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How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

How To Dehydrate Milk For Long Term Storage

Perky Prepping Gramma by Perky Prepping Gramma
September 24, 2020
46

When we started on our preparedness journey, I tried to be practical. I didn’t even know what a “prepper” was.

In the beginning I made a list of things I used everyday. Literally from the time I woke up: water, meds, t.p, coffee, toothpaste, toothbrush and so on and that is what I started storing. You know, store what you use, use what you store. Then I found I wasn’t alone.

Eventually I started dehydrating (and pressure canning) my own milk for long term storage, because I taste tested all sorts of instant milks, and tried packaged shelf stable milks, and found them to be unpalatable for my taste. Plus, when examining how often I cook with milk it quickly became apparent that I needed to find a storage solution that would keep a supply of milk on hand.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

This is the journey of storing milk. For my first batch, I used my Oster dehydrator (no longer available, but I also like the Presto dehydrator). I purchased these nifty fruit roll-up trays and  gently poured one cup of milk to each tray.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

Something is not level here. Not sure if it is the dehydrator or the counter. So I kept turning the trays around to even out the milk.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

This took about 12 hours. Longer than I expected. Note the flakiness and the “goopy” parts.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

For the second batch of milk, I used the same method by putting the fruit roll-up trays in my Excalibur 9 Tray dehydrator.

I have to share, I took me while to save up for the Excalibur dehydrator, but I find it to be worth it’s weight in gold. Seriously. The main advantage is it’s size & the fact you are able to control the temperatures.

Tip: I would suggest that you put the round tray on your Excalibur tray INSIDE the dehydrator & then pour the milk into the tray.

Um, I prepped one on my counter top, tried to carry it over and milk spilled everywhere. My furbabies were very happy. I wasn’t. Then I had to mop my floor.

Related: How to Make Cheese from Powdered Milk

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

Temp: Set the temperature between 125-130 degrees (F) and dehydrate until dry and flaky. It takes several hours, so be patient.

Again, it wasn’t level, maybe it’s my house. So, every twenty minutes or so, I turned the trays around to more evenly distribute the milk. Turned out better this time.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

When each batch came out there were several areas that were “goopy”. So I took my Pampered Chef scraper and gently removed all the dried milk, re-trayed & dehydrated a little more.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

After the milk was nice and flaky, I crumbled up the pieces.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

Next the pieces were put in the blender.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

It really is that simple. 7 cups of instant ½ & ½.

How To Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage

After the jar was full, I vacuum sealed the jar for long term storage.

It takes very little time, but worth it when it comes to minimizing my storage space.

This article was written by Perky Prepping Gramma and first appeared on perkypreppinggramma.blogspot.com.

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Comments 46

  1. Angelcrest says:
    2 years ago

    How long does the milk last if stored? Did you use whole milk or cream?

    Did you like this comment? 15
    3
    Reply
    • John P says:
      1 year ago

      it takes way longer than it takes to make jerky. for the time and the puny results it seriously is not worth it.

      Did you like this comment? 1
      4
      Reply
      • red says:
        1 year ago

        John: This would be more interesting to those who own dairy animals. niio

        Did you like this comment? 1
        1
  2. John P says:
    2 years ago

    why not just buy Instant Dry Milk in a store? You can grind it as tiny as you like.

    Did you like this comment? 15
    9
    Reply
    • Ken says:
      2 years ago

      The author said they tried several and they couldn’t find one they liked

      Did you like this comment? 7
      Reply
      • DALE E McPHERSON says:
        4 weeks ago

        we have been using MORNING MOO FOR OVER 10YEARS WE LOVE IT IT TASTE GREAT! WE ORDER UT FROM SAM’s

        Did you like this comment?
    • Patty says:
      2 years ago

      Freeze drying seems a lot easier and you can get a much larger quantity done at a time

      Did you like this comment? 6
      3
      Reply
    • Patty says:
      2 years ago

      I would think because it tastes like instant milk—yuck!

