Huh? Powdered milk more expensive than the real thing?

[branv]

After I recently started making my own bread, I kept reading in cookbooks/websites that powdered milk was a wonderful alternative to use b/c you really couldn't tell the difference, but it was a) cheaper, b) shelf stable. So I hied myself to the store to get some dried milk, and silly me misread the label on the front. I thought it said "makes 3 gallons," and I thought, "wow, at $3.99 for 3 gallons, vs. $3.80 for one gallon of regular milk, I AM saving money!" But I realized last week that the darn container said, "makes 3 quarts!" So I'm actually spending more for 1/4 less milk. Looked at other stores and online, but can't find the powdered milk for any cheaper.

Am I crazy, or wasn't powdered milk previously MUCH cheaper than regular milk? I can remember being a kid and us going through some very hard times and mom mixing up powdered milk vs. the real thing (also known as the few months I stopped drinking milk blech! ) What happened?!

 

[StillPinballFamily]

I use powdered milk in my homemade bread, too.

I buy large boxes of it at BJs for about $12. It is a 4.4 lb box and says it makes 22 quarts. Four quarts to a gallon...so this box makes the equivalent of 5.5 gallons of milk for the $12. I'm paying $2.99 a gallon (2%) at BJs for milk. So, it is a bit cheaper - but not huge savings. It is easier to use though in my baking, and helps me save our fresh, cold, milk for drinking.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kay1]

Things change, that's for sure. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy convenience foods than to cook from scratch, too.

 

[ncbyrne]

I always buy a box that contains 8 packs that make 1 qt. each. The price is about the same as fresh milk. But, its handy and convenient as I always use it in cooking recipes. It saves my refrigerated milk for drinking.

 

[DianaPrincessofWales]

I also just bought a new box and wow-the price! I have occasionally left this out of my bread machine recipe and didn't notice. I'm thinking of discontinuing this permantly. Any bread experts out there?

 

[eeyorethegreat]

I often leave the dried milk out of my bread recipes and have never had a complaint with it missing.

 

[branv]

I also just bought a new box and wow-the price! I have occasionally left this out of my bread machine recipe and didn't notice. I'm thinking of discontinuing this permantly. Any bread experts out there?

Well I'm not remotely an expert on anything, but from everything I've read, fats like milk, butter, oil serves a few purposes: tenderize, add flavor, and works as a preservative. I mean, think about french bread. It has no milk and relatively little fat, but it's a chewier, less dense loaf with very little "shelf life" when compared to homemade sandwich breads.

I can taste the difference between breads that have milk in them and those that don't, but that doesn't mean one makes a better bread than the other. It's just a different type Though I am curious -- were you guys using whole milk or low-fat milk before you stopped adding it?

 

[rockyroad]

For years dried milk has been about the same price as fresh.

I keep it to use for cooking.
It works well in sauces and cooked puddings without using up the fresh milk.
And it is better in cooking, I think, than fresh skim milk. It seems to have more body.

 

[ilovemyjj]

I go to the spanish section at the grocery store and buy there brand..a lot of spanish food is cheaper for some odd reason>? And i get the powdered milk, spagetti, mayo, ect...

 

[Mrs.Reese]

Just went to wally world. A gallon of milk is $4.19. 10 quarts of powdered milk was $6.34. Much cheaper!

 

[branv]

I go to the spanish section at the grocery store and buy there brand..a lot of spanish food is cheaper for some odd reason>? And i get the powdered milk, spagetti, mayo, ect...

The funny thing is that our area is over 50% hispanic -- the powdered milk I bought in our local store was predominately written in Spanish (I really had to look to find the English part). Now why is mine still so expensive? Grrrrrr...

Just went to wally world. A gallon of milk is $4.19. 10 quarts of powdered milk was $6.34. Much cheaper!

I checked there too! What the heck -- is it just our area? (Though strangely enough, our regular Milk is about .30 cheaper than yours )

 

[pearlieq]

I've been wondering the same thing!

Unless things were dire, I wouldn't buy powdered milk, but I happened to be walking by it Saturday and noted the price. The cheapest container was store brand and it made 5 gallons for $14.97, or roughly $3.00/gallon.

We live in the dairy zone--a gallon of skim milk is $2.33!!! I'm guessing the powdered stuff is not flying off the shelves...