If you're a baking enthusiast, you've probably cracked a can or two of sweetened condensed milk in your time—it's a key player in some of our favorite pies, cakes, and sticky-sweet sauces. But few people are as accustomed to cooking with its milder, milkier, unsweetened cousin: Evaporated milk—canned, shelf-stabilized, low-moisture cow's milk—offers the same thick, rich texture of condensed milk without the added sugars, making it ideal for more savory preparations (and a handful of sweet ones to boot). Here's a look at just how handy it can be.
The Best Mac and Cheese
If only mac and cheese were as simple as dumping some cheese in a pan, heating it up until it melts, and adding it to cooked pasta. But if you've ever tried precisely that, you know that cheese breaks—you wind up with stringy, greasy clumps that won't even adhere to each other, let alone your macaroni (here's the science, if you're curious). That's why everything from blue-box mac and cheese to the fanciest-pants preparations requires some kind of stabilizer to help bind the cheese together, keeping it smooth and creamy.
Instead of using a typical flour-and-milk béchamel, though, we make our ultra-gooey 15-minute stovetop mac and cheese with a stabilizing mix of cornstarch and evaporated milk. Those starch molecules thicken the sauce, while the concentrated milk proteins from the evaporated milk add that signature dairy flavor, without all the water you'd get from cream or regular milk.
Translation? Smooth, shiny, perfectly emulsified cheese that doesn't clump, taste floury, or break into greasy pools.
Using evaporated milk will also make the filling for your next batch of jalapeño poppers extra gooey, and you can even add it to your cheese of choice to make melt-ready slices of any cheese you desire—great for your next cheeseburger or grilled cheese.
Enriching... Most Things
Evaporated milk was originally engineered to be rehydrated—which is helpful in places where dairy storage is difficult, like campgrounds, desert islands, or my house when I'm too lazy to run to the grocery store for the fresh stuff. But when left in its thickened, low-moisture canned state, it can also stand in for milk or heavy cream as an enriching agent. Evaporated milk gives body to smoothies, thickens up and sweetens coffee, and adds nuance and richness to creamy soups and chowders, not to mention savory sauces and even oatmeal. If you don't have much of a sweet tooth, you can also use it in place of sweetened condensed milk in plenty of desserts.
Dense, Fudgy Ice Cream
On top of all that, evaporated milk also happens to be the key to our super-chewy New England–style ice cream. For that you can thank its high protein content, which delivers a superior, fresh-churned texture while simultaneously limiting iciness once the ice cream is stored. While milk powder provides that protein in most recipes, we find that it tends to add a chalky sweetness. Evaporated milk, with the help of a few other carefully honed tricks, lends cleaner milky flavor to match the dense, fudgy texture, for a scoop that can compete with the Northeast's very best.
Evaporated milk gives body to smoothies, thickens up and sweetens coffee, and adds nuance and richness to creamy soups and chowders, not to mention savory sauces and even oatmeal. If you don't have much of a sweet tooth, you can also use it in place of sweetened condensed milk in plenty of desserts.
On the savory side of things, evaporated milk is great for making creamy comfort food dishes, like mac and cheese. Plus, you can use it for nacho cheese sauce, one-pot chicken and rice casserole, and Southern creamed corn. Looking for an easy dessert recipe that uses evaporated milk?
Evaporated milk starts out as fresh milk and is heated to drive off more than half of the water. Add water and use it as milk or pour it straight out of the can and use it as half-and-half. Creamy, rich and perfect for baking, custards, soups and even ice cream.
So, now we know that evaporated milk is safe to drink from its container, but just because you can consume it this way doesn't necessarily mean you'll want to. Since evaporated milk is thick and creamy, the consistency will be completely different than a regular carton that you're used to.
Pour evaporated milk into freezing tray. Place in freezing compartment of refrigerator. When tiny crystals begin to form around edges, turn into chilled bowl and whip with rotary egg beater until stiff enough to hold its shape. Sugar and vanilla may be added and whipped in at this stage, if desired.
And while milk might only last a week in the refrigerator, unopened evaporated milk that is properly stored can last up to two years. But how can you tell when it's gone bad? In short, by looking at it. If your milk has turned dark yellow or brown, don't use it.
Just like fresh milk or powdered milk, evaporated milk is a healthy choice. It provides nutrients needed for healthy bones: protein, calcium, vitamins A and D. Evaporated milk is sold in cans. It comes in skim, 1%, 2% or hom*ogenized (3.25%) versions.
Evaporated milk may be problematic for people with lactose intolerance or cow's milk allergy (CMA), as it contains more lactose and milk proteins per volume, compared with regular milk. Lactose is the main type of carb found in milk and dairy products ( 20 ).
To make cereals, a great ratio, to begin with, will be to use equal portions of water and evaporated milk. If you prefer thicker milk or a more creamy taste, you can include more evaporated milk as you like. If it's too thick, you can dilute it by adding a little cold water.
In fact, each fluid ounce of evaporated milk contains less than half the amount of calories and about one-fourth the amount of fat as heavy cream. “It works best in a 1:1 substitution in recipes like casseroles, soups and sauces, offering a similar texture but lighter consistency,” explains Brigham.
Evaporated milk is an ideal heavy cream substitute in recipes that use heavy cream as a liquid. It won't whip well, but it's a great way to add moisture to baked goods. Substitute an equal amount of evaporated milk for heavy cream. Best for: baking.
Evaporated milk is milk that has been heated to removed 60% of the water content. The taste is changed a bit due to the process, but if you add an equal amount of water for each can of evaporated milk, you will have something that should substitute for milk in most cases.
What Does It Taste Like? Evaporated milk tastes like milk but with a thicker, less watery consistency. The process of heating the evaporated milk in the cans imparts a slightly sweet flavor to the milk and it's just a bit darker in color than ordinary milk. It has a similar viscosity to half-and-half.
Evaporated milk can be used as a substitute in recipes in which heavy cream is used as a liquid ingredient, such as in baked goods, but it doesn't whip well. Substitute the heavy cream in your recipes with an equal amount of evaporated milk.
When stored correctly, evaporated milk can be stored at the temperature of the freezer for up to 3 months. It's safe to use within this amount of time.
While we don't recommend substituting condensed milk for evaporated milk or vice versa, you can make your own condensed milk when you're in a pinch. Simply heat together 1½ cups of sugar and one can of evaporated milk until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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