Powdered Milk

Today I used up my very first #10 can of powdered milk! Please, hold your applause. This may seem like a strange thing to blog about, but I refuse to buy food storage that we won't ever eat. I just don't want to spend money on powdered milk, then have it sit in my basement for 20 years.

I found a website that I like called Everyday Food Storage that teaches you how to use your food storage in your everyday cooking. Earlier this summer I started making homemade bread every couple of weeks to use our wheat, and this month I've been experimenting with powdered milk. I've been using it to make cream of chicken soup, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. I think it tastes just fine (Matt actually likes the homemade cream of chicken better) and I'm thrilled to be rotating my food storage! Plus I'm saving $$$.

FYI: in a recent study conducted at BYU researchers found that powdered milk can be stored for 20+ years and still "sustain life in an emergency". Of course, after 20 years it probably won't taste quite the same and the nutritional qualities will decline a bit, but it's good to know that even if I don't get all the way through my food storage, it will still work in case of an emergency. If you're curious about how long your other food storage items will last, click here.