      Did you like this comment? 1
      Reply
      • red says:
        2 years ago

        Patty: Make cheese, then. We want to try the drying with yogurt. niio

        Did you like this comment? 3
        1
    • Opy says:
      2 years ago

      Cost

      Did you like this comment? 1
      Reply
    • Littlefoot says:
      1 year ago

      Powered milk has an expiration on it

      Did you like this comment?
      Reply
    • Patricia Fletcher says:
      4 weeks ago

      All they offer in the store is low-fat or 2% and it is very expensive. Also, as with any storage processed stuff we do, we know exactly what is in the food since we did it.

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      Reply
  3. Ken says:
    2 years ago

    In the article on dehydrating ‘milk’, the author talks about dehydrating milk, but near the end of the article, she says she ended up with “7 cups of instant ½ & ½.” Did she dehydrate milk or ½ & ½?

    Did you like this comment? 7
    Reply
    • Paul P says:
      4 weeks ago

      Good question, I had the same question.

      Did you like this comment?
      Reply
  4. Whitney says:
    2 years ago

    How long does this last? And how do you rehydrate the milk?

    Did you like this comment? 3
    Reply
  5. Nefertiti says:
    2 years ago

    I am going to try to make my own milk flakes
    Do I pour the milk in the trays?and can I use any milk like plant based milk

    Did you like this comment?
    Reply
  6. oldtroll says:
    2 years ago

    More of a question than a comment.
    “7 cups of instant 1/2 & 1/2”.
    What milk were you using, store bought whole, or 1/2 & 1/2, or raw milk ? And will the milk fat in the 1/2 & 1/2 & raw milk dehydrate also ?

    Did you like this comment? 14
    Reply
  7. Phoenix1319 says:
    2 years ago

    How long can you safely store this dehydrated milk?

    Did you like this comment? 1
    1
    Reply
  8. Omega 13 says:
    2 years ago

    I’ve been buying powdered milk for years. My wife bakes with it, mostly.

    How is the author’s milk any better?

    Did you like this comment? 2
    1
    Reply
    • Rainbolt44 says:
      2 years ago

      I’ve been buying it for years to bake with it as well. But mostly I like using it as creamer in my coffee.

      Did you like this comment? 2
      Reply
  9. Stubby says:
    2 years ago

    How do you vacuum seal the jar?

    Did you like this comment? 3
    2
    Reply
    • left coast chuck says:
      2 years ago

      Some vacuum sealers come with a jar sealing attachment. Check the instruction book for your vacuum sealer if you still have it. You may find out that you can seal mason jars with it.

      Did you like this comment? 6
      Reply
      • SuzQ says:
        2 months ago

        If you don’t have the can attachment, you can just use the plastic bag on your vacuum sealer.
        The great part of doing it in bags is that if you seal them flat,
        They take up much less space by stacking them instead of all those bulky jars in your pantry or storage container. 😉

        Did you like this comment? 2
  10. red says:
    2 years ago

    Granny, do you mix it with yogurt, first? we make our own. Seethe the milk, and when it cools to about 100 F, add a quart of yogurt. Cover and let stand overnight. This is a traditional sweet yogurt. It can be used in coffee and so on, where sweet milk is needed. Gonna have to try to dry it to see if it remains yogurt. niio

    Did you like this comment? 2
    Reply
    • left coast chuck says:
      2 years ago

      Once again, Red, I learned something new from you. I have used seethe for most of my life but only in regard to emotions. I have never heard the term used in conjunction with cooking. I’ll bet my Grandmother knew the term in connection with cooking. Thanks for enlarging my vocabulary.

      Did you like this comment? 4
      Reply
      • red says:
        2 years ago

        LLC: It is an apt description for a slow boil 🙂 Much thanks, and you keep teaching! niio

        Did you like this comment? 3
    • mbl says:
      2 years ago

      red, a bit off topic, but I notice you sign off each post with niio. Would you please tell me what that means?

      I have wondered about dehydrating milk. I have bought the dehydrated stuff to use for baking mostly, and i don’t use a lot of it, so that small bag, while expensive, lasts me a good long time. My husband likes to drink milk now and again, but sometimes he doesn’t drink it up fast enough, so I think I’ll try dehydrating what he doesn’t use up and see how it works for us.

      Did you like this comment? 1
      Reply
      • Omega 13 says:
        2 years ago

        NIIO – Notify-Identify-Inspect-Observe

        (I had to look it up, too.)

