Powdered non-fat dry milk has a shelf-life of 1-year (unopened), or check the "use-by" date, and once it's opened needs to be used quickly to maintain it's freshness.  It begins to degrade rapidly once it's exposed to moisture, air, and light.  Here are some recipes for using dried milk products for something other than reconstituted milk.

Homemade Buttermilk

(Source: Natural Meals in Minutes - By Rita Bingham)

This homemade version of buttermilk is much tastier and thicker than buttermilk made from powdered (SACO) buttermilk.

1 quart of reconstituted non-fat dry milk (or regular commercial milk)

1/2 cup of commercial buttermilk OR buttermilk made from dried buttermilk powder OR 1/2 c. from your last batch

Put the milk and buttermilk in a quart jar, and stir well. Place a plastic lid on the jar. Let stand in a warm place (at least 80̊F) until clabbered, about 12-18 hours (an oven with the light on is a nice warm place for this project - keep the jar as far away from the light as possible or it can get too warm).

When clabbered, stir, and refrigerate. To keep the buttermilk fresh, you can use 1/2 cup of the previous batch to make a new batch. A new batch should be made every two weeks because old buttermilk does not work well to use as a starter culture.

Chocolate Pudding Mix

(For every 4 servings, sift these dry ingredients together.  Make up several packets in zip-lock bags at once and keep in your pantry.)

1/4 c. flour

6 T. sugar

2/3 c. non-fat powdered milk (powder)

dash of salt

4 T. cocoa

To prepare:  Empty the 4-serving amount of ingredients into a saucepan.  Gradually add 2 cups water and 2 T. butter or margarine (optional).  Blend thoroughly with a wire whisk during cooking.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the pudding thickens and starts to bubble when you stop stirring for a moment.  Turn off heat, blend in 1 t. vanilla.  Pour into serving dishes.

Wheat and Sesame Tortillas

(source:  Natural Meals In Minutes - by Rita Bingham)

2 c. whole wheat flour (can also use all-purpose flour or 1/2 and /1/2)

3 T. dry milk powder

1/3 c. sesame seeds

2 T. butter or applesauce (if you want a low-fat version)

1/2 t. salt

2 T. yogurt (I also use homemade kefir)

1/2 c. lukewarm water

Combine dry ingredients.  Use a hand or electric beater to cut in butter or applesauce until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Slowly pour in water and yogurt, mixing lightly with a fork.  On a floured board, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Shape into a ball, cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Divide and shape dough into 8 (or more if you want smaller tortillas) balls.  Cover, removing one ball at a time and roll paper-thin on a floured board.  Place on a heavy, hot, ungreased skillet, over medium-high heat.  Blisters should appear right away.  Brown on one side and turn.  Cook about 30 seconds.  Makes eight 9-inch tortillas.

Thanks for tips & recipes!! I use powered milk, usually just for cooking/baking purposes. And on ocassion, I've been known to add a little of it (reconstituted of course) to the jug of 2% just to make it go a little further!! Shhhhhhhh....don't tell Brian...he'd flip out!!

Thanks for these recipes.  I use powdered milk for drinking and baking exclusively, and I use a lot of buttermilk.  Great tips!

Thanks, Gingerbread, for the buttermilk info. I didn't think about it being cultured product like yogurt but of course it is. I use buttermilk for making bread, a mixer recipe that uses both yeast and baking powder for leavening, along with the buttermilk. It is very easy in that there is only one rising, and the buttermilk gives a sourdough taste and texture. However I don't do it often enough now to keep buttermilk on hand, and the grocery store doesn't always carry it for some reason, probably because so few buy it. This will be helpful. E

elovestea:

Thanks, Gingerbread, for the buttermilk info. I didn't think about it being cultured product like yogurt but of course it is. I use buttermilk for making bread, a mixer recipe that uses both yeast and baking powder for leavening, along with the buttermilk. It is very easy in that there is only one rising, and the buttermilk gives a sourdough taste and texture. However I don't do it often enough now to keep buttermilk on hand, and the grocery store doesn't always carry it for some reason, probably because so few buy it. This will be helpful. E

I've used this method for making homemade buttermilk during my marathon baking for St. Patrick's Day.  It seems I have a lot of recipes that takes lots of buttermilk, and it's much cheaper to make at home then to purchase commercially.   I usually use reconstituted buttermilk powder as the culture and add it to regular milk, or reconstituted powdered milk or Morning Moo's (a whey-based milk substitute).  I keep a bag of powdered buttermilk in the freezer and it keeps for long periods of time if frozen.

