Dry Milk for Long Term Storage

Powdered milk is made by removing the water from it and spray-drying it into a powder. It’s a highly technical process and can’t easily be done at home. This process results in a product with a very long shelf life that is easy to transport.

Whether you want powdered milk for everyday use or stockpiling in bulk for emergencies, there are a lot of brands to choose from.

I’ve compiled a list of the best powdered milk brands based on taste, shelf life, and value. They are broken down into nonfat, whole, and whey milk powders.

Let us know if you have a favorite powdered milk that didn’t make the list!

Tips for Choosing Powdered Milk

1. Expect it to be clumpy

Almost all powdered milk will clump when you mix it with water. (See dry milk to water ratios.)

To prevent clumping:

• Mix the milk powder with a small amount of warm water. Wait for it to dissolve before adding the remaining (cold) water.
• Use a high-speed blender to mix up larger quantities of milk, or
• Let the milk powder and water sit for a few hours in the fridge. This will give it time to reconstitute and dissolve.

2. Whole milk powder tastes better but has a shorter shelf life

Whole-fat milk powder is much creamier and generally has a better taste. The downside is that the shelf life is much shorter. Keep it in a cool place, or it will go rancid.

3. Read the ingredients

You’d be surprised how many brands add sugar or weird additives to their powdered milk. Make sure you read the ingredients first!

4. Decide whether you want fortified milk

Some powdered milk isn’t fortified at all. And then there are products like Nestle Nido that add tons of vitamins and minerals.

For long-term disaster prepping or if you have picky eaters, fortified is a good option.

Best Nonfat Powdered Milk Options

Nonfat milk powder has a much longer shelf life than whole milk powder. The reason is that fats can’t be dehydrated and start to go rancid fairly quickly.

If you want to stockpile milk powder long-term, then nonfat milk powder is the way to go. It won’t taste as creamy as whole milk powder.

Tip: When using nonfat milk powder when baking, add 1 Tbsp of oil per cup of milk.

Best Whole Milk Powder

Whole milk powder generally tastes much better than nonfat milk powder. You must keep it in a cool place, though, or the fats in the milk powder will start to go rancid and get clumpy.

You can dissolve whole milk powder in cold water, but because of the fats, you’ll get better results if you mix it with a bit of warm water first and then add the cold water.

Whey Milk Powder

Whey milk powder isn’t the same as dried milk powder. The two main proteins in milk are whey and casein. Milk powder is made by removing the moisture from milk and thus will contain both whey and casein. By contrast, whey milk powder is made with just whey (though whey milk powder will usually have some casein too).

Because casein can take longer to break down, whey milk powder might be a better choice if you are very active. Whey is also less likely to cause upset stomachs than casein.