Why You Should Always Have Sweetened Condensed Milk In Your Pantry

Yahoo Food

Kerry Acker

I confess: I used to find the idea of sweetened condensed milk to be—how shall I put this?—totally disgusting. A can of sugary, syrupy milk? Blech.

But then, I grew up—or something like that. Better said, I started to bake more, and eat more delicious things, and became more aware of the usefulness of sweetened condensed milk in so many dishes that I love.


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But first, let’s clear a few things up, namely: What the heck IS sweetened condensed milk? It’s a mixture of milk and sugar (the Food Lovers’ Companion notes that the sugar comprises about 40 to 45 percent of the mix), which is heated until about 60 percent of the water has been evaporated. The resulting product is thick and sticky and super, super sweet. Confusingly, the product is also sometimes referred to simply as condensed milk—but it’s a completely different product from evaporated milk. (Evaporated milk has no sugar added, so it’s basically unsweetened condensed milk.)

Now that we got that straight, here’s the ultimate reason to keep a stash of sweetened condensed milk in your pantry.

COCONUT FLAN

You could buy a ticket to the Tropics—or you could simply make this flan. Heady with rum and sweet flaked coconut, this incredibly easy, super-delicate dessert will transport you straight to a table in the sand, under the swaying palms. If only every recipe could be this straightforward and rewarding.

Ingredients:

For caramel

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup water

For flan

  • 3 1/2 cups whole milk, divided

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

  • 3 tablespoons dark rum

  • Equipment: 12 (4-ounce) ramekins

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Preparation: 

Make caramel:Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber.

Immediately pour into ramekins and swirl so caramel coats bottom of each, then put ramekins in a large roasting pan.

Make flan: Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Blend 2 cups milk with remaining flan ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, then divide among ramekins.

Bake flan in a water bath until just set but still wobbly in center, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Remove ramekins from water bath and cool slightly on a rack, at least 15 minutes (flan will continue to set as it cools).

Just before serving, run a thin knife around each flan, then invert onto plates.

For 8 more reasons to always have sweetened condensed milk on hand, visit Epicurious.com. 

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