I also use homemade kefir instead of buttermilk in many recipes - a different flavor, but the same results.  ~Gingerbread

Other recipes:

  Swiss Potato Soup

Source:  Eat Light, Eat Right Cookbook

1/4 c. chopped onion

2 T. butter

4 c. water

2 c. diced raw potato

1/4 t. salt

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1-1/2 c. instant non-fat dry milk powder

3 T. flour

1 T. chopped parsley

1 c. (4 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese

Saute onion in butter in large saucepan until tender.  Add 1 c. water, potatoes, salt, and bouillon cubes.  Cover; boil gently 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Combine nonfat dry milk and flour.  Stir in remaining 3 cups water.  Add to potato mixture.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  Stir in parsley.  Ladle into bowls and top each with shredded cheese to serve.  Makes 6 cups.

 Orange Whipped Topping

1/2 c. instant nonfat dry milk powder

1/2 c. ice cold orange juice

2 T. orange marmalade

Chill electric beaters and a small mixer bowl.  Place nonfat dry milk powder and orange juice in chilled bowl.  Beat on highest speed until stiff (4-5 minutes).  Fold in orange marmalade.  Can be served at once over cake, instead of frosting.  This does not keep long after it's made.  Makes about 2-1/2 cups. 

Quick-prep homemade yogurt

To make 1 quart of yogurt (prep takes under 10 minutes, followed by 4 to 8 hours incubation):

2 c. boiling water (start with cold tap water)
1-1/2 c. cold tap water
Instant nonfat dry milk powder to make 1 quart (usually about 1-1/3 c.)
1 or 2 Tbs. plain yogurt with active cultures (can be frozen and thawed)

While you bring the 2 cups of water to a boil, put the 1-1/2 cups cold water in a 4- to 6-cup tub and whisk in the powdered milk.  Whisk in the 2 cups boiling water.  Whisk in the starter yogurt.  Seal tub and immediately place in a heavily insulated cooler (I use a cooler that frozen steaks were shipped in) with a cozy blanket of some sort (I use a large old scarf) wrapped around the tub for extra heat retention.  Leave undisturbed for 4 to 8 hours.  Refrigerate.

Those are the basics.  Here are some extras:

Of course you can use a spoonful from one batch of yogurt to start your next batch.  I have best luck doing this for long periods of time if I start my next batch of yogurt with pretty much the first spoonful from the most recent tub.  If you wait until the previous tub is almost empty, I think it is more likely that undesired microorganisms will get established and eventually defeat your yogurt culture.  If you don't use yogurt very fast, and don't want to have more than one tub around most of the time, you can always freeze a spoonful in a small container to use when you want to start another batch (thaw before use).  Some say that freezing kills yogurt cultures, but that has not been my experience, at least for periods up to a few months.

You can add a bit of extra milk powder if you wish.  That might make the resulting yogurt thicker, but no guarantees.  Don't go overboard, maybe an extra 1/3 c.  I don't bother.

If you want to make a quart of flavored yogurt, you can whisk in 4-6 Tbs. of sugar and a bit of vanilla, almond, lemon or similar extract (in the 1 tsp. to 1 Tbs. range) before you add the starter yogurt.  This won't interfere with the culture's growth.

In warmer weather I shift the ratio of boiling to cold water.  The high summer extreme case is 1 cup of boiling water and 2-1/2 cups of cold water.  I also sometimes shorten the incubation period to just three hours in the summer.  This may not apply if the yogurt is incubating in an air conditioned space though.

