What’s the Difference Between Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk?
Advertisement
If you confuse evaporated milk and condensed milk once, you’ll likely never make the same mistake again. The names of each milk can make things confusing — they sound nearly identical — but cookbook author Sheri Castle says swapping one for the other can wreak havoc on a recipe.
“They’re not interchangeable,” she says. “They’re sold next to one another in the grocery store, and the names are very similar, so it’s easy not to the understand the difference. It’s important to know what the recipe calls for.”
Understanding the components of each milk is the best way to remember which style you need — and which you don’t. Castle gave us her intel on evaporated versus condensed milk to avoid those recipe-wrecking snafus.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Evaporated milk is made by simmering milk to reduce the water — hence the name — and it’s unsweetened. Condensed milk, on the other hand, is milk cooked with mega quantities of sugar. The result is a thick, pudding-like milk that’s actually sweeter than cake frosting.
The primary thing to keep in mind is that evaporated milk is typically the liquid in a recipe, while sweetened condensed milk is used for its sugar, Castle says. That’s largely due to how each style of milk is created.
“For evaporated milk, I think reduced milk would actually be the best description because they’re cooking off some of the water,” Castle says. “Milk has water, milk fat and milk solids in it. What you have left is milk that doesn’t have any additives or anything in it, but it’s a condensed version. It’s a little bit thicker, it has a slight sweet taste — not because it’s been sweetened — but because it concentrates the lactose in the milk. It just tastes a little bit richer.”
Castle says recipes, including her grandmother’s delicious fudge recipe, call for evaporated milk. Other recipes, such as broccoli cheddar soup, may call for evaporated milk. And Castle says she sometimes uses it in her coffee.
Condensed milk, also called sweetened condensed milk or “Eagle brand” after the milk’s most common brand, follows a different, sweeter process. “It is milk cooked with a whole lot of sugar, and it’s cooked until it reduces and thickens to the consistency of pudding,” Castle says. “It’s very thick and tends to be used as a free-standing ingredient. It usually fills the role of the sweetener.” One 14 ounce- (414-milliliter) can of condensed milk is the equivalent of 1 quart (0.94 liter) of whole milk plus 7 ounces (198 grams) of sugar reduced.
Condensed milk is a staple ingredient in one of Castle’s favorite Southern recipes: key lime pie. “You can’t make good key lime pie without a can of Eagle brand [condensed milk],” she says. It’s also used in common desserts like seven-layer bars.
Advertisement
Advertisement
While working on a cookbook project with a fellow chef, Castle witnessed the severest of repercussions from swapping condensed milk for evaporated.
“It was an old fried chicken recipe from this wonderful legendary cook in New Orleans, and he marinated his chicken not in buttermilk, but evaporated milk,” Castle says. “The person testing the recipe bought a can of Eagle brand [condensed milk] and marinated the chicken and put it in the fryer, and it ignited because of all the sugar.”
Sure, a fire may be the extreme, but it’s not the only reason evaporated and condensed milk shouldn’t be used interchangeably. It really comes down to what each milk adds to your recipe — and taking a beat to double-check those labels.
“If you’re making broccoli cheddar soup, you have to step back and think, now wait, would I really want to put all this sugar in here?” Castle says. “It’s really easy to get confused on the differences or pick up one instead of the other, so make sure you know what the recipe calls for.”
When it comes to nutrition, condensed milk is definitely not healthy. One cup (284 milliliters) packs a whopping 1,000 calories and more than 150 grams of sugar. But keep in mind you’re mostly using that as part of a recipe, so rarely — if ever — would you consume an entire cup on its own.
Originally Published: Nov 11, 2007
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Get the best of HowStuffWorks by email!
Keep up to date on: Latest Buzz · Stuff Shows & Podcasts · Tours · Weird & Wacky
Copyright © 2021 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company
Privacy Choices
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.
What’s the Difference Between Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk?
Research & References of What’s the Difference Between Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk?|A&C Accounting And Tax Services
Source
0 Comments