked at it. I have some powdered milk that I got from the LDS warehouse. The UHT milk that I bought at Dollar Tree says good through November, 2024 and I purchased it in the last few months. While anyone who has been prepping for any amount of time knows that sell by dates are not trustworthy, I have had UHT milk that when I went to use it was a little clumpy at the bottom. It kind of grossed me out.

Is storing things like UHT or powdered milk a homesteading thing or a prepping thing? Can it actually be discussed on a homesteading forum?
 
Weedygarden said:
Nido dried whole milk must have a short shelf life. I've never looked at it. I have some powdered milk that I got from the LDS warehouse. The UHT milk that I bought at Dollar Tree says good through November, 2024 and I purchased it in the last few months. While anyone who has been prepping for any amount of time knows that sell by dates are not trustworthy, I have had UHT milk that when I went to use it was a little clumpy at the bottom. It kind of grossed me out.
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I have seen the same thing with UHT.

But I have also seen powdered full cream milk stored a lot longer than the youtube video and the label "best before" would suggest.

I think that shelf life varies a lot by temperature history, brand and the technology they use to manufacture.

I also repack new product into mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.

Is storing things like UHT or powdered milk a homesteading thing or a prepping thing? Can it actually be discussed on a homesteading forum?
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Yeah sure...why not?

At the very least, the average homesteader has a longer drive to the store.....so having to do that for high turn over supplies like milk and bread is logical.

But beyond that, the boundaries between Homesteading and prepping are quite blurred........for most, homesteading is part of being more independent....as is prepping.

I assess that the subjects that people need to be more careful about posting too much of are politics, conspiracy theories and religion.

Those things have a much more tenuous, less arguable connection to homesteading.

As emotive as they are, those subjects can also "get out of hand" and take over/dominate a forum in an unhealthy way.
 
Hardcalibres said:
But beyond that, the boundaries between Homesteading and prepping are quite blurred........for most, homesteading is part of being more independent....as is prepping.

I assess that the subjects that people need to be more careful about posting too much of are politics, conspiracy theories and religion.

Those things have a much more tenuous, less arguable connection to homesteading.

As emotive as they are, those subjects can also "get out of hand" and take over/dominate a forum in an unhealthy way.
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All homesteading is prepping. Not all prepping is homesteading. A homestead has the ability to produce food for longer than the shelves in the basement provide for.

Keeping up on politics allows you to be aware of what is coming down the pike so you have an idea what to prepare for. Religion is considered spititual prepping by many. If you disagree abut either it is easy to avoid those threads. Our members are very good about keeping those subjects in their respective forums. What conspiracy theories are you talking about? The government cares about us? The MSM reports the news and avoids propaganda? Fish antibiotics are different than human antibiotics?
 
Amish Heart said:
I've never done that. I put it in jars and vacuum seal. Put it in the basement. It's NONFAT. Lasts awhile. Also try the cartons of shelf stable milk that Dollar Tree sells. It tastes ok. Usually the date is at least a year out, if not longer.
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This is what I do also.
I have a gallon of powdered milk in a half gallon jar sealed on my counter top for everyday usage for baking.
I also make up dry gravy mixes using powered milk and label according.
 
When I lived in the far north bush, we kept a considerable stock of powdered milk as a back up.. Never used it to drink, only cook and bake with.. I can't tolerate liquid dairy well so I rarely use that.. I never found a brand of powdered that taste good to me..

We kept unopened pouches in a rodent safe tote.. We kept open pouches stored in canning jars, cool, dark, dry...

We also kept buttermilk powder for cooking, baking.. I could never taste a difference with that over powdered milk.. Maybe I'm just ..taste bud challenged.. in some ways ??
 
Tim Horton said:
When I lived in the far north bush, we kept a considerable stock of powdered milk as a back up.. Never used it to drink, only cook and bake with.. I can't tolerate liquid dairy well so I rarely use that.. I never found a brand of powdered that taste good to me..

We kept unopened pouches in a rodent safe tote.. We kept open pouches stored in canning jars, cool, dark, dry...

We also kept buttermilk powder for cooking, baking.. I could never taste a difference with that over powdered milk.. Maybe I'm just ..taste bud challenged.. in some ways ??
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I have traveled all around the world.

