Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Do you need to know how to make milk with milk powder? Look no further – we walk you through the steps to make whole milk using dehydrated, shelf-stable milk powder into milk that you can use and drink!
Hi Everyone, powdered milk is really the unsung hero and often overlooked pantry staple!
Consider this post a primer on the usefulness and a tutorial on How to Make Milk with Milk Powder or powdered milk.
This process is super easy to do and it only requires 2 ingredients: water and powdered milk.
In this post, I’ll talk about why I use powdered milk and I include a video on exactly how to make it.
I also answer some commonly asked questions about making powdered milk below.
At the end of the post, there’s a full, printable recipe card, so you can print it out for your convenience.
Since having a life with a family of 3 kiddos, having powdered milk has come in handy so many times.
Before I had a family, I rarely had powdered milk in my kitchen pantry.
Having it in our cabinet allows us to stretch a little longer if it’s inconvenient to go to the grocery store (I mean, sometimes it’s just hard to get to the grocery store when working around school, camp, and nap times, not to mention sometimes kiddos may not behave well at grocery stores depending on their age and stage!)
Powdered milk also comes in handy for making homemade hot chocolate mix which is one of our family’s all-time favorite recipes.
My father, who grew up in the 1950s as a child, told me that he actually prefers powdered milk over regular milk because you can make it creamier!
Powdered milk can also be called dried milk or milk powder.
It is made by evaporating milk into a dry product which then can be sold as a shelf-stable product and reconstituted at a later time or used in its dry form in various recipes.
Due to its low moisture content, it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
It’s also easier to transport because it is dry in terms of economy and bulk.
It can come in many varieties, such as dry whole milk, dry non-fat (skim) milk, dry buttermilk, dry milk blends, and dry whey.
It is used in infant formula, candy products, and caramel.
In the modern era, it can be manufactured by spray drying, drum drying, or freeze-drying.
Each method can affect the taste of the powdered milk, for example, drum drying has a higher temperature and can make the milk taste “cooked” due to the caramelization that takes place in the process.
Freeze drying can preserve many nutrients in dry milk as compared to the drum drying method.
Powdered milk has been around for a long time!
According to Wikipedia:
While Marco Polo wrote of Mongolian Tatar troops in the time of Kublai Khan who carried sun-dried skimmed milk as “a kind of paste”, the first modern production process for dried milk was invented by the Russian doctor Osip Krichevsky in 1802. The first commercial production of dried milk was organized by the Russian chemist M. Dirchoff in 1832. In 1855, T.S. Grimwade took a patent on a dried milk procedure, though William Newton had patented a vacuum drying process as early as 1837.
Just add water – the right amount of water as outlined in the recipe card below.
1.25 quarts for every 1.5 cups of powdered whole milk (I use the Hoosier Hill Farm All American Dairy Whole Milk Powder brand in the recipe and video in this post.
If you are using a different brand, you should follow the instructions on that particular brand’s label)
Yes, absolutely!
I show you how in the video in this post and outline the directions in the recipe card below.
Add the water (1.25 quarts) to a large pitcher (with a lid) and then add the right amount of whole milk powder (1.5 cups) and just stir until combined.
If you have any other questions about making powdered milk, let us know in the comments at the end of the post.
You can add it to drinks, smoothies, soups, sauces, or anything that you want to make more “milky” and creamy!
It is also a great addition to baked recipes. It can make cookies chewier, bread, and brownies better.
You can start experimenting with a tablespoon in your favorite baked goods recipes and go from there.
For more information on how you can improve recipes using powdered milk, check out this article, Milk Powder Is the Key to Better Cookies, Brownies, and Cakes, from epicurious.com.
I would love to hear how you use powdered milk in the comments below.
If you make this recipe, and like it, please give it a rating in the recipe card below and let us know in the comments at the end of the post.
Thank you for reading and following along!