I just tried Nido using it on my Wonderland Trail hike . It taste so much better than Milk Man and instant non-fat dry milk. I am sold on it!

I have been unable to locate any Milkman Powdered Milk in any of the retailers in the Sacramento area. It seems everyone just stopped carrying it. Even REI. No one has an explanation as to why they don't have it any more. I am just told it isn't available any longer. Well, I did some searching of my own and found out through the parent company of Milkman which is Familair Foods, that they stopped production of the Milkman product in January of 2008. The last shipments went out in April of 2008. The plant that processed the powdered milk, Humbolt Creamery in Humbolt County, California was shut down because it could not comply with the California Earthquake requirements. The plant was very old and could not be retrofitted. It would have to be rebuilt and that was not cost effective, so the plant shut down. Familiar Foods, the parent company of Milkman products was unable to locate a new producer for the product, so it will no longer be marketed, which is a bummer, becuase the powdered milk did contain cream which made it taste much better than Carnation nonfat milk. However, not all is lost. Nestle, the makers of Carnation also make a whole powdered milk product called Nestle Nido which is very rich and creamy. It can be ordered through a company called My Brands at mybrands.com or you can call them to place an order at (888) 281-6400. Apparently, you cannot get the Nestle Nido milk in regular grocery outlets as it is mostly exported outside of the United States to 3rd world countries that have no refridgeration. It, however, is available at many Hispanic grocery stores. Just thought all you backpackers like me who used the Milkman product would like to know the scoop as to what happened to it.

Kathy Stora, Sacramento, California

Eek! I need to go buy up all of it at the local Safeway :-(

Wow, I'm amazed that full-cream powdered milk is a rarity in the USA! You can get full-cream powdered milk in pretty much every supermarket in Australia, available in multiple brands. It's really not a bad replacement for real milk when you are on the trail (I even use it at home when I've forgotten to buy the milk!). The half-fat or non-fat powdered milk is available too, but it's not nearly as tasty.

Nido can also be found in Asian food markets. That is where I buy mine.

> The half-fat or non-fat powdered milk is available too, but it's not nearly as tasty.
Very true, but the full-cream can be rather hard to dissolve in cold water, especially in winter. The skim milk is much easier. A minor issue.

Cheers

> Very true, but the full-cream can be rather hard to dissolve
> in cold water, especially in winter. The skim milk is much
> easier. A minor issue.

A minor issue indeed... just carry a blender! ;-)

As others have mentioned, I found Nido in the international market here in town. I have yet to find a powdered milk that I like, but I've found Nido to be the lesser of the powdered milk evils. I've also found that a little squeeze bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup makes it not suck. I saw a post awhile back where someone suggested to mix milk and leave it in the creek/river to chill overnight. Since we don't have cold rivers in the summer, I chilled it in the fridge at home. I still didn't like it. Powdered milk is too convenient when hiking for me to ignore, but Hershey's makes it tolerable. Adding it to my oatmeal/wheat germ/nuts/berries breakfast combo buries the "ugh" flavor too.

Humboldt creamery is still open and producing dry milk. Both facilities are near me. So must be another reason. Marketing!? Nido is the best of a bad lot that I have found. Look in the Hispanic markets.

Has anyone tried Moo's Milk?

http://www.moosmilk.com/Page.html

I find one of the problems with powdered milk is getting it mixed properly. I like to take along a 12 oz. water bottle and mix it in the bottle by shaking.

What really makes it taste good is mixing it at night, burying it in a cold stream under some rocks and then drinking it cold in the morning with granola or Carnation Instant Breakfast.

If the milk has time to settle down it tastes MUCH better.

I too like Nido.... sadly it isn't available in Canada... no matter how much I pester Nestle. I usually get a friend to send it up from the US for me.

I don't know about the rest of you but our REI has whole milk powder from backpackers pantry. I used some on my last Yellerstone trip with my granola in a ziplock bag and some in my tea and it was muy bueno!

100g granola, 1oz whole milk powder, add water to "there" and let sit a couple minutes. That with some M&Ms was a mighty nice breakfast and cooking not required. I prefer to only have to cook at dinner anyway, with tea being an option if temperatures or time make it prefered.

Kathy,
Thanks for the information on the demise of Milkman. I've used it for over twenty five years now and love it. I still have 9 envelopes and will be careful to measure each tablespoon. Looks like I'll be visiting my local Tienda de comestibles.

Denis,
No need to guard your stash of packets. Just find yourself a bovine hiking companion. Who knew granola for breakfast could be so good? Get milk straight from the tap!
Chris

Christopher,
I can see the look on the faces of hikers I pass. Me, with my light weight gear, leading a cow down the trail. I should probably teach her to "defecate" on command, just as I have done with my parrot. Not good to contribute any additional "land mines" to the "road apples" already on the trail.

Wild Child,
Like your new "do".

Edited by redleader on 09/27/2008 17:53:10 MDT.

Thanks Dennis.

About milk.... often, because Nido is so difficult for me to get, I will use instant soy milk in my granola. It has a richer/creamier taste than the Carnation skim milk powder that is so common here.

This isn't exactly lightweight but sometimes I take a 500 ml thermos and make yogurt on the trail. It's yummy on granola and it ensures that my little boy is getting enough calcuim. Yogurt making works better with powdered skim milk even at home.

How do you do it in a thermos? I've never made it, but I thought it was something that involved a long time in high heat, such as in an oven.

Another vote for Nido here. I find it in the Hispanic section of Albertsons. Never seen it anywhere else (except online).

Milkman is good too (and I'll be stocking up!! geez) but it doesn't dissolve well in hot liquids.

That Carnation stuff is crap - tastes like wallpaper paste to me. Ick.

Christopher... it is an overnight process that I often do at home without a thermos.

In the late afternoon I heat the milk (Carnation is perfectly fine for this) to boiling without actually boiling it. You just want bubbles starting at the edge. I add a bit of this to a clean thermos and do up the lid.

Then I let the milk in the pot cool to just above body temperature. I add the culture to the thermos (it's a powder from the health food store) and then a little more of the warm milk. I stir it and add the rest of the milk, seal it up, put it in an OP Sak and cozy. Do not disturb until morning.

If it is really cool out and we aren't in Grizzly country I will put the works in my sleeping bag.

By morning we have really thick yogurt that I flavor with rehydrated fruit (usually freeze-dried) and sometimes a little honey. Bryan and Tobias love it over granola - I could just eat it on it's own.