Powdered Milk - alternative

[WOFTT]

Hi

we recently walked the Overland Track and although we had made some really good food choices (making our fellow campers/walkers envious) we were disappointed by our decision to take powerdered milk. It seemed to taste ok when we mixed it in our porridge, however it was disgusting in tea or coffee and eventually we gave up on it. I am sure a lot of you can vouch for tea and coffee being a absolute must, as we do. Nothing like a nice cuppa to pick you up at the end or start of the day.

I'd like to know what other walkers take on a multi day trek ?

Perhaps some people have experience with UHT which seems a better alternative but we need to consider weight.

WOFTT.

[sthughes]

I always take UHT, I'm a bit of a milk tragic and can't put up with powdered, whilst UHT is bearable and you get used to it more over time. Better still for cold weather walks/short ones Betta do have proper milk in 250ml bottles if you can find it in a shop. Screw the weight, it's all about enjoyment to me (within reason)

[ILUVSWTAS]

I have my tea black, and take packet coffee on longer walks!
A couple of years ago when I did the Southern Ranges I carried several UHT milks and vowed from that day forth to NEVER carry the excess weight again!

[Son of a Beach]

I no longer have milk or sugar in my tea. When I did, I used to take a tube of condensed milk. This is great, as you only have to squeeze a small amount in to get both your milk and sugar all in one hit. The only problem was that it had a tendency to run out prematurely, as I really like just squeezing it straight into my mouth.

[ollster]

a tube of condensed milk ... as I really like just squeezing it straight into my mouth.

That's why I stopped taking it... it's just too good, I used to have a bit at morning tea, a bit at lunch and in a couple of days there was none left.

[Macca81]

im happy with powdered. if condensed milk goes with me, it is not for going into my coffee

[photohiker]

If I can find them, I take some of those tiny UHT's (130ml?) for muesli in the morning, otherwise it's powdered. Wouldn't bother carrying more than a couple of days worth though, so by the end of the week it's powdered for me.

Dropped milk from my Tea, so that's not a problem any more...

[WOFTT]

Thanks for all replies. I will try the condensed milk tube before we head out on our next walk. I also recall from my youth stealing it from the kitchen and sneeking out the backyard and squeezing down copius amounts of this sweet sticky gu.

I am also thinking I might take UHT in those little hotel size containers (the round ones about 3 -4 cm tall) I think they may be good enough and light enough to have one or two a day just for tea and coffee.

Woftt.

[tas-man]

I have become a fan of the Nestle "Instant Cappuccino" sachets that doesn't need milk or sugar for a great coffee "convenient" imitation of a cappucino when a long way from a coffee machine requiring 240 volts!

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[Taurë-rana]

I have horrible memories of the taste of powdered milk, but the Diploma light tastes fine on my muesli. I've mixed it half and half with Sustagen Sport this trip so I'll see how it goes. I do like just a little bit of milk at least in my tea, but I'm taking Milo which I can drink without milk, and herbal tea as well so don't need too much milk. I'm skipping the coffee as I think it's giving me horrible stomach aches which is no good at all as good coffee is one of the pleasures of life.

Previously I've taken the Nescafe Cafe shots as well as they have the milk added but I seem to find I prefer tea when bushwalking anyway.

[Area54]

I reckon the low fat powdered milk tastes far better than the full cream variety, seems to mix easier as well. Sweetened condensed milk is great, very fatty but good for satiety.

[Orion]

[ollster]

Umm... what the hell is that?!

[north-north-west]

It's a native animal milk substitute, generally used by wildlife carers and the like.
Wonder what it tastes like . . .

[Nuts]

I reckon it would taste like it came from the other end of that wombaroo...
I just use Sunshine though the way it can glue itself onto cups is a worry.

[photohiker]

Actually Wombaroo is just down the road from us.

It doesn't taste that bad actually, but I wouldn't use it on my muesli.

[johnw]

For coffee only - for a bit of luxury I use NESTLÉ COFFEE-MATE Flavours (tiny liquid containers). I prefer the hazelnut flavour but vanilla is fine. Certainly dramatically improves a humble cup of coffee in the bush I think. I've also used the miniature single serves of plain UHT milk. How practical either of these things are depends on how many days you'll be out but they weigh very little individually and also take little space. I've also used Woolies brand coffee whitener on the OLT for a week and that wasn't too bad. Better tasting than powdered milk anyway (I use powdered skim milk at work every day).

http://www.nestle.com.au/Products/Drinks/CoffeeMate/default.htm

[whiskeylover]

I have nightmarish childhood memories of being forcefed full cream powdered milk whenever we went camping, along with the mandatory pumpernickel bread with peanut butter and lettuce! Must have been hard to carry enough food for five kids. Anyway we much prefer the Diploma skim milk - quite palatable. I use a wide mouth screw top container to mix it in (one of those Goulburn Valley fruit plastic jars). The container doubles as a dehydrated ingredient soaker as it can tolerate hot water without leaking. If empty you can also stuff your tea, coffee etc makings into it in ziplock bags.

[Nuts]

(They also make good pancake mixers. Flour, sugar, egg pwdr, custard... presto!!! Self made pancakes are sooo much nicer!)

