Powdered Dairy Products

This one's a little unusual (at least to me): powdered butter.  When making jerky, one is admonished to trim as much fat off the meat as possible, because fat does not dehydrate.  However, powdered butter does have fat in it...but it is dehydrated and long-term storable, nonetheless.  It isn't all fat, and it is overall lower in calories than an equivalent amount of butter: the nutrition info says it has 45 calories per tablespoon, with 35 coming from fat and the remainder from carbs (1g) and protein (1g).  It also has 45 mg. of sodium, and tastes fairly salty.

I do not typically buy salted butter (and overall use very little salt in anything I make, such as bread), so it is probably just my perception.  It appears that 45 mg. is in line with a tablespoon of whipped salted butter, so someone who's accustomed to salt would probably think it is fine.

Otherwise, the flavor is okay.  It mixes up with a little water and produces something that is overall pretty soft but usable for spreading on anything; I haven't tried it in baking (though I may).

So the obvious question is, "Why?"  I mostly got it out of curiosity; it was on sale.  The can pictured above is a few years old at this point, and has probably been open about a year.  It's still good.  Probably something smaller than a #10 can would be ideal for someone who doesn't plan to use a lot, but it might be worthwhile to have on the shelf if ever needed.  Canned butter is available, too; I have no idea how long it would last with good quality.

Powdered whole milk is available, too, and rehydrates very well.  I usually mix a little of it with powdered non-fat milk to end up with something more appealing than fat-free alone (in my experience, about the best a fat-free powdered milk product can aspire to is the equivalence to liquid skim milk, which is okay insofar as it goes, but many powdered milk varieties fall way short--sometime I may do a review).

Powdered whole milk does not have a shelf life as long as powdered fat-free, which (based on research done by Oscar Pike and colleagues at BYU) is about 20 years (if stored in an oxygen free environment).  I currently have an open can of powdered whole milk that has a best-by date of April, 2015 (18 months ago) and it's fine. I am trying to use it quickly, however--so quickly that I'm mixing it straight, with no fat-free powder added.  I'm going to spoil myself.

Powdered sour cream is available, too, but I haven't tried it yet.  Powdered buttermilk is okay but when mixed up is a little more bland than fresh.  All of these may or may not have utility for you depending on how fast you consume them and how accessible fresh products are.