Powdered Milk Substitute

Powdered milk or dry milk is a great substitute for regular milk. It has a very long shelf life and can be stored at room temperature. It's very low moisture content alleviates the need for refrigeration. It is also very convenient to use and does not compromise with the flavor of the recipe. However, there are times, when you simply run out of your stock of powdered milk. If you depend upon powdered milk for most of your recipes, then this can be a tricky situation for you, more so, if you don't have the time to make a trip to the supermarket. Fortunately, there are some ingredients in your kitchen itself, that can make for great powdered milk substitutes.

List of Powdered Milk Substitutes

Regular Milk
Since, you use powdered milk as a substitute for regular milk, the original one can indeed make for the best substitute for powdered milk. Thus, regular milk should be your first choice when you are looking for substitutions for powdered milk. However, you have to be extra careful about the proportion of the regular milk. Also, regular milk can be a feasible option for only those powdered milk recipes that demand water as well. The recommended ratio of regular milk and dry milk powder (d.m.p) is as given below.
1 cup d.m.p + 4 cup water = 4 cup milk
½ cup d.m.p + 2 cup water = 2 cup milk
¼ cup d.m.p + 1 cup water = 1 cup milk
1 tbsp d.m.p + ¾ cup water= ¾ cup water (as the recipe only calls for water to make milk)

Coconut Milk Powder
Coconut milk can substitute for regular milk for many recipes. Likewise, you can also use coconut milk powder for powdered milk. However, do not mistake coconut milk powder with desiccated coconut, which is very different. Coconut milk powder is made by spray-drying coconut milk or coconut cream. It is best suited for baked recipes or meat or fish recipes. Coconut milk forms an indispensable ingredient of many South Asian recipes. Coconut milk powder works just as fine for any of these recipes. The proportion of coconut milk powder that you are going to use as substitute, should be equal to that of powdered milk.

Coconut Milk
If you find it difficult to lay your hands on coconut milk powder, you can use fresh coconut milk instead, as it is also a good powdered milk alternative. The method of making fresh coconut milk or cream is pretty simple. Soak finely grated coconut flesh in warm water. Squeeze the flesh and then strain the solution. When you refrigerate this coconut milk, the two layers of coconut cream and water separate. You can extract the creamy layer and use it for recipes demanding cream. Or you can mix it well to get thick coconut milk and use it for recipes that work best with regular milk. Alternatively, you may also use canned coconut milk, which readily has two separate layers.

If you have spend substantial amount of time in kitchen, you would agree that there isn't any ingredient that cannot be substituted. Of course, at times you may not get the same taste and flavor as the original ingredient, nonetheless, these substitutes do their jobs pretty well during crisis.