Finding the Best Whole Powdered Milk: Our Tips & Advice

We asked our parent readers for their favorite powdered milk. Then we developed blind taste tests, making sure to hide the brands and packaging to keep it fair.

Along the way, we discovered some tips and advice on buying this staple:

• Not all powdered milks are whole cow’s milk. We noticed a few “milk alternative” products out there in our quest. While these are fine (and a low-fat alternative for those looking for that), they aren’t the best choice for baking bread or other recipes.

• Consider freezing for longer shelf life. If you are building an emergency food supply, the type of packaging is important. Cans and jars that are sealed tend to have longer shelf life. Also: you can freeze powdered milk—one brand that won our taste tests has a shelf life of five years when frozen!

• Great for camping, RV’ing. Powdered milk is great for baking and cooking, but even better when camping. Since it requires no refrigeration, it’s great for camp cooking . . . and perfect for hot chocolate.

Here are the winners of our taste tests:

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!