There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a recipe and realizing that you don’t have all the ingredients you need. A quick substitution can save your dish and keep you from having to make a dash to the store. But the wrong substitution can ruin all of your hard work. Condensed and evaporated milk may seem similar, but they are not interchangeable.
Both evaporated and condensed milk became popular in the early 1990’s because of their long shelf life, especially when compared to fresh milk. While you wouldn’t necessarily want a tall glass of either to dip your cookies in, they are fairly common in a variety of recipes. Be careful which one you grab off the shelf, though. Not all canned milk is the same, though it does go through a similar process.
Evaporated Milk
Evaporated milk is just what it sounds like: milk that has been thickened through evaporation. Roughly 60 percent of the water is removed during this process. After the evaporation process is complete, the milk is homogenized and chilled. At that point it can have the proper vitamins and stabilizers added, after which it is packaged and sterilized.
Evaporated milk comes in whole, skim, and low fat varieties, just like fresh milk does. Whole evaporated milk must contain at least 7.9 percent milk fat and 25.5 percent milk solids. Milk solids are what would be left behind if all of the water was evaporated off. They contain lactose, caseins, whey proteins, and trace minerals.
All evaporated milk has vitamins D and C added to it after the milk is homogenized and chilled. Low-fat and skim varieties of evaporated milk are also required to have vitamin A added. Due to the high heat that evaporated milk goes through, it has a caramelized flavor. It is also slightly darker than fresh milk and slightly thicker, though it pours just as easily.
Evaporated milk is often called for in recipes to produce a creamy texture. Custards are a good example of a dish that is made with evaporated milk. It thickens up the consistency of a dish without affecting the flavor.
The main difference between evaporated milk and condensed milk is the sugar content. You may get confused if you go to buy condensed milk and all you can find are cans labeled “sweetened condensed milk.” Don’t waste your time trying to find unsweetened condensed milk, that’s just evaporated milk.
Condensed Milk
Condensed milk has the sugar added before it goes through the evaporation process. Condensed milk also has around 60 percent of its water removed, though because it is 40 to 45 percent sugar, the other percentage requirements vary. For example, while evaporated milk must be 25.5 percent milk solids, condensed milk is 28 percent milk solids. Milk fats make up 8 percent of condensed milk, so it is not a huge variation from the 7.9 percent that is in evaporated milk.
Condensed milk is pasteurized during the evaporation part of the process. It does not need to be sterilized beyond that because the abundance of sugar in the finished product prevent microorganisms from growing and multiplying.
As with evaporated milk, government regulations do make some additions to the milk mandatory. All condensed milk must be fortified with vitamin A. If you want to find condensed milk with extra vitamins D or C, you might have to look for a while. Such additives are not prohibited by the government, but neither are they required.
Condensed milk is much more yellow than fresh milk. It is also much thicker. It doesn’t pour out of the can like evaporated milk does. You will have to spoon it out of the can. Because it is so thick, it can increase the consistency of a dish without any heat having to be applied. For this reason, it is a popular ingredient in chilled desserts.
Condensed milk is often used in candies, pies, and puddings. It can also be used as a substitute for cream and sugar in coffee since it is so sweet. Because it is so sweet, however, it cannot be used to replace evaporated milk. If you do try to make this switch, you will find yourself with a very sweet dish. On the other hand, if you use evaporated milk when your recipe calls for condensed milk, the end result will be much more tart than you will be expecting.
Because there is no way to remove the sugar from condensed milk, there is no way to substitute it for evaporated milk. Some sources do claim that you can add sugar to evaporated milk if you really need a replacement for condensed milk. According to these substitution rules, use 5 ounces of evaporated milk and 3/4 cup of sugar for every cup of condensed milk the recipe calls for.
This may work to preserve the sweet flavor of whatever dish you are making, but it will likely still be thinner than it would be if you made it using condensed milk. If you really find yourself in a bind, this substitution may do in a pinch. It is much better to simply take the time to check that you have all of the ingredients that you need before you start making any recipe.
Evaporated and condensed milk are both canned milks that have had approximately 60 percent of the water from fresh milk removed. Despite these similarities, they two are very different and cannot be used interchangeably.