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Powdered Milk and Milk Substitutes for Long-Term Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness

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One of the Basic Food Storage Staples

I know what you're thinking. "Powdered milk, blech. Who would bother with that stuff?" But hear me out. For many people, milk is something they use everyday for drinking, on cereal, cooking and baking.

You could survive if you were to experience a short-term or long-term emergency in which you weren't able to obtain this common food staple. But powdered milk and milk substitutes are relatively inexpensive and have a shelf life ranging from about 2 years to 25 years. It can be used for all the things I mentioned above as well as in making yogurt. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have at least a small supply on hand. Below are selections of small and large quantities of powdered cow's and goat's milk and milk substitute as well as the vegan alternatives of powdered rice and soy milk.

What is Powdered Milk?

Powdered milk isn't fake milk. Real milk is sent through an evaporation process which includes pasteurization. Nonfat instant dry milk is the most common dried milk. During a standardization process, the butterfat is removed for other uses and the nonfat milk is the result.

Non-instant dry milk is another option, but you may have a harder time finding that unless you shop at an LDS cannery or one of the emergency-preparedness supply companies. However, I did find some selections at Amazon linked below. Learn more about the difference between powdered instant milk and non-instant in the video below.

Instant Powdered Milk

Non-Instant Powdered Milk

Morning Moo's from Augason Farms

Morning Moo's Low Fat Milk Alternative

Amazon Price: $21.99 (as of 06/03/2012)

According to the Augason Farms website, this milk substitute will last approximately 25 years unopened when stored in ideal conditions in a cool environment and 1 year opened. However, according to the USA Emergency Supply website, this is a newer product that hasn't been tested long term, so you should rotate it every 5 years. Milk substitutes like this have their pros and cons. It does contain whey, so if you're trying to avoid dairy, this isn't the way to go. You might want to consider the powdered rice or soy milk options below.

See What Others Have to Say

Info on powdered milk, milk substitute and a vegan chocolate mint cake recipe with soy milk.

Long Term Food Storage: Powdered Milk: by everydayfoodstorage | video info

102 ratings | 31,231 views

curated content from YouTube

Bulk Powdered Milk

People who want to be prepared for long-term emergencies store larger amounts of powdered milk. A study done at Brigham Young University1 found that powdered milk stored in airtight containers in a cool (between 40-70 degrees), dry environment lasted 20 years.

Powdered Goat Milk

For those of you who prefer goat's milk, here are some selections from the Meyenberg company. Their products are organic and free of bovine growth hormone (BVH), preservatives and antibiotics. According to the company's website, the packets last 18 months from date of manufacture and the cans last 4 years from manufacture date.

Powdered Rice and Soy Milk

Rice and soy milk are popular with vegetarians, vegans and those who are lactose intolerant. I can't find information on the shelf life of these products. However, since most of the unrefrigerated type of soy and rice milk products can last unopened for approximately 1 year, then I assume that powdered products would last at least twice that time. But please check product packaging to make sure. I've used the ready-made soy milk in baking and it worked fine, so I think the reconstituted soy milk would too.

Powdered Coconut Milk

Powdered coconut milk can be reconstituted for baking. It has a higher fat content than soy or rice milk, so you'll want to reserve this for food that is meant to have a rich flavor.

Almond Milk

Almond milk is another vegan alternative to animal milk. I don't list almond powder products since basically you make it from raw almonds. Because nuts contain oils, they don't have as long of a shelf-life as the powdered milk and milk substitutes. But if you store them in the freezer, they should last up to a year which is definitely longer than the week or so shelf life of cow's milk. Almonds in the shell should last a little longer. This is just one more option to consider.

Below are some tutorials on making almond milk. You can drink it straight or put on on cereal or use it in baking. You can read about my experiment with making almond milk on my prepper blog.

How to Make Vanilla Almond Milk: by kpennington11 | video info

29 ratings | 6,059 views

curated content from YouTube

Raw Almonds

From the sources I've read, raw almonds that haven't been pasteurized have more nutritional value.

Almonds in the Shell

More Long-Term Food Storage Info

Here are more of my articles on long-term, emergency preparedness food storage.

Emergency Water Storage Supplies for Home and Travel Preparedness: Emergency water storage is the most important first step in preparedness planning. You can take steps to avert disaster whether you're caught in an earthquake or hurricane or simply make life easier when you and your family are facing a smaller emergency.
Powdered Eggs for Preparedness: Powdered eggs are part of a plan for long-term food storage to prepare for your future and provide for your family in case of emergency or economic distress.
A Meat-Eater's Review of Honeyville Grain's Beef-Flavored Textured Vegetable Protein: TVP is used as a meat substitute. This beef-flavored version can be used in most things that call for ground beef. I share my experiences with the product as well as the pros and cons.

The Silent Prepper and Frugal Living Blog

The latest posts at my prepping blog.

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What are your thoughts on storing powdered milk?

Do you prefer regular powdered instant milk or one of the alternatives?

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Melody4Avon Jun 2, 2012 @ 10:18 pm | delete

Great lens. We too, stoick up on powdered milk "just in case"

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Prepperdad Dec 21, 2011 @ 9:07 pm | delete

I think the Morning Moos is great. This is awesome advice - like you say the milk will stay good for a long time.

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cookslittlekitchen Sep 21, 2011 @ 4:53 pm | delete

I think it is so valuable to any food storage program. I think you also need to be careful with which products you store. Learn about the why's of milk in different recipes. Is the milk needed for a certain function (like instant pudding) or for a certain flavor (like chocolate milk), are you looking for a specific health benefit (avoiding allergies) and then decide which product(s) will best suite your needs and store those products in the ammounts that are reasonable for the specefic traits they bring to your table. Literally. :)

Great article. Loved it!!