Ubiquitous Must Have #1

NDF.

What is it? I've written 9 of these, and the last one is some horrible, unreadable enigma! Kidding. It's Nonfat Dry Milk.

Why I love it:

1. Shelf-stable. Make as much as you need.
2. Versatility. Same product is a glass of milk one second, a Splenda aid the next, and then a thickener the next minute.
3. Low in calories.
4. Cheaper than milk because it's dehydrated.
5. Comes in a box, usually with cows on it. I like the idea of boxed milk, alright?
   

So, if you hate skim milk, I really think that you'd make your peace with NDF. The flavor is concentrated, so if you dislike the texture & taste of skim (watery, bluish), you can reconstitute the milk by reducing the amount of liquid you'd normally use, or increase the amount of powder. Normal ratio is 1 cup of water to 1/3 c powder. Let's say you used the 1/3 c powder, but just 1/2 c water. You'd get this nice, creamy, sweet tasting milk by altering the ratio. You could swap out a lot of added calories in a recipe in addition to adding calcium and vitamins as well.

I use it for:

• food base: smoothies, puddings, lattes
  
• coffee creamer
• soup thickener
  
• ***Fat free whipped cream***
• milk, duh
• in recipes

The whipped cream trick is really neat; I hope to have video on that soon.

NDF, my favorite 3-letter abbreviation right after NPH. Y'know, Neil Patrick Harris...ubiquitious and a must have in his own right, I guess.