        Did you like this comment? 3
      • red says:
        2 years ago

        Omega: Not in this case but it works! Good job on the research. niio, no caps, Walk in God’s beauty. But, yo, yours works great, too ! 🙂 niio!

        Did you like this comment? 4
      • red says:
        2 years ago

        mbl: Make yogurt and then make cheese. That’s what we do. niio (no caps) means Walk in God’s beauty. It’s Iroquois from the Cherokee mostly. My grandmother liked to tell us that just before she made good use of her steel reinforced hairbrush with automatic tongue lashing. niio!

        Did you like this comment? 3
  11. Hat-Mad says:
    2 years ago

    I think what happened is that someone edited for brevity and then forgot something.

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    Reply
  12. Bubba902 says:
    2 years ago

    I have used Gossner shelf stable milk for years and I cant tell the difference between it and the regular milk I normally buy. They make it in whole, 2% and skim and its good for at least a year. Or the “Sell By/Use By date us usually about 10 months to a year. Might not be as long as dry whole milk or the other kinds but its still nice to have a quart in the pantry in case I run out.

    Did you like this comment? 5
    Reply
  13. Marsha says:
    2 years ago

    I contacted Excalibur and asked what dehydrator they would use for liquids and why, the response from Stephanie Rays at Excalibur is that none of their products are able to dehydrate liquids and she suggested a freeze dryer.

    Did you like this comment? 1
    Reply
    • red says:
      2 years ago

      Marsha: I live in Arizona, so drying isn’t a problem, but have you dried using a shallow pan and fan? I did try to make soy sauce and the an was too deep, and gnats got in. Next batch, I’ll have the solar food dryer up and running. It’s a shallow box with sheet metal over that, leading up to the dryer box. We even got a roll of metal fly screen for it. niio

      Did you like this comment?
      Reply
  14. Rainbolt44 says:
    2 years ago

    I’m going to try this with Eggnog then reconstitute it with Kahlua!

    Did you like this comment? 5
    Reply
    • Sandy says:
      1 year ago

      Does anyone know the proportions to rehydrate the milk? Or is just trial and error? Thank you.

      Did you like this comment?
      Reply
      • red says:
        1 year ago

        Sandy and Mole: How much milk was dehydrated? Portion it from that. For cheese, I would probably use less water. niio

        Did you like this comment?
      • Mole says:
        1 year ago

        Thank you for getting back to me. I’m still dehydrating.

        Did you like this comment? 1
      • red says:
        1 year ago

        Mole and Sandy: this gives how much water things will lose.
        https://formerlynmurbanhomesteader.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/5/0/22509786/food_-_dehydrated_freeze_dried_to_fresh_equivalents_and_rehydration_tables_new_site.pdf
        niio

        Did you like this comment?
    • dz says:
      4 weeks ago

      Rainbolt44, that’s an excellent suggestion! Cheers! 🍺 🍻 🥃

      Did you like this comment? 1
      Reply
  15. Mole says:
    1 year ago

    What are the proportions for rehydration or is it trial and error? Thanks.

    Did you like this comment?
    Reply
  16. Valerama says:
    4 weeks ago

    The drawback I see to this is that milk sours when warmed… and for several hours… yuck. While fine for cooking, I can’t imagine it’s much better than packaged dry milk. (I’ve got a freeze dryer, so I’ll stick to that when I can find milk at a good price.)

    Did you like this comment?
    Reply
  17. DALE E McPHERSON says:
    4 weeks ago

    WE HAVE BEEN STORING AND USING MORNING MOO FOR OVER 10 YEARS We and all our GRANDKIDS LOVE IT

    Did you like this comment?
    Reply
  18. Terry says:
    4 weeks ago

    As far as vacuum sealing, wonder if just putting in a mason jar with a lid would serve almost same purpose. Works great for storing fruit.

    Did you like this comment?
    Reply
  19. MJH says:
    4 weeks ago

    Try the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. Much easier.

    Did you like this comment?
    Reply
    • Patty says:
      4 weeks ago

      Yes. I just got done freeze drying another batch of 2% milk from our dairy. I put 2 cups in each tray and seal the finished product in mason jars. When I need to use it, I rehydrate with a little less than 2 cups water right in the mason jar and refrigerate. I have some from 2 years ago and still good. It should stay good for many years with a good seal

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      Reply

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