Has anyone wondered why sometimes powdered milk will not mix well, other-times, straight away?

[Macca81]

Has anyone wondered why sometimes powdered milk will not mix well, other-times, straight away?

age i think, as it gets older it tends to get harder to mix in.

a mate once had some that he pulled from the back of the cupboard from an unknown time, we just could not get it to mix! top of the coffee tasted milky, bottom was still black!

[Son of a Beach]

Age does make a world of difference. Since my wife has been using it in cooking at home it doesn't get so old in the pantry befor running out and buying a new batch and we don't have problems mixing it in anymore.

[corvus]

Not a big milk user however find the powdered variety ok in my corn flakes when I carry it bagged with the flakes and a touch of sugar for breakfast just add water
corvus

[Penguin]

I have become a fan of the Nestle "Instant Cappuccino" sachets that doesn't need milk or sugar for a great coffee "convenient" imitation of a cappucino when a long way from a coffee machine requiring 240 volts!

Picture 2.png

I prefer the strong Maconna version - personal taste. The Double hot chocolates arn't bad wither. I have no idea what chemicals they have in them, I am sure it is very little coffee or milk - but the blend sort of works. Also easier to pack - Five drinks a day - three coffees, one hot chocolate and a Miso soup pouch.

I agree with Corvus, powdered milk tasts better with a littel bit of sugar, no idea why....

P

[Macca81]

i cant bring myself to even try those instant cappuccino things...

ill drink good quality instant (i think that might be an oxymoron) with some whisky or rum in it when walking, but being a barista and drinking quality coffee all the time i just cant stomach the idea of a packet coffee substitute...

[norts]

I keep my excess powdered milk in the freezer. I dont seem to have any problems with mixing when I take it out bush.

Roger

[Jellybean]

i cant bring myself to even try those instant cappuccino things...

ill drink good quality instant (i think that might be an oxymoron) with some whisky or rum in it when walking, but being a barista and drinking quality coffee all the time i just cant stomach the idea of a packet coffee substitute...

I'm with you Macca (almost) - I love coffee but it has to be good quality, I can't drink instant at all (I think that's a legacy of uni days, using multiple cups of Nescafe 43 Blend to stay awake into the early morning whilst writing my Masters thesis). To date I haven't found something to suit my coffee snob tastes on walks so I stick to black tea and head to the nearest quality cafe at the end of the walk!

[tasadam]

To date I haven't found something to suit my coffee snob tastes on walks so I stick to black tea and head to the nearest quality cafe at the end of the walk!

http://mypressi.com/
A write up on it here - http://gizmodo.com/5229386/worlds-first ... ne-addicts

Or one that works by hand pump - http://www.handpresso.com/

But as I have neither device and I cannot grind my beans fresh, I drink tea on walks. With powdered milk (fresh, or it doesn't mix so well, as mentioned) and sugar - not normally needed in my drinks, unless I'm walking, probably due to powdered milk.

I had a bag of milk powder measured up (60 grams for half litre) but had an extra bag as the walk was a day less, so it got put in the cupboard. Less than a month, the milk powder in this bag was not as white, and it did not mix terribly well. Mixes better in warm water when the milk powder is older, but still not great.

Breakfast for 2 people - heat half litre of water, add to wide mouth litre naglene bottle, add 60 gram bag of milk powder, shake (release pressure after a shake or 2 due to air expansion due to temperature), that's enough warm milk for 2 x 65 gram servings of Fibre Plus, also enough for a couple of cups of tea.
Then you only need to spoon the milk powder into the cuppa tea if you make extra through the day. I normally ration for 3 cups a day, usually have extra left over. Particularly after hearing someone traded some tea bags for a crayfish on Window Pane Bay or somewhere out there.

[Jellybean]

To date I haven't found something to suit my coffee snob tastes on walks so I stick to black tea and head to the nearest quality cafe at the end of the walk!

http://mypressi.com/
A write up on it here - http://gizmodo.com/5229386/worlds-first ... ne-addicts

Or one that works by hand pump - http://www.handpresso.com/

Thanks! Both sound like they make good quality coffee, although at a price (first one weighs 1.1 kg - doesn't fit my new found LW approach ) and costs $169; second one is lighter - but still weighs 476g and costs 109 Euro!!). Only for the complete caffeine addict I think!

I was thinking more about something like this: http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... press.html ; it's a plunger designed to fit in a 32oz wide mouthed Nally bottle; weighs only 70g and costs $25 plus postage; I might buy one when I eventually buy the Event rain gear. (Not sure what coffee out of a Nally bottle would taste like though ). I have the grinder and the fresh beans!! (ahhh, one of my favourite smells in the morning - along with freshly baked bread and freshly made juice!!!).

[corvus]

Just read about Zolito single -serve filtered coffee sachets,may be worth searching out for you coffee adicts
Black Earl Grey is my weaknes.
corvus

[enduro]

coffee and tea black for me!

I don't have issues with powdered milk - if it is fresh and kept cool it is not a lot of different than standard millk. I premix it into porridge or mueseli before I head out.

I can understand how some may not like the change in floavour of coffee & tea it makes.