Home Made Sweetened Condensed Milk

[Ambergris]

http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/may/25..._as_lemon42015/

 

Homemade condensed milk as easy as lemon pie

Sunday, May 25, 2008

 

Mildred Hughes of Johnsonville presented an unusual request a few weeks ago. She's been craving lemon pie and wanted to know if anyone had a recipe for making sweetened condensed milk, figuring it might be more economical than store-bought.

 

My first reaction was, who would want to make condensed milk? But you never know, and obviously I didn't. Several people volunteered recipes.

 

Then I became curious about the origins of condensed milk. Don't take anything for granted — there was more to the story than I imagined.

 

For one, fresh milk wasn't a staple in American households until almost the mid-20th century. That's because milk spoiled easily, especially in the heat, and mechanical refrigeration wasn't developed until the early 1900s. The first home refrigerators appeared about 1916.

 

But decades earlier, Gail Borden had set out to produce a portable canned milk that didn't sour so quickly.

 

He got the idea while returning from a trip to London, where he had won a medal for making a long-lasting, travel-friendly meat biscuit.

 

Supposedly, rough waters in the Atlantic made the cows on board his ship too seasick to be milked, and some milk-deprived infants died en route.

 

So Borden began his quest, and the result was the creation of condensed milk in 1854. Borden was granted a patent for sweetened condensed milk two years later. (Sugar was added to inhibit bacterial growth.)

 

At first, the new milk didn't go over so well. New Yorkers, for example, were used to watered-down milk that was made whiter and creamier with chalk and molasses. Can you imagine that happening today?

 

But business grew substantially after the Civil War. Canned milk was a field ration for the Union army, and word spread when soldiers returned home. By the turn of the century, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk — also known as unsweetened condensed milk — were popular and more widely used than fresh milk, according to some sources.

 

So, how do you make your own? Not the way Borden did, by boiling off the water in a vacuum pan.

 

Maryanne Potter, formerly of Mount Pleasant but now living in Efland, N.C., e-mailed, "I enjoy keeping up with the news of the area through the Internet ... and I always look at the food section. I was so surprised to see that someone wanted a recipe for homemade condensed milk. Believe it or not, I have one that I've used for years, and it makes a pretty good substitute for the store-bought kind. Hope it helps."

 

Homemade Condensed Milk

1 cup nonfat dry milk

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup boiling water

3 tablespoons of margarine (don't substitute butter)

 

Slice margarine into pan and pour boiling water over. Stir until margarine is melted, then bring it back to a boil. Add boiling mixture to sugar and dry milk in blender and blend well. Pour into a covered container and refrigerate. Makes about 1 can (14-ounce) of condensed milk.

 

Carol Musselman of North Charleston shares a Paula Deen recipe from the Food Network's Web site with slightly different proportions and a touch of vanilla. "It turns out surprisingly well — it's very much like the canned sweetened condensed milk."

 

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/3 cup boiling water

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup powdered milk (recommended: Carnation)

 

Using an electric mixer, blend together water, butter, sugar and vanilla.

Add powdered milk and blend until thick. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

 

Similar or identical recipes were sent by Maxwell Mowry, MaryAnn Carruthers, Nell Duffy and Millie Waite of Charleston; Harriet Little and Cheryl Cote of Summerville; Lucy Weber and Sue Ciucci of Mount Pleasant; Tracy Gorman of West Ashley; and Bobbie Maguire of Edisto Island.

 

And a belated thanks to Kathleen Dempsey of Johns Island for a strawberry pie recipe, which was covered in a previous column.

During our conversation about homemade condensed milk, Mildred said she also would welcome lemon meringue pie recipes. A few readers sent some family favorites.

 

 

[serendipity]

It is always interesting to me how many people don't know this.

 

And there are many, many other things like this too that we can make from scratch, as most here know.

 

It isn't like long long ago when there wasn't the variety that is available now, then convenience foods took first place in the stores and the newest generations of cooks have no idea that many things can be made at home for much less.

 

Guess we are coming full circle in some respects!

[susie]

I make this, I got it from the Hillbilly Housewife. I also sometimes simmer it for three hours to make caramel.

[Crazy4Canning]

Thanks for sharing this.

 

I just found some old photos where my mom, sister and I made caramels one year. I remember getting tired at the stove and asking, "Why can't we just go buy some?!" My mom laughed, took over the stirring and said because this is how you do it from scratch!

[Ambergris]

Serendipity, I am interested in seeing more like this.