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It may be a surprise to some, but fortified non-fat dry milk, also called powdered milk, has a relatively short shelf-life, only about 18 months. If you can find the un-fortified version, shelf life increases to 4 years.** The difference is caused by the vitamins added to fortify the milk. Vitamins A and D are not shelf-stable, meaning that they break down quickly.

Purchase dried milk in containers of a size that makes sense for the size of your household. If you buy large packages and do not use much at one time, consider repackaging into smaller containers at the time of purchase. After opening a package of dry milk, transfer the powder to a tightly covered glass or metal container (dry milk can pick up odors from plastic containers) and keep it in the refrigerator.

If you wonder which milk powder to buy, the instant milk powder is called “high temperature” and refers to the manufacturing process that the milk is put through to make the milk powder “Instant”. The regular milk powder is referred to as “low temperature” as it usually takes longer to reconstitute and is frequently the milk powder of choice for cooking and baking. (I’ve never been able to find anything but instant, non-fat, fortified powdered milk in my area.)

Storage
Vitamins A & D break-down quickly in the presence of heat and light. The area where your powdered milk is stored should be kept as cool as possible. If the storage container is transparent or translucent then it should be put into a second dark container, or stored in a cool, dark room.

Oxygen will also speed the vitamin break-down. If powdered milk can be canned with nitrogen or carbon dioxide to replace air, it will keep longer. Vacuum canning also decreases the available oxygen, and so it increases dry milk shelf-life. Dry milk will absorb moisture and odors from the air so storage containers should be air-tight and water-proof. The drier it is kept, the better it will keep.

If the dry milk purchased was not packaged for long term storage when you purchased it, then it should be repackaged right away.

Cost
Stephanie at the MakeItFromScratch blog has, literally, done the math for us. She has “busted” the myth that powdered milk is less expensive than fresh. These days dry milk is more expensive than fresh milk. So we will stick with fresh milk for everyday use, and dry milk for emergency food storage.

Making Your Own
In case you were wondering, it is not feasible to make your own powdered milk at home. For more details, visit HowStuffWorks.com.

Using Powdered Milk
1 cup whole milk = 1 cup nonfat dry milk + 2 teaspoons melted butter
1 cup whipping cream = 3/4 cup whole milk+1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup light cream = 3/4 cup whole milk+3 tablespoons melted butter

Curds, Cottage Cheese, and Ricotta*
First you make curds. Bring 1 part powdered milk and 2 parts water to a boil. Remove from heat and drizzle about a tablespoon of vinegar for every cup of water. Stir lightly and let stand. You will see the milk separate, and you should have a clear liquid and white curds. If the liquid is still milky, add more vinegar, stir, and let sit again. Pour the mixture through a cloth to retain the curds and rinse them in cool water.

For ricotta, simply blend the curds until smooth.

For cottage cheese, add some yogurt or evaporated milk and stir.

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* Recipes from www.wisebread.com
** According to the USAid government web site.

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