I live out in the country, so I often buy more food than I actually need. Recently, I had 3 gallons of milk in the freezer and 2 in the refrigerator. In an effort to avoid having any go bad, and since my freezer is almost full, I decided to try my hand at making dried milk or milk powder.
There are 3 good ways to make milk powder:
- With a dehydrator.
- By heating milk in a saucepan on the stove until it is a paste and then cooking it in the oven at a very low temperature.
- By pouring milk into a shallow pan and heating it in an oven at a very low temperature for the entire process.
Before using the dehydrator or stove methods, you must scald some milk. If you want to use the oven method, you can skip pre-scalding the milk.
Type of Milk to Use
Even though any kind of milk can be dried, whole, 2%, skim, etc., only pasteurized milk should be used. Raw milk would have too great a bacteria content that would affect its shelf life. However, if you have your own milk source, cow, goat, etc., scalding would make the dried milk powder from raw milk shelf-stable, but it would not have as long a shelf life as pasteurized milk because it contains cream. I would recommend using it within 18 months.
The lower the fat content of the milk being dried, the longer the shelf life.
Preparing Your Milk For Dehydrating By Scalding
Scalding milk kills all enzymes or bacteria that can cause the milk to spoil. To scald milk, simply place the milk into a saucepan and heat it up to just 180 degrees Fahrenheit and immediately turn the heat down to stop the heat action.
Use a candy thermometer, like this one found on Amazon, to check the temperature, making sure that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan at any time, as it will not read correctly. If the milk is allowed to go above 180 degrees Fahrenheit and actually comes to a boil, just throw it out and start over as milk that has come to a boil will curdle and not be suitable for this process.
Scalded milk should “coat” the pan. When you tilt the pan to the side and then put the pan back to the upright position, there should be a thin coating of milk inside the pan where the scalded milk touched. If there is no thin coating of milk, continue heating the milk until it thinly coats the pan when you tilt it.
Tips for scalding milk:
- Use a heavy pan for the scalding process, which presents less chance of scorching or burning it.
- Use medium heat to scald the milk.
- Don’t allow the milk to come to a boil.
- Stir the milk with a wooden or stainless steel spoon.
- Don’t allow the candy thermometer to touch the bottom of the pan.
- Watch the entire process closely and stir often.
- It should take about 4 to 6 minutes to scald the milk.
- When the milk has been scalded, remove it from the heat immediately.
Allow the scalded milk to cool to room temperature before beginning:
Method #1: Dehydrator Method
This is the absolute easiest and best method.
Equipment Needed:
- A dehydrator. Pretty much any will do. This one found on Amazon is similar to mine.
- Dehydrator tray liners.
- A blender or food processor.
- Appropriate storage containers, like these (Amazon Link).
- Insert dehydrator liners into each tray that you are using.
- Pour scalded room-temperature milk into each evaporator pan, making sure there is no more than 1 inch of milk in each pan.
- Set the dehydrator to the 130 degrees Fahrenheit setting.
- Allow the milk to cook for 8 to 12 hours, checking the milk after 8 hours and then after each additional hour of cooking time until it has reached the same consistency as peanut brittle.
- When the milk is nearing the peanut brittle stage, turn it over from time to time to help it dry thoroughly a little faster.
- Remove the milk from the dehydrator when it is thoroughly dry and flaky, and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Place the dry and flaky milk into your food processor or blender and process it until it is reduced to a fine powder.
- Prepare the milk powder for storage by placing it in a completely dry glass jar with a lid or a vacuum seal bag and sealing it or vacuum sealing it.
- Store in a cool, dry area away from excessive heat, humidity, or bright light.
Method #2: Stovetop Method With Oven Component
Note: This is the method I often do. You don’t have to scald the milk before beginning this process, as it will scald in the double boiler.
Equipment Needed:
- Stove
- Double boiler or a large skillet and a flat saucepan.
- A flat oven-proof pan, like an oblong baking pan (Amazon Link) or cookie sheet.
- Blender or food processor.
- Appropriate storage containers.
Directions:
1. Pour the milk you are drying into a double boiler. If you do not have a double boiler, improvise by placing a saucepan into a large skillet with enough water added to keep at least 1 inch of water in the skillet at all times.
2. Simmer the milk over medium heat until it is scalded, then reduce the heat so that the milk doesn’t reach the boiling stage.
3. Simmer the milk over low heat for about 2 hours, occasionally stirring to prevent scorching. Add more water as needed to the bottom portion of the double boiler or to the skillet if you are improvising during the evaporation process.
4. When the milk appears pasty (see picture), preheat the oven to 150 degrees Fahrenheit or its lowest setting. I used the warmest hashmark on the warm setting.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and place the milk paste on parchment paper in as many baking pans, pie pans, or cookie sheets as necessary so that it is spread out.
6. Place the baking pans into the preheated oven and bake until completely dry, and the milk paste has achieved the texture of peanut brittle.
7. Leave the oven door open slightly during the baking process to allow evaporation of the excess moisture. If the oven door is set to remain open more than 3 or 4 inches, improvise by placing something oven-proof into the open door to only allow the door to be open for the 3 or 4 inches mentioned. I used a small loaf pan to prop mine open.
8. When the milk is nearing the peanut brittle stage, turn it over from time to time to help it dry thoroughly a little faster.
9. The drying process will take approximately the same length of time that it will take in the dehydrator, or 8 to 12 hours. When the milk is completely dry, remove the pan or pans from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
10. Place the dry milk into a food processor or blender and process it until it is a fine powder.
11. Prepare the milk powder for storage by placing it into a completely dry glass jar or a vacuum seal bag and sealing it.
12. Store in a cool, dry area away from excessive heat, humidity, or bright light.
Note: Because I had never made powdered milk and didn’t want to risk wasting a lot of milk or gas (gas stove) for this process in case it was unsuccessful, I experimented with only 1 cup of milk. It was only ½ inch deep, and it took 2 hours for the milk to reach the paste condition and another 6 hours to completely dry.
Pro Tip: For drying, pour room-temperature scalded milk into a big oven-safe dish. It’s best to keep the milk at shallow levels to dry out more quickly. I recommend keeping it at a maximum depth of an inch.
Method #3: Oven Method
Equipment Needed:
- Standard oven.
- Oblong baking pan or pans.
- Blender or food processor.
- Appropriate storage containers.
Oven Temperature: Set your oven at its lowest temperature. The ideal temperature is 130 degrees Fahrenheit, but if your oven doesn’t have that setting, select the lowest temperature that you can.
Pro Tip: Use the fan option on your stove. If you do not have that option available to you, prop your oven door open at least 3 or 4 inches to allow evaporation.
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to the lowest setting so the milk doesn’t turn brown. Turning brown indicates that the temperature