In the 60s, I ate some powdered eggs. Of course, you had to scramble them. Didn’t seem like too much, if any, difference from the real deal.
Powdered milk, I don’t have fond memories of. I also checked, and it seemed that the cost for enough PM to convert to the real stuff would cost as much as the same amount of the real deal, so, cost efficiency isn’t one of the advantages.
I mostly drink skim milk made up from powder. I don’t drink a lot of it and carton skim milk is dearer than real milk so I begrudge throwing it away. When I make coffee I just throw some in the bottom of the espresso cup and dampen it with some water before I put it under the spout. For protein shakes and stuff I just grab one of the water bottles out of the fridge and use it with a few spoons of milk powder.
I keep that instant mash potato crap for use as a thickener only. Since it is basically tasteless I find it perfect for last minute thickening of stews and stuff before serving. I think you could use it in sweet dishes and no-one would know.
My mother raised us six kids on her own so we drank a lot of powdered milk - couldn’t afford fresh and it kept a lot longer. Mom had these giant boxes of the stuff. And I remember Government cheese! Mom couldn’t always afford meat so we ate a lot of dried beans and Government cheese. I remember this big brick of Velveeta-looking orangey stuff in a very unadorned box that said “CHEESE”. I kind of liked it.
I keep powdered milk/buttermilk in the pantry for occasional baking purposes. Also for making ice cream - powdered milk improves the texture, not as icy. I recently came across powdered eggs on Amazon and bought some just out of curiosity. Haven’t tried them as yet.
Come to think of it, I also have powdered porcini, powdered cheese, and powdered wine for flavoring purposes. Spices, etc has a bunch of these.
Powdered honey won’t leave a sticky puddle of glue when you spill it on the floor [or the cat]
I use powdered egg white to make royal icing for decorating cookies and cakes. I use powdered whole eggs and whole milk in baking and cooking, and will occasionally use powdered potatoes in breads, soups or stews and mrAru found some brand of instant mashed potatoes with garlic and herbs that is actually quite palatable.
I buy powdered skimmed milk fairly often - it’s useful for some bread recipes. Also, it’s a great way to enrich milkshakes without making them too fatty.
Only place I’ve seen it used is in “Modernist Cuisine at Home” in rub recipes and spice mixtures.
Clearly there’s a larger market than just the geeks who have MC or MCAH by the looks of an Amazon search on “powdered honey”, but I don’t have a clue who else buys the stuff.
Though I’m not sure it qualifies as a “delight,” I’m surprised no one has mentioned Tang.
There is a whole huge section in Modernist Cuisine about making powder out of random ingredients. I got the distinct impression that there was a lot of “because we can” to the whole thing.
Powdered milk may cost more to process than fresh milk, but it’s cheaper because it isn’t as perishable.
Many years ago, I worked with a woman who said that when she was growing up, her parents drank fresh milk but gave the kids powdered milk, and she wondered why. I speculated that her parents may have believed that powdered milk was more nutritious (I’ve heard that some people did or do believe this) and that was why.
Powdered milk can be useful for making homemade yogurt. Adding a little with the yogurt starter will give you a thicker, richer yogurt without having to strain it. Not exactly sure why (I assume it boost the concentration of the milk sugars that the yogurt cultures eat), but it does work pretty well.
Powdered buttermilk - there is such a thing? (And why did I not know this?) Genius!
Lime Tang and 7-Up can be combined to make a surprisingly tasty margarita mix (a trick learned from a catamaran captain in Belize). Unfortunately, it’s hard to find lime Tang in the US.
Ok. You all convinced me. I bought a canister of powdered milk and a canister of powdered buttermilk today. I didn’t see powdered eggs - I’ll have to keep looking.
For now, I’m calling them hurricane supplies.
It is amazing how that works. Generally I use 300 g bread flour, 200 g mashed potatoes and 150 ml water. It’s a little tricky kneading it just right when you’re pushing that level of potato, but its worth it. It’s tasty, stays fresher longer, and has fewer calories per unit.
I vaguely remember powdered eggs, part of some diet I was on a long time ago. I had to add water to reconstitute them to make an omelet, adding vegetables or whatever. I remember they were a solid yellow, and didn’t taste like real eggs, but as I was starving! on that diet, they tasted pretty damn good! I also have a container of powdered egg whites in with my baking things which I bought for a recipe but never used. It’s probably 4 or 5 years old, but I don’t think they would go bad.
Basically “seconding” on the economic factor - while buying a large box of it is a significant $$ outlay ($16 or $17) considering that translates to 20 quarts makes it worthwhile. Plus, in summer I need make only as much as I will need in one day, and know the rest isn’t going to go back before I can use it.
It isn’t bad, especially when used in baking and coffee. For drinking a glass of it, my youngest just puts a drop of vanilla extract for flavor.
Saw powdered peanut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, and knockoff Nutella) varieties at Whole Foods and was confused.
What are you supposed to DO with it? Is the powdered version supposed to be healthier because they’re powdered? It’s peanut butter, it’s already pretty damn durable. I can’t think of many recipes that would call for dried-out peanut butter. I don’t get it.
You can use powdered milk for a lot of things: making milk-based sauces, homemade yogurt, milkshakes, homemade farmer’s cheese, baking, fluffing up scrambled eggs, stirring in to coffee, etc. It’s also useful for adding a little bit of stealth nutrition into things you are cooking. I’ve been known in lean times to add a bit to tomato sauces or beans or whatever to boost the nutrition content.
It’s not really worthwhile in the US, as it’s just as cheap to buy fresh milk. But there are still large chunks of the globe where safe fresh milk is unavailable and UHP milk is still to expensive for ordinary people. In rural Africa, for example, powdered milk is a common luxury food. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but there is a pretty big market for it.
I found a little info here about powdered peanut butter. I guess it’s a diet thing. When the Trader Joe’s here opens I might try some. (September, so they say. Hurry UP.)
Powdered egg whites are also handy for making certain types of mixed drinks, such as a pisco sour.
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