 WOW  Keep going guys this is great.  I have tons of powdered milk on hand and I am the only one that uses it.  Brian is lactose intolerant and I make rice milk or soy milk for him.  I cant have soy, and love milk.  I use it to make mixes of all kinds to keep on hand, but these recipes are terrific.  : )

Brianschef Michelle 

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 1/3 cups instant dry milk
1/2 cup hot water
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar

Pour water into blender, add milk, and sugar. Blend. Add butter and blend
Thoroughly. Chill for later use. 1 1/4 cups homemade mixture equals 1 can regular sweetened condensed milk.

Evaporated Milk

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry powdered milk
1/2 cup warm water

Whisk together all ingredients.


Whipped Topping

6 tablespoons powdered milk
1 cup water
2 teaspoons gelatin
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dissolve the milk and gelatin in boiling water. Add sugar, stir, and chill in the refrigerator until it gels. Beat the mixture until it looks like whipped cream. Add vanilla and whip again.


Bakers Cheese: (Tastes like Ricotta or cream cheese & may be used in any recipe calling for either.)

1/4 Rennet tablet (Junket) Available in most grocery stores near the gelatin section. It is the enzyme, Rennin.
2 quarts warm water
5 1/3 cups instant dry milk
1/2 cup buttermilk

Dissolve Rennet tablet in warm water. Add dry milk and mix well. Add buttermilk and mix well. Cover and keep at room temperature until set (about 5-10 hours). Pour into Cheesecloth-covered strainer, close the cheesecloth, and squeeze out as much whey as possible. The whey may be saved for use in bread. Place the cheese in the refrigerator until well chilled (usually overnight). Knead cheese until the texture is smooth. Cheese will freeze well for up to 6 months. (Makes about 1 lb.)

Cocoa Mix

15 cups Instant powdered milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Makes enough for 10 quarts or 40, 1-cup servings. To use the mix, stir 1/2 cup of mix into 1 cup hot water for a warm drink or ice cold water for chocolate milk.


Milk Gravy

1 cup powdered milk, mixed with 3 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the water and powdered milk together. Add the flour and salt. Cook over medium heat until the gravy is thickened. Add the butter and stir until smooth.


"Queso Blanco" or White Cheese

10 Cups Powdered Milk
4 Quarts Water
2 Tablets (Junket Pills) Dissolved
1 Quart Half & Half Cream - (Don't know what you could substitute)

Pour powdered milk into container and slowly add water, stirring to dissolve milk.
Heat mixture until lukewarm. Meanwhile dissolve junket tablets
in a cup with some of the water. Add this to milk; mix in quart of half and half. DO NOT OVERHEAT MILK! When it is lukewarm remove pan from burner and let sit about a half an hour to 45 min. Take large spoon and break up mixture-let set for about 10 minutes. Pour mixture with a cup into a small sack (cheesecloth) or container with holes so that it can drain and drain and drain. Will take about 5 to 6 hours or let drain overnight. When I used the cheesecloth method, the cheese was wrapped in a round ball and tied with a rubber band.

Margarine from Powdered milk

1/2 cup milk powder

1 1/2 cups safflower oil (You can use other oils if you like, I prefer olive oil.)

2/3 cup water

a little yellow coloring ( I dont even bother with this )

Reconstitute the milk powder by adding it to the water. Whisk in an electric blender at a slow speed adding the oil a little at a time
(important) if the mixture is still too soft add more skim milk powder a little at a time till it thickens. Some practice may be needed to get it right but by memory I got it the first time and every other time since.


"Cream of Chicken" Soup Mix

2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup unsalted instant chicken bouillon granules
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes or 1-teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Blend ingredients. When ready to use, combine 1/3 cup
mix with 1 1/4 cups water to equal 1 can of soup.

discovered this thread again. great recipes.   does dry milk from bulk section so bad fast?

Dear Martha MFI, I store mine in a dark canister -- you could also use a jar & put it in a closed (dark) cabinet.  I haven't noticed any drop in potability or taste.  I've kept some for about a year.  Love in Him, Deb