What Is Evaporated Milk?
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What is the difference between evaporated milk and regular milk?
Evaporated milk is milk that’s gone through a cooking process to vaporize and remove (evaporate) over half of the water content.
The refined result is creamier and thicker than regular whole milk. Making it the perfect addition to sweet and savory dishes!
Is evaporated milk better than regular milk?
Not necessarily better, per se.
But one main nutritional difference is that evaporated milk has a higher nutrient concentration than fresh cow’s milk and, therefore, more calories.
What is the point of evaporated milk?
Evaporated milk, also known as unsweetened condensed milk, is a form of concentrated milk.
It’s a canned milk product in your supermarket’s baking aisle.
Evaporated milk gives body to drinks like smoothies.
It thickens and sweetens coffee and adds richness to creamy soups, chowders, savory sauces, and even oatmeal!
Suppose you’re looking for something less sweet. You can also use evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk in plenty of dessert recipes.
Evaporated milk vs. condensed milk
Many people ask,
“Is evaporated milk the same as condensed milk?”
Both evaporated milk and condensed milk are shelf-stable and usually canned milk products, and their water content has evaporated.
However, the main difference between the two is that condensed milk is sweetened while evaporated milk is not.
Condensed milk has a thicker and more caramelized texture than the liquidy texture of evaporated milk.
Can you use evaporated milk instead of condensed milk?
Yes, but if a recipe calls for condensed milk and you substitute with evaporated, the evaporated milk will not give the sweeter caramelized flavor and texture of condensed milk.
What is a good substitute for evaporated milk?
Heavy cream can be used in almost any recipe as a simple 1:1 ratio substitute for evaporated milk.
Heavy cream is thicker than evaporated milk (thus the name – heavy cream). So you can make an evaporated milk substitute using water and heavy cream if you don’t want your heavy cream substitute to be so decadent.
How to make an evaporated milk substitute
- Mix equal parts heavy cream and water to dilute the heavy cream before measuring.
- This will equal the amount of evaporated milk needed for your recipe.
Can you substitute evaporated milk for milk?
There are several good dairy options for replacing evaporated milk.
More evaporated milk substitutes
- Regular milk
- Lactose-free milk
- Heavy cream
- Half and half
- Powdered milk
While these substitutes will work, there is something about the silky texture of evaporated milk that is integral to some recipes, like soul food sweet potato pie.
How to make evaporated milk
Evaporated milk is usually made with 2 percent milk, but whole milk, 1 percent, or skim milk will also work.
Kitchen equipment to make evaporated milk
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker (optional)
- Or a small stovetop pot
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Ingredients to make evaporated milk
- 2 ¼ cups of 2 percent milk
Instructions to make evaporated milk
This recipe is the exact commercial manufacturing method used to make evaporated milk.
- Place a small pot on the stovetop and turn the stove on to medium-high heat. Or, if using an Instant Pot, open the lid and turn on the ‘Sauté’ setting for 15 minutes.
- Pour the 2 percent milk into the pot.
- Keep an eye on the milk, occasionally stirring, so the milk doesn’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Allow the milk to boil until it reduces to what you can see is about 1 cup of milk.
- Remove the pot with the milk from the stovetop. Or remove the stainless steel inner pot from the Instant Pot burner.
- Allow the milk to cool, and measure out 1 cup.
- Then use the evaporated milk in your desired recipe!
How much evaporated milk does this recipe make?
1 cup.
Southern soul food evaporated milk recipes
Here are some favorite Southern soul food recipes with evaporated milk uses.
Or that you can use evaporated milk as a substitute.
- Southern Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
- Black Folks Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
- Black Folks Purple Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
- Black Folks Southern Bread Pudding
- Southern Chicken And Dumplings The Black Way
- Black Southern Mac And Cheese
- Soul Food Southern Mac And Cheese
- Black Folks Southern Tea Cake Recipe
- Black Folks Hennessy & Puerto Rican Eggnog (Hennessy Coquito)
- Black Folks Soul Food Homemade Eggnog
- Black Folks Soul Food Baked Macaroni And Cheese
- Black Folks Southern Banana Pudding Recipe
- Instant Pot Banana Pudding From Scratch
What do you do with leftover evaporated milk?
Pour unused evaporated milk into an airtight container and refrigerate for 5 to 7 days.
Can you freeze leftover evaporated milk?
It’s not recommended to freeze evaporated milk because it will become watery – defeating the purpose of evaporating its water content in the first place.
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Equipment
- Or a small stovetop pot
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups 2 percent milk
Instructions
- Place a small pot on the stovetop and turn the stove on to medium-high heat. Or, if using an Instant Pot, open the lid and turn on the ‘Sauté’ setting for 15 minutes.
- Pour the 2 percent milk into the pot.
- Keep an eye on the milk, occasionally stirring, so the milk doesn’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Allow the milk to boil until it reduces to what you can see is about 1 cup of milk.
- Remove the pot with the milk from the stovetop. Or remove the stainless steel inner pot from the Instant Pot burner.
- Allow the milk to cool, and measure out 1 cup.
- Then use the evaporated milk in your desired recipe!