If you’ve been anywhere with food storage, chances are you’ve heard of Milk alternatives (the most popular is Morning Moo, however most companies have their own brand). A lot of people love it because the taste is so good. However, there some other key features you need to understand when it comes to picking the CORRECT milk for your family.
#1: Milk Alternatives are NOT real milk.
The difference between powdered milk and a milk alternative is similar to the difference between orange juice and Tang: Orange juice is juice that has been extracted from an orange, while Tang is an orange-flavored drink. Powdered milk contains nonfat dry milk, vitamin A palmitate and vitamin D3. Milk alternative drinks contain sweet dairy whey, nonfat dry milk solids, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn syrup solids, odium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, propylene glycol monostearate, monoglycerides and diglycerides, lecithin, carrageenan, Vitamin A, and Vitamin D.
#2: Milk Alternatives do not behave the same way as REAL milk in cooking and baking.
You can make white sauces with it (to be honest, you can make a white sauce with just water…it just wouldn’t taste that great), but you CAN NOT make cheese or yogurt with it and it may not work in other baked goods. Companies used to tout that the milk alternative would save you money because you didn’t need to use as much oil or shortening in your baked goods when you used milk alternatives. Here comes the ugly truth, that is because they have already added the oil (or fat) to your milk. That is why it tastes so creamy.
# 3: Milk Alternatives are great for those that are lactose intolerant.
Yes….and no. It only has a reduced amount of lactose but it is not lactose free. My opinion, is that many lactose-free milk substitutes are already shelf-stable. I would just store what you are currently drinking as a milk alternative.
A milk alternative is just that–an alternative drink that isn’t milk. The main ingredient in milk alternatives is why, a byproduct of cheese. Vitamins and minerals are added to make the drink more nutritious. While a milk alternative may cost less than fresh milk, it lacks many of the health benefits of fresh milk. For those of you too scared to try the powdered milk of today (trust me, I grew up having to drink the tapioca pudding powdered milk when money was tight), you need to try it again! It just isn’t the same powdered milk that was available 15-30 years ago. The reason we store milk is not to have a milk flavored drink for cereal it is because of the numerous health benefits, vitamins, and minerals that are available in milk.
STORE THIS, NOT THAT!
The cheapest place we’ve found to buy milk online is through the LDS Home Store. It’s at least $5 cheaper a “gallon” than other preparedness retailers.
