3

YouTube video illustrating problem.

enter image description here

Someone (Facebook video) suggests using a food processor but I don't have a food processor. (Also, her Milo doesn't seem to be nearly as hardened as mine or in the above YouTube video, where a knife is more likely to break before making much progress.)

One page claims:

How to soften hardened Milo powder

One proven method is to take the milo out of the tin and place it in a Ziplock bag, the with a meat cleaver or rolling pin beat the milo until it turns into powder again.

I've tried repeatedly smashing my big lump of Milo powder with a 7.5 kg dumbbell. But after a few minutes, all that's happened is that the big lump has broken into several smaller lumps, with no sign that the Milo will ever turn back into powder. (Meanwhile the layers of bags that I've enclosed my Milo in have been torn and must be replaced.)

Perhaps with a few hours more smashing, it'll eventually turn back into powder. But does anyone have a better solution?

(I'm also using the Gao Kosong formula which is perhaps especially susceptible to this problem.)

user182601
  • 139
  • 1
  • 5

5 Answers5

4

I'm no expert, so take this with a grain of salt.

I think, short of mechanical effort like you are already putting in, or as a blender would do, that there isn't any easy way to revert it to powder, unless you are willing to invest in some rather expensive and bulky equipment and a fair bit of time to optimize the process.

The reason I think this is so, is that much of the components of milo are sugars (ingredients from the list I found at Fairprice.com.sg). Protomalt extract is a form of malt extract, apparently from malted barley and cassava, and malt is largely sugars in some form.

Milo itself is made into a powder by vacuum drying. When your milo absorbs water from the air, the sugars absorb this water and form crystalline sheets, which then harden and form the solid block you find. This process is likely to be irreversible, unless you fully dissolve the milo and reproduce the vacuum drying process that Nestle uses to produce the milo in the first place.

So - keep hammering at it. You don't need it to be fully powdered to be able to measure out amounts (I'd be willing to bet you do it using a spoon...) - doing it by weight is totally fine, in fact that's how they determine the standard serving; which is 30 grams according to the linked ingredients list above.

bob1
  • 17,632
  • 33
  • 71
4

I had a similar issue when making some hot chocolate a while back. My solution was to use a grater to grate the block of hot chocolate. It won’t make it back into the original texture, but it will be smaller and more uniform in size compared to hammering it. I used a Japanese style grater used to grate daikon radishes. I’m sure you could use a different type of grater and then use a rolling pin to get smaller particles. Hope this helps.

JG sd
  • 1,366
  • 1
  • 10
  • 15
1

I use a heavy duty (Thai) mortar and pestle, then a clean spice grinder and then I sift it. Creates a fine powder. Works well.

mewarner
  • 11
  • 1
0

Put it through a burr grinder (its too hard for a blade grinder). Otherwise you might have some luck mixing in bicarbonate of soda since it dissolves organic matter. It might take a while to eat through large pieces though, and bicard does change the taste slightly.

caduceus
  • 101
  • 1
-1

Simple solution. I keep my Milo in a jar. Just shake the jar very hard and after a while it will break into powder.

kskhoo
  • 1