What is the difference between evaporated milk and regular milk

Table of Contents Show

Evaporated Milk vs. Milk
Substituting Evaporated Milk for Milk
Tips for Evaporated Milk Recipes
Cooking With Evaporated Milk
Evaporated Milk Substitutes
Measuring and Storing
Label Confusion
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Evaporated milk has had some liquid removed.

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What's the difference between evaporated milk and regular milk? Exactly what the name suggests: Evaporated milk has had some liquid removed. You can substitute evaporated milk for milk in many uses, but not all.

Evaporated Milk vs. Milk

Before you open a can or box of evaporated milk and start cooking, make sure you have the right thing. Evaporated milk is often placed right next to condensed milk on the store shelves, but the two will do different things to your recipes.

As the International Dairy Foods Association explains, about 60 percent of the water has been removed from both evaporated and condensed milk. But condensed milk also contains added sweeteners. Evaporated milk can, with a few caveats, be reconstituted and used more or less like regular milk. But because of that extra sweetness, condensed milk exists in a category of its own.

You may also encounter dry milk — a non-sweetened version from which all the water has been removed. Like evaporated milk, dry milk can be reconstituted by adding water and, with a few caveats, used like regular liquid milk.

Like liquid milk, both evaporated and dry milk are available in skim, nonfat and whole or full-fat varieties — another good reason to pay close attention to the product labels as you shop.

Substituting Evaporated Milk for Milk

If you want to use evaporated milk in place of regular milk, follow the directions on the container label — usually, you should blend 1 part evaporated milk to 1 part water. Or, as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment explains, mixing one 12-ounce can of evaporated milk with 1 1/2 cups of water will get you 3 cups of milk.

They also note that unopened cans of evaporated milk can be stored for up to six months. However, as the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (Missouri DHSS) explains, once you open a can of evaporated milk, any unused portions should be stored in a tightly covered container and used within three to five days.

Most people think that reconstituted evaporated milk has a slightly different taste than regular milk — so one good way of stretching your dairy stores is to reserve your real milk for drinking or use in cereal, where its taste is the most obvious. Meanwhile, you can use evaporated milk in a wide variety of recipes in which any slight differences in taste are less obvious.

Tips for Evaporated Milk Recipes

The Missouri DHSS offers some great ideas for recipes in which you can use evaporated milk — from baked goods to macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, soups, puddings and creamer for coffee or tea.

Want a creamier end product? Instead of reconstituting your evaporated milk with water, just use the same amount of evaporated milk as you'd use fresh milk. Another good tip from the Missouri DHSS: Opt for skim/low-fat or fat-free versions of evaporated milk to keep your food's fat content down. And no matter what version you opt for, shake the evaporated milk well before opening it.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment provides another great suggestion for covering up the slight difference in taste between reconstituted evaporated milk and regular milk: Try adding a few drops of vanilla to each quart of reconstituted milk. Note that 1 quart equals 4 cups.

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Milk is a staple in many kitchens. To be sure it's always on hand, it's a good idea to keep some evaporated milk in the pantry. The only real difference is the water content—evaporated milk has half its water removed through a vacuum procedure before it's homogenized, sterilized, and packaged. In the United States, it's usually canned and doesn't need to be refrigerated if unopened.

Cooking With Evaporated Milk

If a recipe calls for 1 cup regular whole milk, simply use 1/2 cup evaporated milk and 1/2 cup water as a substitution. The texture, taste, and quality of the finished product will be the same.

Evaporated milk even has at least one advantage over regular milk—its viscosity is denser, and so evaporated milk can be whipped into peaks, like heavy cream. This technique is easier and quicker if the milk is well-chilled first.

Evaporated Milk Substitutes

In recipes that include evaporated milk as an ingredient, you can substitute powdered whole milk mixed with equal parts water. Heavy cream can also replace equal amounts of evaporated milk in most recipes.

To convert regular whole milk to evaporated milk, simmer it slowly until the volume is reduced by half.

Measuring and Storing

A 12-ounce can of evaporated milk equals 1 2/3 cups. A 5-ounce tin is equivalent to 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons.

Unopened evaporated milk lasts around six months in the cupboard and should have a use-by date printed on the can. Once opened, the milk lasts up to one week in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Cover the top with foil and store it away from strongly flavored or scented foods to prevent absorption of unwanted tastes.

Label Confusion

Evaporated milk is sometimes referred to as condensed milk, especially in British recipes. Although the term is appropriate since the original volume of the milk is reduced by half, it often confuses American cooks. Sweetened condensed milk is a frequently used ingredient in sweets and desserts, and it's not the same as evaporated milk as it has extremely high sugar content. Evaporated milk has no sugar in it.

Fun Facts

Sweetened evaporated milk was patented by Gail Borden in 1856, and in 1892, his company introduced plain evaporated milk. This was a boon to the milk industry because refrigeration and refrigerated transport were not yet invented. Evaporated milk was carried by prospectors during the Yukon Gold Rush.