We needed some toasted milk solids for a recipe in development. We had just run out of our pressure cooked milk solids. I had not fired up a new batch. I wondered if we could use the microwave to toast the milk solids. It turns out we could. We cooked 100 grams of non fat milk powder in a ceramic bowl in the microwave. We cooked them in for 10 minutes in 30 second increments, stirring the milk between cooks. This broke up the milk solids and prevented hot spots from forming. The process shaves 80 minutes off of our pressure cooker version. It does take 10 active minutes of cooking. It is certainly worth the time trade off. And the results are nearly identical. If you want foxier brown milk solids cook them for an additional 30 seconds to a minute.
Years Past
