Taste Test

Got top-rated powdered milk?

By Kathy Saunders, Times Correspondent
Published August 29, 2007

Powdered milk rankings

1. Albertsons
2. (tie) Carnation, Sanalac, Wal-Mart's Great Value, Sweetbay's Hannaford 

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A reader, who raised her own three children on a budget and became a nanny and second mother to my children, suggested our panelists sample powdered milks.

She said it was a cost-saving option when her children were growing up, and it's a must for any well-stocked hurricane kit.

After quite a bit of gasping at the thought, Taster's Choice judges took up the challenge. And, they were taken by surprise.

We found five brands of boxed mixes that required only a few ounces of water. The thicker the grain of the mix, the better it absorbed the water. The finest of the five clumped the most.

All of the choices, some regular and some low-fat, were thin and watery. We chilled the samples for about an hour, although some of the manufacturers suggested refrigerating the product overnight for optimum flavor.

The instant dry milk from Albertsons $6.99 for a 25.6-ounce box was the top choice, scoring 83 out of 100 points. Two judges said they would buy the milk to drink; one would buy it for cooking.

A self-described "real milk lover" said the Albertsons powdered milk was "The best by far."

The other four brands were tied, each receiving 53 points.

Judges were impressed with the mixes from Carnation ($4.59 for a 9.6-ounce box from Albertsons); Sanalac ($5.99 for a 32-ounce can from Sweetbay); Great Value ($5.14 for a 25.6-ounce box from Wal-Mart); and Hannaford ($5.99 for a 25.6-ounce box from Sweetbay).

One judge said he would buy all four brands to make milk to drink. Another said he'd like to drink the Great Value brand.

"This is very sweet and pleasing to the mouth," said a judge who particularly liked the powdery Sanalac.

Judges who favored the Great Value brand said it was the smoothest when mixed.

Sweetbay's brand, Hannaford, he said, was the real McCoy.

Panelists were: Nan Jensen, registered dietitian with Pinellas County Cooperative Extension; Bob Devin Jones, artistic director of Studio@620; and Jim Yockey, aesthetician at Indulgence Medical Day Spa. All foods were tasted blind.

Send suggestions for product tasting to Taste section, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail jkeeler@sptimes.com. Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line. To read past Taster's Choice columns, go to www.sptimes.com/food.

[Last modified August 28, 2007, 10:55:05]