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Sweetened condensed milk

Eggs & dairy · Milk & cream

Sweetened condensed milk

Thick, very sweet canned milk used for fudge, flans, no-bake desserts, sweet coffee and tea.

Also called: condensed milk

A kind of milk

20 recipes with it

Photo: Superbass, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

What it is

Milk with most of its water removed and a large amount of sugar added, sold in cans or tubes. It is thick, glossy and pale cream to beige, and much sweeter than evaporated milk, which is unsweetened. Heated in its can or in a pan it thickens into a caramel known as dulce de leche.

How it’s used

  • Fudge, brigadeiros, barfi and no-churn ice cream
  • Key lime pie, leche flan and tres leches
  • Vietnamese iced coffee and teh tarik
  • Boiled down to dulce de leche
  • Drizzled over shaved ice and fruit

Characteristics

Taste
Intensely sweet and milky.
Texture
Thick and syrupy.
When cooked
Sugar keeps it from curdling and helps it set firm when mixed with acid (as in key lime pie). It browns and caramelises quickly; stir constantly when cooking it down.
Sold as
canned
Cooking uses
Usually eaten raw, Commonly cooked, Suitable for baking

Storage

Pantry-stable. Unopened cans keep in the cupboard. After opening, cover and refrigerate; it thickens and may crystallise but stays usable for a week or so.

Diet, allergens and safety

Contains Milk.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Contains milk (allergen).
  • Heating unopened cans in water carries a risk of bursting if the pan boils dry; keep cans fully covered and never heat in a microwave.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
321 kcal
Protein
7.91 g
Carbohydrate
54.4 g
Fat
8.7 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
54.4 g

USDA FoodData Central: Milk, canned, condensed, sweetened.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Milk — Simmer about 500 ml milk with 150 g sugar until reduced to roughly 300 ml; thinner and paler but works in most desserts.

Related ingredients

Recipes with sweetened condensed milk

See all 20

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