Of course our family stores non-fat, instant dry milk powder. However, the kids are not quiet about their distaste for the flavor. I use it when absolutely necessary as a substitute for our regular milk for drinking just often enough so that if we had to rely on it, the children would be accustomed to the taste. It works great in bread recipes. I am also relieved to know that recent studies indicate that the shelf life of stored milk for "life sustaining" (aka edible in an emergency) can be up to 20 years if stored at the appropriate temperature, and containers. Our dry milk powder is sealed in #10 cans with oxygen absorbers. Because it is warmer in California, my milk will probably not last 20 years. However, that is why we use what we store and store what we use to rotate our supply and keep it fresh.
I also have canned evaporated milk in my pantry which gets more frequent use. It works well in recipes especially casseroles and breads. If I don't use it to make Mexican hot chocolate, my husband notices the difference. It provides the perfect creaminess to the hot chocolate. The shelf life is about 1 to 2 years.
I've even mixed canned evaporated milk and non-fat, instant dry powdered milk to produce a palatable regular milk replacement. I'm still working on the right amounts for the ideal flavor. It seems to work best when we make a flavored milk as the evaporated milk adds a smoother richer texture and the flavor masks any indication that it started out powdered.
However, our family's preferred refrigerated milk substitute is shelf-stable fluid milk. As I understand it, ordinary milk is heated to 161 degrees during the pasteurization process. Shelf stable milk (aka U.H.T.) is heated to 282 degrees which eliminates all bacteria and is then packaged in containers that seal out light and air. It is shelf stable for several months as it requires no refrigeration until after opening. The best part is that the taste, consistency, color, and nutritional value stay the same as the milk you buy in the dairy section of your grocery store. This is an item that we use and replace easily. Instead of running out to the grocery store immediately when I realize we're out of milk, I can just pull a couple of containers of this milk out of the pantry instead. Then, when I'm at the store, I'll buy twice as many as I used which continues to gradually increase my storage.
Here are some of the brands of U.H.T. milk we've tried and loved:
The Parmalat is sold at our local Walmart for about $2.00 a quart so it is much pricier than a regular gallon of milk. This is not a frugal minded pantry product, but if the electricity goes out again like it did last summer, the kids can still have cereal with tasty shelf-stable milk while they tell ghost stories. More about that power outage another time.
