Stocking the Pantry - Milk in many formats and Homemade Pantry Makes
For me when I am shopping or topping up the Pantry I look for ingredients that I can make a lot of and often turning them into something else. However, I do not believe in paying through the nose for these items. I try and source items that I can do several things with rather than items that are already made up into the finished product, which is where most of the cost and profit goes. Do not get me wrong, everyone is entitled to make a living but for me, making things yourself feels so much better, and is not as time consuming as one would think, the advantages however are increasing your skill base you do know what has gone into them and you are not buying in things unnecessarily and then wasting them. I hate wasting stuff and yet in reality we all waste a bit. Lets be realistic. However, I always aim not to waste any.
One of the things that I am trying to do is to replace a lot of boughten items with a homemade equivalent where I can. One of the successes for my pantry has been the pre-prepared Dumpling mixes that I made up for the Pantry.
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Recently I have been making a lot of homemade bread and all the basics that I intend to use on a regular basis, are going to be made up into premade bags with a note of what needs to be added on each bag. So that I can for the best part just add the dried ingredient bag and add fresh ingredients like butter, milk, water and eggs to speed up the process a little. The bread recipes I have used are on this post here:
Bread Machine Dry Ingredient Mixes
Still along this theme, and a little while back I made homemade Peanut Butter.
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The homemade Peanut Butter keeps well in the fridge and for quite a while mine kept for over five weeks. I love the result of what I made although texture wise it is a lost stiffer than the bought version. It does however work out cheaper to make especially as I was able to source salted peanuts for £0.99 per bag.
Since then however, I have not been able to repeat the performance though as my Magimix Food Processor no longer works and I can no longer source the original bowl and lid for my particular model. It would seem that there has been a problem with stress fractures occurring around the top of the bowl where the locking rings are and in my case this has split and will no longer sit true with the locking mechanism on the side of the machine.
Apparently the bowl has been upgraded with a replacement kit which is available via a spares outlet, but as a result of that one of the accessories will not work with the new bowl and lid. I am going to have to save for the upgrade kit and what comes first comes down to a matter of priorities. The new updating kit costs either £99 one source or I found another for £125 well that was the price when I last looked. I have not therefore for the time being, been able to keep on making the Peanut butter.
Links here:
Magimix Replacement Basics = £99
Magimix Blender Bowl Replacement = £125
When it comes to the Food Processor which is a Magimix Cuisine System processor, it was the top of the range Food Processor of its time. The model is 5100G. I share all this information just in case there are others out there who have a similar problem.
There are some lovely ideas and recipes on what to make in the Magimix link on Instagram below.
#Magimix UK (@magimixuk) • Instagram photos and videos.
I cannot fault the Magimix itself as it is an extremely powerful and sturdy bit of kit which still, when it connects, works beautifully. It is the stress fractures on the locking ring which have let it down but then again I have had my machine for many years.
Making the Peanut Butter is something that I will very much be doing again though once I either have a replacement processor or the kit for updating the one I have. I do miss it though as it is ideal for making pate, chocolate mousse, peanut butter, other nut butters, fish pates, cakes, pastry. It is a super bit of kit. I would buy it all over again. Please note this is not a PR advert, it is my personal opinion.
Much of my kitchen equipment I have used well and looked after lovingly for over 20 years or more and sadly I seem to be having a spate where I have had several pieces of equipment die on me. I will replace eventually when I can, but it does make my life a little more difficult inbetween times. We will get there though.
However, as usual I have totally got side tracked from my original topic. Easily distracted!
Back to the Milk!
Most of us keep milk in the fridge but I also keep different forms of milk on the Pantry shelf, very much for different reasons and purposes. I like different sorts of milks including Nut milks.
I like Oat milk too.. I am not keen on Soya though. OH perversely does. I am very aware that dairy has gone up astronomically predominantly down to the feed going up but not completely, as fuel and transport costs also play a hidden part. I then started to think what about if we cannot get milk?
I have for many years kept in the pantry Dried Milk. Often these days if I am making a milk pudding of any kind or using milk in Yorkshire puddings, batter mixes etc. I am using dried milk. I have been quite chuffed with the results as well. I try and keep this in no matter what. From the Co-Op, it costs me £2.30 per bag. With that bag you can get just under 6 pints of milk. There is approximately 300g of dried milk powder in the bag. You need 57g of the milk powder, to 1 pint of water. As always, you may be able to get this cheaper elsewhere I am using that which is readily available to me as must you. This is a standard item for my Pantry.
Also in recent days, I have found on Instagram again a post for making your own Condensed milk. This is something I have yet to try, as I do have some homemade fudge recipes that I want to make which utilises this.
Link here:
I also keep in Coffee Mate for coffee or chocolate drinks. I only buy this though when it is on offer in the large tubs. Much nicer in coffee but am not keen on it in tea.
Small tins of evaporated milk are also kept inhouse for use in Rice pudding and other milk puddings as it gives it a creamier flavour. Just one of the things I like to add to milk puddings rather than just milk. I always empty in the evaporated milk and then top up with ordinary. I also keep in Coconut Milk for use in curries, puddings and ice creams.
However, I would not particularly like any of these on cereal and thinking long term, most people like to have a breakfast of sorts and many people like cereal first thing. I also make my own Muesli and also Granola. Buying in a bag of Porridge Oats though means that I can make my own Oat Milk, Flapjacks, Muesli, Granola etc., as well as being able to make porridge or oat pots. At the end of the day gives you many more options and much more culinary scope. The choice is just down to you at the end of the day as what you want to make out of them.
I am happy also to drink oat milk on its own (up to now it has been bought). However, it is not complicated to make, just a little bit of time invested, but inbetween times you leave to drain. Something that we could all potentially achieve, slotting it in whilst making dinner/tea of an evening and finishing off before going to bed and then popping into the fridge to keep cool in order for the Oat milk to be ready for drinking/breakfast the next day. Oats are also very healthy for you.
As I had never made Oat milk myself before, I thought it might be worth the effort of making my own and documenting it as best I can. I am therefore going to do a follow up post on this one, showing what I got up to and what I think of the results. I am going into a separate post, as this particular post has gone on a bit longer than I had originally intended.
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
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I use evaporated milk when making cheese sauce. It does give a richer flavour. So one can of milk and then roughly a can full of water to keep the sauce moving.
ReplyDeleteTinned sterilized cream is often found in the import area of my supermarkets, usually hidden in with middle eastern products for some reason. A dollop on top of strawberries is always tasty.
Every Canadian child of my age has bad memories of powdered milk. There was a time in the late 60s that our mothers were encouraged to use the product and it was something, that we held our noses and did under duress.
Hello, totally agree about powdered milk as it did used to be awful. These days it is far far better and does not have that taste that it used to have. I am assuming that the tinned cream is a favourite of Asians generally as this is where I find my tinned cream when they have it. Only the half size tins but that is better than nothing at all. The bigger supermarkets where I live just do not stock it. I have even looked in the cheaper shops as well. I am always on the look out for it and tend to grab it when I can and keep it on my Pantry shelf. I shall have to try the evaporated milk in a cheese sauce as well. Thank you for that. Take care Tricia
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