Food Storage Inventory…Dairy
Yikes! I was just talking to someone trying to find the posts with information about how many cans of food to store for a three month supply and I realized I never talked about dairy. I guess none of you noticed either. Good Grief!
Well, I guess you have been focused on other items and that is really good. We do need dairy in our diet. It is vital to healthy teeth and bones. Got milk?
You will need to store the following:
Adults:
11 pounds powdered milk
11 pounds of cheese: processed, dried, or fresh
Children 8 and under:
9 pounds powdered milk
5 pounds of cheese: processed, dried, or fresh
For children, especially those under 4 it is very important that they also consume milk fats. For this reason it is a good idea to store evaporated milk for their use. Ten cans of evaporated milk is equal to one pound of powdered milk. Evaporated milk is also a great choice for making creamed sauces and soups and is great to mix in with powdered milk to make it taste more like the “real thing”. I would recommend storing both.
Powdered milk has come a long way and tastes much better than it used to. Purchase one box and try it. If you don’t like the taste try another brand until you find the best. Powered milk always tastes better when ice cold. I also store chocolate syrup which makes everything taste great. Try adding a little vanilla or if you are using it on cereals, hot or cold, add another extract. Coconut, almond, there are so many that would be great!
Whenever a cake or bread recipe calls for milk use your reconstituted powdered milk. It is a great way to rotate and you will never notice the difference in the taste.
I store dried cheese in the form of Parmesan and Romano. I also store some processed cheese and cheese soup, both of which are great in soups and casseroles. I also purchase cheese in the largest brick I can get in the grocery store. If you wrap it properly it will last a long time and when we are going out of town or just eating it too slowly I cut off a piece and freeze it. Frozen cheese will crumble but it is still great in salads, tacos and even grilled cheese sandwiches, if your are careful when flipping the sandwich.
I usually stock up on butter at the grocery store. I keep one in box in the fridge and freeze the rest until we’re down to one stick. It’s a great way to store extra butter if you don’t have room in your fridge!
I know I’m late looking through these posts, but I just found this site yesterday (and whoa– am I behind!!) =). I was wondering about storing milk for infants? I have a 5 month old baby, and we have just started our family…. (ie– more than likely we will have infants around for a while). We have been buying an extra can of formula each month, but I heard a rumor that you can make your own formula? Do you have any advice on storing foods for infants? Thanks!!