How much milk do your kids drink? Via Shutterstock.
My mother made milk once a week when I was growing up. That’s right, I said she made milk. From powder. Almost three decades later, as I buy TWO GALLONS of milk a week to feed Lucy (okay, Hubs does the grocery shopping 95% of the time, but you know what I mean), I realize how much money my Mom must have saved feeding us powdered milk.
Just how much did she save with powdered milk?
This might be a good time to say that she never, ever drinks milk. I didn’t know anybody else who drank powdered milk, but it tasted fine to me as long as it was cold. (She made it with warm water so help the powder dissolve. Woe the child that poured warm, still-foamy milk onto their cereal.)
My dad made wooden recorders for a living and my mom raised us at home. We had one beat up white Saab, and most of my clothes were hand me downs. In case you can’t read between the lines, we didn’t have extra money. Powdered milk was just one more way my mom fed us with her limited resources.
At my local Stop & Shop, I checked prices for a comparison.
Gallon of regular milk $3.99
Large box of powdered milk $5.99
My Stop & Shop does not sell organic powdered milk, so I am not comparing organic milk prices.
Let’s compare the numbers by calculating how many gallons a box of powered milk makes.
The package says a 25.6 ounce box of powdered milk makes eight quarts of milk. There are four quarts in a gallon, so eight quarts equals two gallons. A $5.99 box of powdered milk makes two gallons of milk, or $3 per gallon. That’s $1 cheaper than buying liquid milk. Doesn’t sound like a lot, right?
But my mother’s savings depends on how much milk we drank. I confess I do not remember exactly how many boxes of powdered milk we drank each week, but considering she had seven children, I’m going to conservatively estimate that she bought two boxes per week. That’s the equivalent of 4 gallons of milk.
How much does drinking powdered milk save?
4 gallons of regular milk x $4 per gallon = $16 a week
4 gallons of powdered milk x $3 per gallon = $12 a week
My mom saved $4 a week feeding us powdered milk. Over the course of the year, that adds up to…$4 savings per week x 52 weeks in a year = $208. Not too shabby mom!
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
My mother tried powdered milk for about a month. It was so horrible that my sister and I would often pour it down the drain when she wasn’t looking. I could barely choke it down. Turned out to be a big waste of money. An alternative is to mix 50 % powdered milk with 50% whole milk.
@Inger Taste is a big turn off, but if powdered milk is all you know, then it tastes just fine. I’d say if your family is already used to liquid milk, the only way to convert them would be to cut out all milk for two to four weeks, then introduce powdered. Or, you could do a 50-50 mix, as you suggest, and slowly add more powdered milk and less fresh milk to the mix.
When I was a kid I remember trying powdered milk & not liking it. During one particularly financially lean time for my family, I decided to try it again…, maybe my kids would like it… I tried it, & they did like it. We did a tasted comparison & my kids actually preferred the powdered milk to the regular fluid milk, the powdered milk was a little sweeter…. (& yes, you do have to make sure it’s chilled for it to be good)
So I made powdered milk for many years. There are more savings to be found in using powdered milk than the obvious one. When you buy fluid milk by the gallon, very often you don’t drink the entire gallon before it spoils. Most people make powered milk by the quart, & because of that there is less waste. Since powdered milk isn’t perishable in it’s powdered form you can keep potential gallons of it ready to be made in your pantry shelf, which translates into less trips to the grocery store.
I think powdered milk is great!
@Naomi I’m so glad to know I’m not alone in drinking powdered milk in my childhood! And also surprised that your kids prefer the flavor of powdered to liquid.
I can’t remember how much my mom made at a time. She had a white plastic pitcher she would make it in. I’m guessing it held about a gallon. You are right, it never went bad because she didn’t make huge quantities of it at a time. Another way powdered milk is a big savings over liquid!
In our home I buy gallon jugs of milk to drink. I tried to pass off powdered milk for drinking, but no one cared for it. I use powder milk in recipes. I mix it as needed right into the recipe. Nobody ever caught on I made that switch.
@Sue I have powdered milk in my pantry for recipes that call for it, but never thought to use it when a recipe calls for liquid milk. That would be a big savings, though. Thanks for the idea!
My mom used powdered milk mixed with whole milk 1/2 – 1/2 mixture – she would mix it up at night so it was nice and cold in the morning for our cereal. We thought that’s what everyone did! I use it in recipes also. We also keep canned condensed milk on hand. Though my boys are now more into Almond and Rice Milk as they are moving to eating fewer animal products.
@Marie My mom made it whenever we told her it was low. If nobody noticed until the morning, then she made it that morning. I’ve never tried drinking condensed milk (with extra water) – I only use it for recipes. Great idea!
Are you vegetarian or vegan? How did your boys get on the path to “eating fewer animal products”?
I drank powdered milk in college, I didn’t mind it at all. I could never drink a gallon before it went bad, and buying half gallons cost more per oz. You have to remember that it’s non-fat milk, so it won’t taste like you expect if you normally drink 2% or whole milk. And you have to mix it and store it in glass, I don’t know why but it’s better that way.
It was also nice not having to carry a gallon of milk back to my apartment with all my other groceries. And you can store it for a long time, in case of zombies.
@Amy Even more benefits of powdered milk – lighter to carry home from the grocery store and it never spoils (unless you match way too much at once)! I wonder why stores do not sell powdered milk in whole, 2% and 1% variations.
Here’s an idea (depending on your area) if you’re not a fan of powdered milk but want to save on milk anyways.
In our area, you can get a gallon of Oberweiss milk in a glass bottle for around $4 (I think). However, if you RETURN the bottle to your grocery store’s customer service desk, they give you $1.50 back. That’s a pretty nice savings on really good milk, if you ask me.
Even if your family is grossed out by reconstituted powdered milk, you can still save a bit by using it in baking and sauces or to make yogurt. Google “cream of anything soup mix” for an instant home made white sauce mix. Add powdered milk to dry ingredients and the equivalent amount of water when baking. Buttermilk powder is amazing in bread!
@bengali I made a basic white sauce that is the base of my homemade mac n cheese recipe. Never thought to add powdered milk instead! Going to try this next time.
I’m trying to decide if I want to try powdered milk. I’ll be hoping that someone carries a small amount, try start with. I don’t want to spend very much, just in case I don’t like the taste, etc. 🙂