Beyond Milk

I'm pretty happy with substituting dry milk for fresh in most things.  Being able to replace butter with coconut oil helps a lot, too, in many recipes.  But there are some recipes that don't take well to substitutions, and some situations that require something closer to the real thing.  Or maybe you've just got money to blow and/or a more refined palate.  


Shelf-Stable/Irradiated Milk.  I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of irradiating my food.  I'm still a bit suspicious of whether consuming irradiated food is actually a good idea.  So I don't store this form of milk.  These products don't have a great shelf-life, usually six months to a year at best.  But they're an option for those who can't have real milk.  For my oldest son who has a severely restricted diet, it's nice to be able to purchase shelf-stable almond milk.  

Evaporated Milk.  The cost is a bit high for my tastes, and I rarely use it.  Because I rarely use it, it's hard to find in the cabinets even if I do have it.  It's just easier to make a substitute using dry milk.  On the flip side, however, evaporated milk is available in low-fat and whole options, so if you really need the fat content you have this option.  However, pay attention to the use-by dates.  It's been my experience that while the milk may still be safe, taste deteriorates substantially. 

Sweetened Condensed Milk.  Everything said about evaporated milk applies to sweetened condensed milk, except perhaps for the taste deterioration past the use-by date.  Sweetened condensed milk will caramelize and turn brown, which may or may not be an issue for you. 

Media Crema.  This is found in small cans in the Mexican food section of the grocery store.  It is a sort of whipping cream substitute, though it does not whip up.  It's pretty thick stuff, almost the consistency of yogurt or sour cream.  We've used it to make ice cream and other desserts.

Shelf-Stable Whipping Cream.  So how opposed am I to irradiated foods?  Apparently, I'm not as purist as others.  Sometimes you just have to have real whipping cream.  It still has a shelf-life of only six months to a year at best.  I get mine at Trader Joe's, and I find it surprisingly reasonably priced, usually pretty comparable to the cost for fresh cream.

Sour Cream.  The dehydrated sour cream that I tried definitely does not reconstitute well for fresh use.  The off-taste is just too overpowering, and this is pretty much what online reviews state as well.  A good friend with a freeze dryer and reports that freeze-dried sour cream is perfect. 

Cream Cheese.  My personal experience with dehydrated cream cheese powder matches with online reviews.  Like dehydrated sour cream, it's not so good for fresh use, except that it makes great cream cheese frosting.  And it does work well in cooking and baking.

Yogurt.  Dehydrated yogurt is ... not very good.  I did it a few years ago.  I'm not doing it again.  Freeze-dried yogurt is another matter.  My same friend with the freeze-dryer has done a lot of it with flavored yogurts.  It is very good.  Amazon carries freeze-dried yogurt starter.  It's a little pricey, but you've got to have a starter to make yogurt.  It works well and has a stated shelf-life of about five years, but I've been making great yogurt with starter I purchased ten years ago. 

Links to related posts:
Pantry Substitutes Using Dry Milk