Extreme Dairy

[Atif Khan]

We are planning a 1 week desert expedition with day time temperatures reaching 45 C (115 F) with no shade and night time temperatures over 30 C (90 F). On previous walks at these these temperatures we tended to crave liquid dairy.

Which of the following would survive: kefir, lassi, or yogurt? Or can you recommend something hardier?

[Todd T]

Powdered milk?

[AK Granola]

Would whey-based protein shakes work to meet that craving? I like Tailwind.

[David Thomas]

I’d hesitate to take any dairy items into those temperatures for a week, but I could imagine bringing some for a few days.  Single-serving yogurts, frozen solid, and then placed inside of one’s sleeping bag, would last for a full day, at least until you deployed the sleeping bag.

OTOH, you’re not bringing a sleeping bag on a trip that is never below 30C, right?  And any of those products have a lot of water weight that you only use once (versus refilling your water bottles throughout the trip).  I like Granola’s suggestion of powdered products.  If the whey-based products work for you, there are readily available in gyms, GNC in the mall, Costco, Walmart, etc.

In powdered milk, Milkman tastes a bit better than the other brands, IMO.

If you want a liquid product, 70 million Thai people can’t be wrong – when in a hot climate without refrigeration, use canned condensed milk:

Not at all UL, but it has more dairy fat and protein per weight, even with the can, than yogurt or kefir.  And it’s completely safe at quite elevated temps – you can boil it for a long time and end up with caramel (my wife does exactly that).

[jscott]

Milk products in 115 degree weather?  No thanks. Powdered milk is a good idea, and yes for forty years folks seem to prefer Milkman.

Sometimes one has to just go without, if other products can perform better. We don’t hike for the meals, or anyway I don’t.

[Kevin Babione]

PackitGourmet just did a limited release of their Berry Berry Fruit Smoothie which would tick all of your boxes…It’s freeze-dried so you just add water and they are delicious.  They’re my favorite backpacking breakfast – Gives me extra liquid to start my day and 34 grams of protein!  I really cannot recommend them highly enough.

[Jerry Adams]

to make yogurt you boil milk, then let it cool to 100F (?), add bacteria, let it sit at 100F (?) for a day (?)

I’m not sure the exact temp or length of time, but something like that, which might fit into your trip

 

[jscott]

“to make yogurt you boil milk, then let it cool to 100F (?), add bacteria, let it sit at 100F (?) for a day (?)”

What could possibly go wrong. Yogurt is sold from refrigerated  cases. I keep it in my refrigerator. I certainly wouldn’t keep it in a bear canister,  or inside my pack,  when it’s 115 degrees out. Or on my shelf at home.

As far as I know, all milk products are sold in refrigerated cases and kept in refrigerators in hot weather. That said, I have brought single serving cheeses on backpacking trips. So maybe I’m wrong here. It’s happened a few times in my life.

Jerry is far more science minded than me,  so listen to him. I won’t make yoghurt from milk  while out backpacking, however, no matter what.

[Jerry Adams]

you obviously haven’t made your own yogurt : )

I have not made my own yogurt but I’ve thought about it.  I have an instant pot which would keep it at the right temp.  I have talked to people that have made yogurt.

I’m not recommending this, just throwing out an idea.  When Atif said 115F it just occurred to me that was close to the yogurt culturing temperature

[David D]

Have you tried Nido full cream milk powder? 143kcal/oz, ~ 40% more than skim milk powder or Carnation Breakfast Essentials

It’s my breakfast go-to with Quaker Harvest Crunch (128kcal/oz) for a lightweight, high cal, filling and easy to digest start to the day when backpacking.  Doesn’t hurt that it tastes pretty good.

[David Thomas]

Yes, that’s how one makes yogurt.  My sister used to.  My wife has more recently.  The milk, once seeded and kept at 110-115F ought to support fermentation.  The mild stuff I’ve seen made happened overnight – 12 hours or so.  Then is refrigerated to stop the process (although it doesn’t kill the bacteria).  If you let it ferment longer, you’d get tangier yogurt with more lactic acid in it – hopefully enough to prevent other bacteria or mold from growing.

While we now keep ham, cheese, sauerkraut and smoked salmon in the refrigerator, all those foods were originally made to preserved them without modern refrigeration, albeit with higher levels of salt, some of them in caves or cellars, and it wasn’t always successful.

[AK Granola]

I have made yogurt all kinds of ways; there isn’t a single way to do it. You can use a special machine, a thermos, or just on the counter for longer. I would take it on a day hike, but I wouldn’t attempt to keep it fresh longer than that without refrigeration. The hot weather described seems like a hard place to keep fresh dairy.

[jscott]

Again,  the OP is going to be outdoors in the desert for a week. Highs will be 115% and lows will be in the 90s, with no shade. Bring a lassi?  Kefir? I don’t think so.

Take advantage of the heat to cook up some yoghurt? Yoghurt isn’t simply spoiled and curdled  milk.

frankly going without milk products would be the least of my concerns.  But I don’t go hiking in anywhere near those temperatures.

[Terran Terran]

Cold milk can be nice on a hot day, but hot milk on a hot day? Mocha drinks will last.  They sell ultra-pasteurized milk that’s bottled under sterile conditions. A lot of nut milks don’t need refrigeration, at least until they’re opened.

UHT Milk

[Atif Khan]

OP here: Thank you all. Some initial results are in.

Last week we walked from Wadi Rum to Aqaba, a circuitous 4 day route through the desert interior, thankfully assisted by water-laden pack camels. Temperatures reached over 25 C (77 F) and with a strong sun the contents of our packs became very hot.

I asked my friend today for details on the powerfully effervescent drink he shared with me on the fourth day. He said it was lassi, prepared thick by mixing roughly one part sheep yogurt in one part water and adding plenty of salt. This is similar to the drink Thesiger mentions in his Empty Quarter travels in the 1940’s with the Bedouin.

Let’s see how higher temperatures and longer durations play out. Gut health promotes overall immunological response, useful during immoderate exertion, so I am keen to find a solution. I will experiment on the summer expedition and report back.

[Terran Terran]

Lactobacillus in yogurt tends to overpower anything else. It can be produced using rice rinse water, or the dirt from ant hills. Added to milk, the lactose loving bacteria thrive. It works as a preservative. Sauerkraut is an example. Milk is left on the window sill in some countries to ferment. Sour milk doesn’t hurt you. I use it in my waffles sometimes.

Amasi  

[Nick Gatel]

Temperatures reached over 25 C (77 F) and with a strong sun the contents of our packs became very hot.

I have found that in hotter weather (not unusual to have a 50° F swing between high and low temps) chocolate doesn’t melt if I wrap a down jacket around it.

[jscott]

I bow to those with far more desert experience than me. Still, here’s some recommended things I’ll never do:

–wrap my down jacket around a chocolate bar and stuff it in pack on very hot day (hello, bears!!) (Nick knows what he’s talking about. I don’t doubt him for an instant! still not doing it.)

–make yogurt using the dirt around an ants nest

–leave milk in my window to ferment on a hot day

–add lots of salt to four day old hot sheeps milk yogurt in 115% if I’m looking for something “refreshing”.

[Terran Terran]

No refrigeration needed.
UHT Lassi

[Steve Thompson]

I’ll 2nd the Nido powder.  Boosts protein powder shakes, great creamer for coffee or tea, and excellent to cold soak or with hot oatmeal.

[Author]

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