I am using powdered milk to save money (I get the powdered milk for free). Is there anything I can do to the reconstituted milk to make it taste better? I added a tablespoon of sugar and some vanilla today, nothing changed. It still tastes like powder.
Sandy from Baltimore
Answers:
Mix Whole Milk With Powdered
When my son comes to visit, he always buys whole milk at store. As soon as possible, dilute it half and half with powdered milk. I have an extra whole milk bottle and mix it half and half with 2 percent and powdered milk. If it stands a half a day, it tastes just like whole milk and a lot fresher. I have been doing this since he was a child, he is now 40 years old and a lot healthier for it.
By Janene from Navarre, Ohio
Add Vanilla
When I was a kid, my mother would reconstitute the powdered milk and add some real vanilla (not artificial vanilla) flavoring. This would be served ice cold after a few hours. Shake well. Putting it in a glass refrigerator container might make it taste better than keeping it in plastic. If I can tell the difference between iced tea in plastic as opposed to glass, then reconstituted milk may also show the difference.
I purchased some nice reasonable glass refrigerator beverage containers at Bed Bath & Beyond recently. Or, you could even re-use the glass bottles that the grocery stores have for organic milk.
By Holly
Reduce Fat In Milk Gradually
I have used dry milk for over 40 years. At first it was because it was free. Then it was because I thought that the low fat was better for my kids once they were no longer babies. Whole Fat Milk 4% rate (8% of total calories) seems like overload.
At first, I had to mix with whole milk, but gradually reduce fat milk to 2% and then 1%. After my family became accustomed to the taste, they quit complaining. Took about 10 weeks of the gradual reduction of mixed in fat. However, the last two kids just drank it always like everyone else. When they went to school and were given whole milk for lunch, they complained about that. LOL
If milk is to drink, always make it at least 12 hours in advance and refrigerate. It doesn't seem to make so much difference on cereal and no dif at all in cooking, unless the recipe needs the fat.
Use Warm Water In Powdered Milk
Same here as far as mixing with whole milk when you're starting to use it. I also found that mixing the milk using really warm water helped it dissolve better and, after chilling, it tasted a lot better.
Add A Carrot
A friend who had been in the Navy told me that they had to use powdered milk when out on cruise. They mixed the milk, put a fresh peeled carrot in and then chilled the milk. I was told that this made it taste like fresh milk, plus added beta carotene to it. I tried it, however, and although it did improve the taste, it was still just so-so. It would still be cheaper to try this way than to mix half whole milk.
Use Non Dairy Creamer And Artificial Sweetener
I use powdered milk daily for my cereal. I don't care for whole milk to drink. I mix 1 cup powdered milk with approximately 1/3 cup of powdered coffee creamer and 1 package artificial sweetener to make 64 ounces. My sugar is restricted. You can use a small amount of sugar. Thoroughly chilled and made ahead of time, it tastes great to me.
Add Flavored Mixes Or Banana
If at all possible, I'd add hot chocolate or strawberry flavoring mix to it for kids drinks. In cereals, I'd also use a banana with COLD powdered milk. Try to buy it from a newer or better store so it is not OLD. Old will taste bad because it isn't fresh dried. In foods, one cannot tell the difference.
Letting it set overnight works for us, AND mixing it exactly as it suggests, not too strong, and with ICE WATER. Try finding a better brand than the cheapest. I find that canned fat-free milk for cooking is more reliable, but haven't compared the price. Powdered milk really isn't that cheap, the best I recall. I keep it only for emergencies mostly. I will be using it this next month if given any, because I have NO money for food, guaranteed.
I agree with the comments on gradually mixing it in--so you become accustomed to the "flavor" of the powdered milk. We did this and when we tasted farm fresh real (super fat) whole milk about 8 months later, it tasted watery to us. However, we stopped drinking powdered for a while and got used to the flavor of regular milk again. Now we are using powdered once more and we are doing something new. My husband, who is very particular, will drink it if I make it this way: --I actually add slightly MORE water than recommended--it eliminates the powder flavor --I do use ice --I add an ounce or two of heavy cream per gallon--you could add more --I am thinking of experimenting with adding a tablespoon or so of corn syrup per gallon... --I pour the mixture into a clean whole milk jug--it seems to make my husband happier to not notice the milk is powdered.
If your powder is free, variations on this mix cost something like 12 cents (using 1 oz cream) to a dollar (using 8-9 oz cream) per gallon, which is very reasonable because it really does taste just like store milk, seriously. You have to work with it and adjust it to your liking, but you really can make it good, so keep trying. After drinking a few glasses of our milk, we opened a jug from the store that said "fat free milk." My son and I looked at each other and said "this tastes like powdered milk!!!?!" The "fat free" tasted like powdered and our home blend tasted like store milk!!! we tasted back and forth numerous times and continually came to the same conclusion--maybe "fat free" labeled milk (not skim) means reconstituted powdered.... by the way, we use bakers and chefs powder from sams club if we buy it, but have used two other brands that were just as good--i think extra water has a lot to do with it, then the cream adds flavor and texture.
I agree with the comments on gradually mixing it in--so you become accustomed to the "flavor" of the powdered milk. We did this and when we tasted farm fresh real (super fat) whole milk about 8 months later, it tasted watery to us. However, we stopped drinking powdered for a while and got used to the flavor of regular milk again. Now we are using powdered once more and we are doing something new. My husband, who is very particular, will drink it if I make it this way:
--I actually add slightly MORE water than recommended--it eliminates the powder flavor --I do use ice --I add an ounce or two of heavy cream per gallon--you could add more --I am thinking of experimenting with adding a tablespoon or so of corn syrup per gallon. --I pour the mixture into a clean whole milk jug--it seems to make my husband happier to not notice the milk is powdered.
If your powder is free, variations on this mix cost something like 12 cents (using 1 oz cream) to a dollar (using 8-9 oz cream) per gallon, which is very reasonable because it really does taste just like store milk, seriously. You have to work with it and adjust it to your liking, but you really can make it good, so keep trying. After drinking a few glasses of our milk, we opened a jug from the store that said "fat free milk." My son and I looked at each other and said "this tastes like powdered milk!" The "fat free" tasted like powdered and our home blend tasted like store milk! We tasted back and forth numerous times and continually came to the same conclusion--maybe "fat free" labeled milk (not skim) means reconstituted powdered. By the way, we use bakers and chefs powder from sams club if we buy it, but have used two other brands that were just as good--I think extra water has a lot to do with it, then the cream adds flavor and texture.
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