Adventures with Non-Fat Dry Milk

One of the first things I always run out of, and pretty much the driving force that gets me to the store each week, is milk.  What if I didn't have to rely on the store?  What if I had some backup milk that could be stored at room temperature for many, many years?

I bought some milk at the church cannery this week to test it out.   Brother Williams said the church put a lot of effort into making this some high-quality milk, but it is so cheap I didn't think it could possibly be good.  

This is a 28 oz. pouch.  My children were very excited because there are cookies on the label.  (They are easily swayed by advertising.)

Each pouch makes 29 cups of milk, or 1.81 gallons.  The pouch costs $5.40, so this is going to be about $3 per gallon.  It lasts for 20 years.  

So last night I decided to make some and put it in a rinsed-out milk jug to see if I could fool anyone.  I pulled out a pitcher and measured two quarts of cold water.  Then I whisked in 1 1/2 cups of powdered milk.  My husband walked in while I was doing this.  I was hoping he wouldn't see, as I wanted a fair and honest test.  

He groaned.  He said his mom used to do the same thing and they all hated it.  The smell was very powdered milk-like.  I didn't want to be "that mom" making my children drink something they will later complain about when they are adults.  

It took a bit of whisking to get it to the perfect consistency.   I didn't want a single lump to give away the plot.  I poured it in the milk jug.  

The ladies at the cannery promised me it was good milk, but one of them cautioned me to be sure it was refrigerated overnight for an optimal experience.  I asked Brian if he wanted to try some right then.  He said he'd rather wait for the optimal experience.  I poured some in a cup.  I hesitated before the milk touched my lips.  (I am really weird about milk.)  I took a tiny taste.... and even at less-than-optimal temperature.... it tasted just like milk.

Brian was encouraged by my example, and also took a sip.  He too, was surprised by this milk's delicate flavor.  I placed the milk jug in the fridge to reach optimal temperature before the true test.

I was going to take a picture of the milk in its jug while the children enjoyed their breakfast, completely oblivious to my sneaky ways, but.... it's all gone.  Nobody said a word.  

I don't know if I'll ever have the ability to store 60 pounds of dry milk per person as recommended... but I do know that this is the milk I'll be storing.  It is $3 per pound in the pouch, or $2.39 per pound in bulk (25 pound bags), but then must be packaged correctly to last the full 20 years.  If you package it yourself it costs $12.10 per 4.1 lb can, which works out to $2.95 per pound.  I will probably just buy the pouches rather than canning it myself at the cannery because the price is so close and the pouches are very space efficient.  And also, because my kids think they are cookies.  

If you are feeling especially lazy and do not want to drive to the cannery, you can also order straight from the church and pay only $3.50 in shipping.  I love our church.  Website here.  

I Went to the Cannery and It Wasn't Scary!

I wanted to do a photo journal of my experience but it wasn't really that kind of thing.  I'll have to use my writing skills to paint a picture in your mind of how fun this was!

First, to get the cannery.  I'll give you my "women's" directions.  Get off the freeway at 1600 N. in Orem.  Turn right.  Turn right again at the Harley Davidson place onto Geneva road.  You'll go under the freeway and then through a light.  Turn right at Center Street which has no light.  There is a big building on the corner with a word that starts with C..... Codex?  The cannery is the next building on your left, a sprawling off-white building with tinted windows and doors.

If you go to the back of the building I think that's the bishop's storehouse.   The cannery is on the side of the building you can see from Center Street.  It is only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-7.  The doors say "Home Storage Center" on them.

There are three ways to buy food at the cannery.  1. You can buy prepackaged items.  2. You can buy items that you package there yourself in any quantity you choose.  3.  You can buy items in bulk, which will need to be repackaged at home.  Example: Giant bag of oats.

For numbers 1 and 3, you can totally have kids with you.  The nice senior missionaries load your order on a cart for you and it's all really quick.  You can pay with a credit card or cash or a check.

If you want to package items yourself, you can't have anyone younger than 8 years old with you.  The only reason you would want to package items yourself is if they don't sell them already packaged.  It doesn't save you money.  I decided to do dehydrated carrots and onions because they are only sold in bulk.  I didn't want a giant bag of them, I just wanted 6 #10 cans of each.  (I did everything in 6s because that's what fits in a box.)

I turned in my order form and then I had to watch a video about washing my hands really well and wearing a hair and beard net.  (They didn't make me wear the beard net.  Thank heavens.)

I put on my hairnet and apron, then sterile gloves.  There were two senior sister missionaries with me the entire time so I never got confused on what to do.  They put the labels on the cans for me.  Then we poured the contents into the cans.  Nothing complicated.  The bulk package of carrots actually fills 8 cans, and even though I only wanted to buy 6, I had to fill all 8.  Before I was finished, two people already claimed those cans.  There is a shelf of already canned stuff anybody can buy that is just extras from people's orders.

After each can was filled, settled, and filled a little more (to within 1/4 inch of the top) I got to add an oxygen pack to each one and put a lid on top.  The machine to seal the cans was only scary the first three times.  You just set the can on a platform, pull a lever, wait for it to do its thing and then remove the can.

The onions were a little more complicated.  The bulk ratio chart said one bag would fill 12 cans.  It ended up filling 17 cans, which made it a way better deal.*  I ended up buying the whole bag, and they also sent the last bit home with me because it wasn't enough to fill a can.  When you buy the whole bag like that, you have to pay for the cans and lids.  Cans are 80 cents and lids are 10 cents.  Oh and the oxygen pack is another 10 cents.  So it adds only slightly to the cost.    And now I never have to go can onions again for a very long time.  But I would.  It was fun!

There were people there canning things that you can buy pre-canned.  It is the exact same cost.  I don't know why they would do that.  The sisters told me some people do it for family home evening because they want their kids to be involved.  I would love to bring my kids there when they are older.  They also offer tours of the cannery and bishop's storehouse which would be really fun to see.

That is my experience at the cannery.  You will never find any nicer or more helpful people in the world except, of course, at the temple.  My only regret is not keeping my hairnet.

*You may have noticed I now had a box with only 5 cans of onions in it, but I also bought a small bag of dry milk and hot chocolate to sample so it filled that extra space.  ALL IS WELL!

This is the phone number of the cannery: 801-785-0997
This is the phone number if you have questions about their products.  801-537-5947
Order form information HERE.

People with allergies: They have an order you have to follow if you are canning anything with milk or wheat.  Those things always come last so there will be no cross-contamination.  That place is so sparkling clean it reminded me of a hospital.  Sterile and orderly!

Church Distribution and Cannery Services

I buy a lot of my food storage through Costco and the regular grocery store, but for long-term supplies the cannery has some great prices.

Two things to know about the cannery.  First, you can order quite a few items online for a flat shipping rate of $3 anywhere in the United States.  This is a fabulous deal.  The church makes it really easy to purchase items that will help you stay alive without a ton of frills.

Here is the link if you want to check out prices.  Brother Williams says the milk is way better than it used to be and it is a fraction of the price of other milks.

We are lucky to have one of the only 12 remaining canneries in the country still in full operation. (Lindon Cannery) Because of this, we can purchase anything on this order form.    (Choose English pdf from the Home Storage Centers with Self-Packaging Opportunities link to see the order form.)  When I've gone to the cannery in the past I bring my filled out order form to make things super quick.  Here is the cannery info:

UT-Lindon

801-785-0997

940 W Center St Lindon, UT 84042