How to Store Dairy Products and Eggs
Storing dehydrated milk products, crystallized eggs, and freeze-dried cheese requires rotating every 5-10 years.
Milk: Purchase dehydrated nonfat milk. When you open a can of milk, pour the contents into a freezer storage bag and label the bag with directions for reconstituting. Keep the bag in the freezer. This way you do not have to worry about how long it takes you to finish the milk. During hard times, you will not have any trouble finishing the milk before it goes bad, but if you are like our family, then you will still use regular milk for drinking and cereal, or a mixture of regular milk and dehydrated milk—half and half. Milk can be canned in #10 cans with oxygen absorber packets for longer storage (8–10 years at 70°). This is an estimated storage shelf life. You should always check the expiration date on the container or check with the manufacturer.
Eggs: Powdered whole eggs work great for baking, but if you are going to make eggs to eat as a meal, purchase crystallized eggs. They reconstitute much easier than powdered eggs and taste like real eggs. Crystallized eggs cost about twice as much as regular eggs, so I purchase a year’s supply, but only rotate one or two cans a year. Crystallized eggs store for five to ten years, so regular eggs can be used most of the time and the stored eggs only have to be replaced every five to ten years, depending on the temperature they are stored at. Once a can of eggs is opened, store the remaining eggs in a storage bag in the freezer. Label the bag with directions for reconstituting. The storage life for an open can on the shelf is one month. This is an estimated storage shelf life. You should always check the expiration date on the container or check with the manufacturer.
Cheese: Freeze-dried cheese tastes like regular grated cheese. It melts in casseroles and is my cheese of choice for storage. Like crystallized eggs, freeze-dried cheese costs twice as much as the grated cheese you buy in the grocery store. Store half of the cheese needed for a year’s supply using freeze-dried, and the other half using packages of grated cheese, stored in the freezer. Freeze-dried cheese is good for five to ten years, so it only has to be replaced every five years. This is an estimated storage shelf life. You should always check the expiration date on the container or check with the manufacturer. Once the cheese is opened, place it in a freezer storage bag and keep it in the freezer. Label the bag with directions for reconstituting. One cup of cheddar cheese is equal to four ounces of frozen, shredded, cheddar cheese. There are ten cups in a #10 can of freeze-dried, shredded cheddar cheese.
Butter: Butter powder can add a butter flavor to foods and is a nice substitute for butter in baking. It has buttermilk or milk powder mixed with it, so it does not act like fresh butter. The recipes on this website will help you learn how to use dehydrated butter. Dehydrated butter has a five year shelf life. Once opened, I repackage in a freezer bag and store it in my freezer. Label the bag with directions for reconstituting and date of purchase. There are times when nothing can substitute fresh butter flavor. I freeze fresh butter so it is available for use on toast and other foods that use a minimal amount. Most recipes in this cookbook use alternatives to butter that have at least a one-year shelf life.
Sour Cream: Sour cream powder is very strong, and can affect the way many recipes taste. For this reason, the recipes on this website do not use dehydrated sour cream. A good substitute for sour cream in baking is dehydrated buttermilk or sour milk, mixing a cup of reconstituted, dehydrated, nonfat milk with a tablespoon of vinegar. To substitute sour cream in casseroles, use a dehydrated white sauce mix. This will give you the equivalent of eight ounces of sour cream.
Cream: Evaporated milk makes a good substitute for light or heavy cream. One cup of evaporated milk is the equivalent of one cup of cream.
White Sauce Mix: Purchase a dehydrated white soup/sauce mix that can be used as a soup base for cream soups, or a white sauce substitute. I also use it as a replacement for sour cream in casseroles and dinner recipes. It is a dehydrated powder that will last 10-15 years unopened in the cupboard. Once opened, it should be used within a year. To assure long term quality, freeze in a freezer storage bag after opening. Make sure you write directions for reconstituting on the bag.
Buttermilk: Dehydrated buttermilk is a great substitute for sour cream in baking. When you open a can of buttermilk, pour the contents into a freezer storage bag and label the bag with directions for reconstituting. Keep the bag in the freezer. This way you do not have to worry about how long it takes you to finish the buttermilk.
