You don't even need to open the can lmao.
Growing up Hispanic, we knew this trick and also the one about using evaporated milk to make Mac and Cheese
Comes out real good that way
the one about using evaporated milk to make Mac and Cheese
Please, share your ways!
Okay, here's how my mom always did it
-About half of a 1lb box of pasta (elbows are traditional)
-1 can of evaporated milk
-Shredded cheese (whatever you want, but I prefer cheddar and pepper jack)
You put the pasta in your pot and put just enough water to cover the pasta, add some salt and put it to boil
When the pasta has absorbed the water, you add the evaporated milk and your cheese and stir it until all gooey and combined.
I forget why the evaporated milk works so well, but it makes it just much better than just regular milk
I forget why the evaporated milk works so well, but it makes it just much better than just regular milk
Protein micelles. They're surfactant molecules that operate on the same principle as soap: they bond with fats on one end of the molecule, and hold everything together. The concentrated starch in the pasta (that you normally dump out when you drain pasta, like a fool) also acts as an emulsifier. The end result is a cheese sauce that's gooey—not quite liquid, and not quite solid. It's really good. You can do it with any "fondue appropriate" cheese, too: cheddar and jack are popular, but once every couple years I'm feeling like a fancy lad and make it with sharp cheddar, Gruyère, and Fontina.
My preferred method of making cheese sauce, though, is to use sodium citrate. You can get a kilogram of it for like $20, and you only need around 20 grams (so, 40¢) to make a litre of cheese sauce. A 50:35:1 ratio of cheese to water to sodium citrate makes a pretty smooth sauce, and there's no sugar or fats added to the cheese. You can also substitute other liquids for the water, too. Beer and white wine both make pretty damn good cheese sauces.
Sir, I thank you for the bounty of knowledge you have given me here
Where once I was but a cheese novice, I am now on my way to becoming a cheese wizard
Evaporated milk has hydrogenated milk fats.
It is not health food.
Famous health food staple...
checks notes
... mac and cheese?
I'm saying that is why people use it.
You can use palm oil or lard as well. It is just that evaporated milk pairs better with cheese.
I love how in Spanish, they have their word for lard, and then their word for butter is "little lard".
dont do this, they line the inside of cans with plastic & heating things inside of them increases ur risk of cancer
The proper way to do it would be to pour the contents of the can into a glass bowl, covering the top in aluminum foil, and suspending that bowl in boiling water - either on a stove or in an oven. I think it even takes less time that way. I was just amazed at how easy it was to do it the lazy way.
On the other hand, the temperature of the can shouldn't get much higher than boiling point (the water won't pass 212℉, but some heat will be transferred through the metal can making contact with the bottom of the pot) and there's a chance the can lining won't deteriorate at that temperature. I personally have no idea what they line these cans with in the first place so I couldn't say.
If you want to be absolutely safe, remove the milk from the can, heat it in glass, and accept the responsibility of having to clean dishes.
It's important to make sure there's about two inches of water above the top of the can, and that it doesn't evaporate down too much while boiling.
Because if it does, the can might explode.
I never heard of that method, but it makes sense.
It sounds closer to doing it the traditional way: slow simmering sweetened milk until it turns into a caramel consistency.
I know with the sealed method, some people boil more than one, then put them back on the shelf. So their pantry will have regular condensed milk with the label on, and cans of Dulce de Leche with the label off.
No idea if this is actually safe to do, though. I just know some do it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
About once a year I let myself go wild and get a can of sweetened condensed milk and make Vietnamese-style coffee until the little can is empty.
Shit's goddamn great. At an old job one of my coworkers took us to a really legit Vietnamese restaurant, amazing huge bowls of Pho for $6 and the best coffee. We'd all get a ton of food and chill there for hour and a half+ long lunches, good times.
As a mayo american, what do I do with this knowledge? Eat it with a spoon?
Also good to sweeten coffee and black tea
Or make a dulce de leche cake
Look, it's caramel, the sky is the limit
It lasts several years in the can. Not sure about how long after opening it though.
Once you open it, you're gonna wanna use it within a week or so if you don't plan on freezing it
Dont they sell canned dulche de leche tho? They do that here in Sweden
You can heat it up and pour it in insulated flask, to lower the risk of evaporation :)