In every area, the dairy products taste different.......and in every area, many of the people there say they can't stand the taste of alternatives that come from somewhere else.

I have a friend that works for a big dairy products corporation (as a food scientist). They wanted to get into the export markets in Asia with their icecream.....but guess what?.......they had to develop a whole new range of recipes because the first shipment of icecream they sent (made up of their best sellers locally) were rejected by the Asian customers as disgusting tasting!!!!!!!
 
Hardcalibres said:
She missed the number one tip for reconstituting powdered milk.........always reconstitute (and then chill) the milk at least 12 hours before you plan to use/drink it. That maximizes palatability.

While it looks like the powder has all been hydrated quickly.......it actually takes several hours for the water to be fully absorbed by the powder particles.
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I just listened to that earlier today while I was working in the summer kitchen.
 
Trivia...
In the early, mid 1980s I worked for a St Paul tool and die shop that built a lot of parts for and the prototype machines that packaged warm shelf stable milk.. They sold 3 machines in Korea.. Korea put 2 machines into production and reverse engineered the 3rd one to produce there own machines.. The company I worked for sold machines, patents, and all to a company in Sweden that built milk, and other shelf stable products packaging equipment.. When my cousin was on the US air base in Germany he said all they could buy was warm shelf products, milk, OJ, beer.. Then you took it home to refrigerate..
 
Tim Horton said:
Trivia...
In the early, mid 1980s I worked for a St Paul tool and die shop that built a lot of parts for and the prototype machines that packaged warm shelf stable milk.. They sold 3 machines in Korea.. Korea put 2 machines into production and reverse engineered the 3rd one to produce there own machines.. The company I worked for sold machines, patents, and all to a company in Sweden that built milk, and other shelf stable products packaging equipment.. When my cousin was on the US air base in Germany he said all they could buy was warm shelf products, milk, OJ, beer.. Then you took it home to refrigerate..
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Yeah, we take refrigeration for granted here. When I was in Kenya, if you asked for ice in your drink at a restaurant, they gave you ONE cube...IF they had any.
My great grandparents had access to ice before they had indoor plumbing.
 
MNwr786 said:
I just picked up two bags of instant powdered nonfat milk for baking if liquid milk gets hard to come by. The bag says that once opened, I need to store it in the fridge and use it within 5 days. I have no idea how I would use 20 quarts of milk in 5 days. Surely this advice is nonsense and it will last much longer, right? How long will it last if I double bag the remaining powder? What if I purge the air out of the bag with nitrogen or an inert gas and keep it in the fridge?
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Separate it into Ziploc bags by half-gallon measurements, put it in a closable box, and stick it in the deep freeze. I've had milk over a year old kept like this.
 
Some of you have heard this before.
As a child I got to milk cows, when I was not in school.
I drink raw milk, raw butter & we had buttermilk.
I buy wet milk now as needed & put a small pinch of salt in it & it never spoils.
I do not need milk for anything, but Hot cornbread & coffee.
Everything, but dairy products can be made without milk, my Mother in law did for years.
On this diet I do not eat corn bread anymore.
 
DrHenley said:
Interesting tidbit:
Parmalat UHT whole milk has a longer shelf life than Nedo dried whole milk!

I first learned of Parmalat in the early 1980s when I visited my sister in Kenya. She was teaching at a mission school there. Because refrigeration was not that common then, the only milk you could buy at "convenience stores" (if you can call them that) was Parmalat. And the only soft drinks you could buy were hot Cokes, LOL.

I never saw Parmalat again for many years, but I remembered it well.
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Still around in South Africa as UHT milk , i think it might of came from here into Kenya ,i still have dried milk powder in bought sealed 500 gm packs, I put into Nitrogen gas back in 2013 in a bucket using in the baking of bread
 
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MNwr786 said:
I just picked up two bags of instant powdered nonfat milk for baking if liquid milk gets hard to come by. The bag says that once opened, I need to store it in the fridge and use it within 5 days. I have no idea how I would use 20 quarts of milk in 5 days. Surely this advice is nonsense and it will last much longer, right? How long will it last if I double bag the remaining powder? What if I purge the air out of the bag with nitrogen or an inert gas and keep it in the fridge?
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It's tough to set up...but works. You need to have things stored in a nitrogen-filled bag.
 
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