The recipe you are looking at calls for condensed milk. Can you substitute it for evaporated? How about vice versa? If there is a difference between evaporated milk and condensed milk, is one better for you than the other? On top of all that, what the heck is evaporated or condensed milk?
My, who would have thought that there were so many questions about common, everyday dairy products?
Evaporated milk and condensed milk are similar in that they are created in the same way. They are made from a process that involves vacuum evaporation. During the vacuum evaporation process about half of the water is removed from the milk. This is not a process that is easily done in the home kitchen. Evaporated or condensed milk should be bought from the store and is typically sold in cans.
From this point, evaporated milk and condensed milk differ. Evaporated milk is canned in the half evaporated form with no additional additives. In a pinch, you can add water to evaporated milk and use it as regular milk. It is even an old wives tale that evaporated milk is healthier and more sanitary for children than regular milk. This wives tale is not true. Evaporated milk is no more healthy for you (or your children) than regular milk. With today’s homogenization processes, any sanitary dangers from both regular and evaporated milk have been removed. Evaporated milk’s only advantage is that, due to the canning process, it has a longer shelf life. Evaporated milk is called for in many recipes to help lend an extra creaminess to the food or drink.
Condensed milk has been through the same process as evaporated milk but after the vacuum evaporation process, it goes through an additional process that adds a sweetener to it. This additional process gives condensed milk a unique (yet delicious) taste that is not found with either regular or condensed milk. Normally, condensed milk is used in dessert and sweet recipes. The altered taste of condensed milk makes it a less than suitable candidate for a genuine milk substitute, but in dessert recipes that call for milk and sugar, the sugar can be reduced and condensed milk can be watered down to use as a substitute for the milk. Even with these steps, expect an altered flavor to the recipe.
Evaporated milk and condensed milk are great on their own for recipes that call for them. They both are an important pantry staple for many spur of the moment recipes.