Halving the Milk Bill

Contributed by: Cari, Nachelna, Rachel

Going broke keeping milk in the house? Dry milk is cheap at some stores (like Aldis).
I used to keep it around just to use in cooking and baking, but for awhile I used it to make drinking milk for my oldest until I eventually switched her to organic, local dairy milk.

I mixed it up according to the directions on the box, but instead I:
1) run the liter container half full of HOT tap water first
2) add the 1 and a third cups of dry milk
3) shake well
4) add the heavy cream (couple tablespoons) which breaks down the foam.
5) add more water to the de-foamed milk until it reaches the liter mark.

It was great for my morning coffee (until I switched to homemade soymilk) and I cooked with it too back then. The taste of it in cooked dishes is not something that any normal human being could discern from "real" milk. I put strawberry syrup in it for my child when I was making it for her, or some banana licuado (latino milkshake) powder in it. A cheap thrill.

It's cheaper than buying "real" milk at the store, but also it just freed up more fridge space for us. Plus it was convenient - we don't run out as long as we have heavy cream in the fridge and dry milk in the pantry.

I bought the dry milk at Aldis. 10 bucks for a 20 qt package (5 gallons) a year ago - it's probably slightly higher now. If you live in dairy country you could probably cut an even better deal with a local producer if you bought a large enough volume, but if you live in dairy country it might be worth cutting a deal with the farmer for "raw" milk (of course you would pasteurize it yourself if you so desired). In some states the sale of raw milk is illegal unless you are using it to make soap or feeding it to your pets or your compost pile - but enforcement is extremely lax to say the least.

How do you pasteurize milk?According to eHow....
Step 1 - Boil empty milk bottles submerged in water for 10 minutes to disinfect them. Alternatively, you can place the milk bottles in an oven preheated to 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) for 20 minutes to disinfect.
Step 2 - Pour raw milk into the top of a double boiler and fill the bottom section with water.
Step 3 - Place a metal-stem thermometer into the milk to monitor its temperature. Keep the thermometer from touching the sides or bottom of the double boiler so you get an accurate temperature reading of the milk, not the container.
Step 4 - Heat raw milk to 145 degrees F and keep it at that temperature for at least 30 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid burning and to maintain an even temperature. For a faster method, heat the milk to 165 degrees F for at least 15 seconds, stirring constantly.
Step 5 - Put the top section of the double boiler that holds the heated milk into a pan of cold or ice water to cool the milk. Continue to stir.
Step 6 - Cool the milk until it reaches 40 degrees F or below.

There you go. So if you can find someone who keeps cows (or goats) for a hobby, you can "cut a deal" and do the safety measures yourself.



Alternatively, you can order a slightly altered milk substitute (made from dairy ingredients, pretty much identical nutritionally to standard low fat milk - it's called Morning Moo.
One of our readers said that with the Morning Moo, they paid 116 dollars (including shipping) for 50 pounds that makes 70 gallons. That works out pretty cheap.
http://www.moosmilk.com/

Homemade Soy milkAlternatively you can make soy milk yourself at home. This is what I now do for myself. I drink a lot of it, my youngest prefers commercial Soy milk (no grit, and a more even vanilla texture) but if you can get over the slight textural issues (the grit settles to the bottom) and you can commit to soaking the soybeans, and adding the salt, sweetener, and vanilla yourself? The milk costs next to nothing. It's dirt cheap. I mean really, really cheap.

I paid 60 dollars for a soy milk maker used off eBay. Original sticker from a Deseret Industries thrift store was 7 bucks, so if you are are hardcore thrifter you could really make out like a bandit. It's definitely paid for itself by now, I've had it for a couple of months. You can use them to make other kinds of milk too.

Homemade Almond Milk
Soak the nuts for 8 hours instead of the briefer 5 hours for soybeans, and massage the nuts to slip the skins and discard the skins before loading the hopper. You'll only need about 2 ounces (60 grams) of nuts per 1 liter of water. I'm guessing other kinds of nuts would be similar.

Don't have a soy milk maker? Use this recipe instead.
Raw Vanilla Almond Milk
1 cup raw almonds soaked over night and rinsed
3 cups water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Sweetener to taste-any sweetener will do, honey, stevia, sugar, succanat, maple syrup, soaked dates

To make raw almond milk blend the soaked almonds with the water until smooth. Then strain the mixture through a strainer. Save the almond pulp in a container and put in the refrigerator for later use.
Put the almond milk back into the blender carafe and blend in the vanilla and sweetener until smooth. This milk will last in the refrigerator just under a week. Shake well before using. Variation: Blend in a banana and use a pinch of nutmeg to make a festive drink.
The almond pulp can be used in cookies, crackers, or breads and a partial replacement for flour.

Trying to limit soy? How about Rice milk?

Homemade Rice MilkYou can make milk from cooked, white or brown rice. Brown rice has more nutrients and produces milk with a slightly 'nuttier' taste. Try both kinds and see which you like.
Wash the rice first and discard the washing water. This prevents it from gumming up your soy milk maker.
2/3 cup of cooked rice, rinsed again after cooking in cool water so that it's easy to load in the hopper.
If your rice is very fluffy, the maker may beep signaling too much is in the hopper. Take a little out and next time load in less rice.
You'll need to experiment with salt and sugar and flavoring to get it to where it's "right" for you.
Refrigerate immediately after the milk cools. Rice milk will separate when cooled and must be shaken well before you use it. It does not freeze well. It's best if used within a couple of days so don't make a weeks worth at one go. It *is* harder to clean out of the soy milk maker.

Don't have a soy milk maker? Try this recipe.Rice Milk4 cups hot/warm water (must be very warm or hot)
1 cup cooked rice (must be freshly made or at least reheated)
1 tsp vanilla
Sweetener and salt to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Let the milk set for about 30 minutes, then without shaking pour the milk into a pitcher, leaving most of the sediment in the first container. This makes about 4 - 4 1/2 cups.