So why would anyone want to go to the trouble of making their own sweetened condensed milk? After all, there are only two ingredients in a can of store-bought SCM: milk and sugar. Pretty harmless, no?
Not so fast.
True, it's probably less detrimental to your health than most canned food. But it's still not all that healthy. Here's why:
1) You don't know the origin of the milk. It most likely came from cows fed GMO feed, raised in confinement and given hormones.
2) The sugar, unless it is specifically stated as cane sugar, is most likely from GMO sugar beets. 95% of sugar beet crops in the US were GMO in 2010 (source).
3) Most cans are lined with BPA to stop corrosion.
Besides, it's kind of fun to make! Yes, you do need to keep an eye on the stove for 2 hours, but you only need to stir it every 15 minutes or so.
What do you think? Are you concerned about consuming canned food? Do you care about GMOs?
Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk
adapted from Just as Delish | makes about 12-14 oz. | Printable Page
Ingredients:
- 1 liter of whole milk
- 3/4 - 1 cup sugar (I used cane sugar, of course)
- 1 tablespoon butter to thicken milk (I forgot this, and it still turned out fine)
Directions:
1) Place the milk and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 2 hours or until the milk is reduced by about half. Stir every 15 minutes or so to keep the milk from burning.
2) Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if desired and stir in the butter. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
I care a LOT about GMOs, and try to avoid them wherever I can. I can't guarantee I never eat them since the budget does not leave room for all organic eating, but I do buy organic cane sugar for the very reason you stated. I am too poor for organic milk, but I am thankful to have a Trader Joe's where I can afford organic produce and pretty good farmer's market downtown. As far as canned food goes, canned tomatoes for pasta sauce are really the only thing I buy canned, so I just keep buying them at Aldi till the hubby finishes school. I will probably make this sweetened condensed milk for Christmas baking though! It's not hard. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of in the same boat - I want to eat as healthy as possible, but our budget doesn't always allow for that. I do what I can and try not to stress about the rest. :)
DeleteI don't care about GMOs. There is no credible scientific evidence that GMOs are harmful for human or animal consumption. Monsanto may be a rent-seeker, but that doesn't mean that all they do is bad or harmful. GMOs allow the world's poverty-stricken peoples to have foodstuffs to keep them from starving. Golden rice, for one instance, is a GMO grain/grass and is helping reduce blindness in children.
ReplyDeleteErica,
DeleteI understand where you are coming from, and I must disagree with your source.
Here are two articles about the benefits of Golden Rice. One is an interview with the developer of golden rice and the other is from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
http://fumento.com/biotech/goldenrice.html
http://goldenrice.org/
Thank you for your nice reply.
I guess we can both provide sources for our arguments, so we'll have to agree to disagree. :)
DeleteI DO agree that if it could be proven that children could convert enough of the beta-carotene to keep them from dying and there was no other way to get better nutrients to them, it would definitely be worth it.
Thank you for your opinion! Have a lovely evening. :)
Erica
Just wanted to clarify that I did read the sources you gave - didn't want you to think I dismissed them out of hand. :)
DeleteYou're welcome! The lady that originally shared this recipe says that many people have tried it with non-dairy milk (including coconut milk) with great success!
ReplyDeleteI would never have thought to make this on my own!! I LOVE this recipe!
ReplyDeleteI care, but don't have the time or resources to always buy/eat organic. However, I do always buy organic milk. So, perhaps I'll give this a try. I think it would be delicious in coffee, since I add milk and sugar anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteAny idea how long this lasts in the fridge or if you could can it?
That's a great idea to use it as a coffee creamer! I'm not sure how long it would last in the refrigerator, but I would think it would last for at least a weak, probably more. And I'm sure you could can it - they do it for the commercial stuff! But I'm a horrible canner, so I have no idea how to do it.
DeleteIve used this recipe plus some vanilla and almond extracts (homemade) and some milk to cut the sweetness and made my own version of coffee creamer :) delightful and thankyou
DeleteI'm not certain, but I would think for at least a week in the refrigerator, but probably longer. If it gets moldy or smells weird, you know it's time to toss. :)
ReplyDeletewhen I run out of condensed milk I always make my own which takes only 1 1/2 cup of powdered milk 1 cup of sugar and about 60 ml of boiling water, just mix it up in the blender and you're good to go, people don't really notice the difference and you can use organic non fat dry milk powder as well.
ReplyDeleteweird, the fat of the milk separated from the rest in the end :-( did i let it went to hot? in the end, i will buy condensed milk because it is too much effort for what it is.
ReplyDeleteSo, going back to the golden rice . . . Putting beta carotene into rice (that has neither vitamin a nor beta carotene) is dangerous because children will going from having zero vitamin a (causing blindness and death) to some vitamin a, but possibly not enough?
ReplyDeleteWhere I'm coming from is that GMO golden rice is not the best solution to the problem of deficiencies in children. If it is the only possible way to get more vitamin a into these kids, then it's definitely worth it. If it could save just one life, it would be worth it.
DeleteBut I'm not convinced that it is the only way to save lives. What children need most is quality animal products. The best solution, in my mind, would be educating people about the need for quality, local animal raising.
But I have not visited these country and don't know about all of the difficulties of such practices. So what I'm saying boils down to: kids getting vitamin a from plants is not ideal, but if it's the only way to save their life, go for it.
Can you make a sugar free version or at least less sugar?
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, by the time you pay a power bill on 2 hours with of cooking time, you could buy several cans for what you paid to use the power to make it! And wouldn't have to be bothered with the effort!
ReplyDeleteWe live on a mini farm and have tons of extra goat's milk. I am always looking for ways to use it up. Regardless of your opinion on GMOs, using real food that has not been processed and sold in a store is a major plus for health and so many other reasons. Worth every penny of electricity or gas it may cost me to make this. BTW, I have heard you can use Maple syrup and honey to make this as well. We have bees so the honey will be my next project to make this recipe. Nothing like having food that is completely from our farm. Thank you so much.
DeleteGreat idea to use maple syrup or honey! That's so cool that you could have completely home-grown sweetened condensed milk. :)
Delete