Why You Should Always Buy Both Canned Milk
Canned milk is a minefield. Even if you know the difference between sweetened condensed milk and condensed milk, it’s surprisingly easy to buy the wrong one. Don’t get me wrong: I love them both. Sweetened condensed milk can be used to make a great caramel sauce (in a slow cooker or slow cooker ), a light serving of fudge , a very simple soft serve , and many other delicious treats ; while condensed milk is excellent for all sorts of cheesy dishes like nacho cheese dip and this pasta on the stovetop .
You can use any of these to make pumpkin pie , but that’s where the crossover ends. To avoid two trips to the store for mixed milk, follow Daniel Lavery’s advice and simply buy both:
Whenever a recipe calls for a can of condensed milk, buy a can of condensed milk along with it (and vice versa) so that no matter what you cook, you have one condensed milk. They’re always next to each other in the same aisle no matter which grocery store you go to, so no hassle. They both last forever and the difference is pretty obvious once you open the can (the condensed material has the consistency of wallpaper paste and the evaporated material has the consistency of light cream), so the only real issue is the risk of returning home. with the wrong one, and not with the other one, which I just cleverly eliminated at no additional cost to you, the economical consumer. No more tearing your hair out in the parking lot when you realize you’ve vaporized what you were supposed to condense (or vice versa); You might just laugh a little if you pick the wrong jar and set it aside for cheese sauce ( if it’s evaporated ) or dessert topping ( if it’s thickened ).
Much like always buying lemons , this elegant tip, replete with Lavery’s newsletter The Chatner , is perfect for absent-minded, forgetful babes with more important things to do than read labels. Both of these dairy cans are so cheap that there’s literally no downside to just taking one of each, every time. (And while you’re there, you might as well grab some canned potatoes, another Lavery favorite that cooks great in the air fryer .)