Milk has such a short shelf life and so many uses that it seems we are running out or having to buy it every week. Prices have soared and until we buy our own dairy cow (soon™) this will probably keep impacting our budget.

We have used dehydrated or powdered milk many times and we keep it on hand to supplement us at times when we aren’t or can’t go out. It’s an excellent replacement and can be rehydrated in minutes or even used directly in recipes.

In our testing Whole, 2%, and 1% skim milk all worked really well and it seemed that during reconstitution the amount of water could then let you make it as thick or thin as you prefer. If going this route we suggest only freeze-drying Whole milk and then reconstituting it to your preferred thickness. Raw milk has not been tested by us but we will update this article when that happens.

Costs

We only suggest freeze-drying milk if you have access to fresh milk, cheap milk, or if you have more than you can use before it expires. The cost of running the freeze-dryer for a possible 40+ hour cycle, purchasing the milk, and packaging can be higher than buying dry milk in #10 cans. If this is only for short-term term mason jar storage in your cupboard, freeze-drying could save you a few dollars over buying pre-dried.

Regardless of processing this yourself or purchasing we always suggest storing it in Mylar Bags with Oxygen Absorbers to extend its life for long-term storage.

Processing and Reconstitution

Each tray for our Medium Harvest Right Freeze Dryer will hold 1 quart of liquid. With 4 trays we are able to process 1 gallon at a time. The Large Freeze Dryer from Harvest Right will process 2 gallons and the newer X-Large should easily handle 4+ gallons.

Handling liquids to freeze dry in large trays can be nearly impossible without spilling it everywhere. Through our trial and effort, we have found the following steps that help us not spill a drop and save money!

If you are limited on freezer space and relying on putting the liquid milk directly into your freezer dryer, make sure that you level your freezer dryer and/or tray holder. The milk will be thicker in areas, spill, and otherwise cause a mess. Our method is to first level our freeze dryer and when working with solids we place a block of wood under the front legs. When working with liquids we remove the block until it is finished processing and replace this to ensure when it defrosts the removed water properly runs out of the machine.