Sweetened condensed milk is a glorious can of processed milk with most of the water removed and replaced with sugar. Combine it with cream cheese (along with eggs and splash of lemon juice) and you've got the world's easiest homemade cheesecake. But don't confuse it with evaporated milk, which doesn't contain sugar. That's a recipe for a nasty cheesecake.
Gail Borden (yes, that Borden) introduced condensed milk in response to the swill milk scandal of the 1850s (covered here at Neatorama in two parts). The idea of milk that would last forever in a can didn't catch on with the public right away, but the US military was interested. American soldiers fighting in the Civil War and World War I were equipped with cans of the high-calorie milk to keep them going. As more people discovered condensed milk, we found more ways to use it. Read how condensed milk came about at Jstor Daily. -via Strange Company
(Image source: Boston Public Library)
Newest 2 Comments
I had no idea that there were now products labeled "condensed" that didn't have sugar, but a search showed that there are. I will add a word or two to make that clearer.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)
Sweetened Condensed Milk is NOT the same as condensed or evaporated milk. Don't try to substitute one for the other for any purposes.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)