What is Evaporated Milk

When about 60% of water is removed from the fresh milk with the help of the process called vacuum evaporation, it becomes evaporated milk, also known as “dehydrated milk”. During the evaporation, lots of nutrients and calories are concentrated in the milk naturally, which makes it more calorie-laden, but at the same time, more nutritious than the fresh milk. Post evaporation, the milk is homogenized, chilled rapidly, fortified with stabilizers and vitamins, packaged and lastly sterilized. The standard defines ideal evaporated milk should contain at least 7.9% milk fat and 25.5% milk solids. Due to the high heat process, evaporated milk gains a little caramelized flavor. The color of evaporated milk is a bit darker and has a thicker texture than the normal fresh milk. There is a good variety of evaporated milk available in the market such as skim, low fat, whole milk, etc. While Vitamin D and C are present in every variety of evaporated milk, low fat and skim milk has Vitamin A additionally. Evaporated milk comes in canned container and does not require refrigeration, until the seal is broken. Evaporated milk has a creamy texture and is very delicious to taste. Most of the people add water in the evaporated milk just to serve it as normal milk and lower down the calorie.

Evaporated Milk Benefits

Since the fresh milk is heated at higher temperature, the water content in evaporated milk becomes lesser and you get nice dense milk. For the same reason, concentration of vitamins and nutrients are more than the normal fresh milk.
Evaporated milk has a longer life than the fresh milk and is easier to store. It is generally manufactured in the canned container, which can be kept at any dry and shaded place for a longer time. Evaporated milk does not demand refrigeration.
Evaporated milk is best for shipping, trekking, mountaineering, camping purposes, as it offers a great shelf life.
Evaporated milk can be used in place of fresh milk to make tea or coffee. Also, you can add it to breakfast cereals.
Evaporated milk is also added to some sauces, soups, gravies, etc to make them thick, creamier and tastier.

Looking at the various benefits of evaporated milk, are you now wondering how to make evaporated milk at home. If yes, then here’s how to can make evaporated milk.

Things Required

2 ¼ cups Fresh Milk
Non-stick Saucepan

Procedure

Take 2 ¼ cups of fresh milk in a non-stick sauce pan and put it on high heat to evaporate it down to just 1 cup.
Keep on stirring it until you get the desired texture and quantity.
This evaporated milk can be used in many recipes where you usually use fresh milk such as pudding or dessert recipes.

Different Quantities of Evaporated Milk

5 oz. can = 5/8 cup evaporated milk.
12 oz. can = One and half cup evaporated milk
Heat 2 ¼ cups regular milk to get 1 cup evaporated milk.
Heat 3 3/8 cups milk and get one and half cup (12 oz) evaporated milk.
Heat a little more (two and half tbsp) than 1 ¼ cups regular milk and get 5/8 cup (5 oz) evaporated milk.

Condensed Milk

People often get confused between evaporated milk and condensed milk. Although condensed milk too is prepared from the same process of evaporation, but it is a “sweetened milk”. In condensed milk, sugar is added to it. With the addition of sugar, the growth of microorganism is inhibited and thus, it does not require much sterilization. Condensed milk contains about 40- 45 % sugar, 8% fat and 28% milk solids. Condensed milk is pasteurized during the evaporation process. It can not be used as a substitute for evaporated milk. In the evaporated milk, sweetener is not added and thus rigorous sterilization is required. Fat free dry milk, soy milk and rice milk can be used as a substitute for evaporated milk.

So next time you plan to go for a camping trip, don’t forget to carry evaporated milk.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Art & Entertainment'