How To Make Condensed Milk? A Step-By-Step Guide + Tips

Are you about to found a milk processing company, or are you just looking for an easy-to-make sweetened condensed milk? You may remember that sweetness of childhood mixed with a can of condensed milk, wondering how that possible boiling milk makes it that sweet. It was a game-changer for Gail Borden, who created such nourishing and preserved milk liquid! Nowadays, it’s popularly used in bakeries, confectionery, and beverages to shape such magnificent creatures!

Select a suitable whole milk base with high fat and protein content, then test and cool it for avoiding bacteria growth. Next, evaporate the milk until it gets as dense as you desire. If you want to make SCM, at this point add sugar and prevent the crystallization. For the last part, after cooling, the mixture goes through different types of packaging for additional consumption purposes.

This article will provide you with significant information about how an industrial or homemade SCM is made and how to make simple sweets of it. Follow us until the end!

What Exactly Condensed Milk Is and How Does It Differ from Evaporated Milk?!

Condensed milk is a sweetened, thick and uniform feel which is used in confectionery and naturally comes from cow’s whole milk that is evaporated, then sugar added. While evaporated milk is less sweet and is used in savory dishes instead of half-and-half (Source: All Recipes).

Sweetened condensed milk, also known as SCM, plays a game-changer role in Asian cuisines, such as Thai Iced Tea, Vietnamese Coffee, or Chinese-style toast. Evaporated milk generally makes the marinades creamier and more dairy-based flavors! Let’s see how this incredible sweetened emulsion is made in the following section:

Feature	What It Does	Condensed Milk (SCM)	Evaporated Milk
Sweetness	Determines sugar content and taste	High (Sweetened)	Low (Unsweetened)
Texture	Defines consistency and use	Thick & Syrupy	Creamy & Liquid
Shelf Life	Longevity before spoilage	Longer (Due to Sugar)	Shorter (Without Sugar)
Uses	Common applications	Desserts, Beverages	Savory Dishes, Cooking

How To Make Sweetened Condensed Milk from Scratch? Industrial Production Of SCM

The industrial process of making SCM combines traditional and modern methods and uses several automatic machines to ease the manufacturing process, so let us show you how easy as a pie it is!

1. Selection of Milk

The milk for condensing purposes should be fresh, sweet, and free from off-flavors such as acidic, moldy, malty, or cheesy which may be caused by spoilage or improper storing. Also the number of heat-resistant bacteria and spores in milk and its tolerance against heating should be measured.

2.  Receiving and Testing the Milk

To make sure about the health of transformed milk to your factory, they should come in a cooling and hygienic tank. According to the Dairy Processing Handbook, after milk is sent to the factory, it must be cooled to 5° or below, to prevent growing microorganisms and bacteria.

Then, milk samples go through the laboratory for a full testing process, including quality standards, being free from dangerous bacteria, and measuring crucial components like fat or protein content.

3. Filtration & clarification

The next step is passing the milk through a filtration process, which removes little floating or trapped matters inside the milk, at the same time clarification refers to the deletion of invisible harmful matters that can’t be seen by the naked eye, such as blood cells, leukocytes, large bacteria, udder cells, or other additional dirt.

Pro Tip: to ease this step, warm the cold milk to around 40 to make the milk thicker for facile filtration and clarification.

4.  Standardization

At this level, the clean milk goes into standardization that inquires the quality of every batch that is made, sets the international or legal standard.  Then, it must be indicated the right ratio of fat, sugar, non-fat solids, and minerals. This process includes the separation of cream and milk to check the best amount of cream to fulfill the condensing purpose, while other minerals and vitamins can be added to the mixture.

5. Pre-Heating

The standardized milk will be heated at a high temperature of 120°C for a short period of time about 2 minutes to make sure of firmness of the evaporated milk and being free from any harmful microorganisms (Source: Bigger Bolder Baking).

6. Sugar Addition

To make sweetened condensed milk, the next part of pre-heating will be adding the right quantity of sugar into the milk mixture. the sugar mustn’t be fermentable, meanwhile, is preservative and avoids the activity of the germ or bacteria life. Then it goes into a mixer with a heat-treated process to kill any osmophilic yeasts, while it prevents the intensive Maillard reactions.

Consideration: the final SCM should come by around 40% of sugar, so the quantity of added sugar must include the 18% of the processed milk.

7. Evaporation

For the evaporation process, the milk mixture goes through an evaporator or vacuum pan to boil and get dense at low temperature by evaporating water from the milk, then it is carried out for cooling or homogenization.

8. Homogenization

This is such an optional step to develop the fat content stability by passing two-levels homogenizing. At first, the evaporated milk undergoes a forcing process through tiny holes with high pressure, which crushes the fat globules into minute particles then the process continues with lower pressure to make the fatty texture more stable.

9.    Cooling

The stable and dense mixture then gets cooled until 30 °C to improve thickness and uniform texture because of crystallization activities. This step also influences discoloration due to its high-temperature exposure.

10.  Crystallization and Formation

This process includes seeding and crystallization to increase the smoothness of the condensed milk, if it’s not done yet, the mixture can contain large crystals and not that uniform. At the seeding process, the already prepared condensed milk is added to improve the density and smoothness.

Sweet Tip: It does matter to add condensed milk with small-sized lactose crystals (10 µm) to achieve such a premium final product.

11.  Packaging

The final stage contains packing the SCM. Sweetened condensed milk must be in a light-yellow color and has a high viscosity. The bulk packaging can be filled in several sizes and various materials such as containers, beech-wood barrels, septic paperboard packages, or those familiar store-bought cans. Then they get sealed, labelled for storing or delivering in the markets.

Technological Innovations in Industrial Production

As time goes by, manufacturer discover magnificent ways to ease complicated mechanisms by utilizing automatic machineries and innovative materials, there are some related examples to the manufacturing process of SCM:

Usage of Dairy Additives: Nowadays, SCM is made by adding skim milk powder (SMP), butter oil to milk or water to improve the smoothness while it’s not necessary to use whole milk. By using these matters, in some level the evaporation could be removed!

New Packaging Trends: Manufacturers are focusing on meeting customer expectations by considering various packaging methods like BIB or bag-in-box system due to its range of size and single-use or reusable form, small-scale bulks which includes different sizes to cover all the market around the world, while other forms are also contain export-focused and eco-friendly concepts.

Latest Mechanism in Homogenization: Advanced homogenization techniques mainly are looking for ways to improve the quality, smoothness, and uniformity. Brand new methods use high-pressure homogenizers or high shear mixers to crush fat content into smaller size, while avoiding the cream separation. Another innovative procedure is Ultrasonic homogenization which by using sound waves, achieves such a dense mixture and increases the shelf life.

Quality control measures

Quality control is a crucial part of dairy making, especially in exporting productions; the consistency, uniform texture, safety and health, and shelf life should be considered. There are three central tests:

• Consistency and Texture Analysis: in this stage, the viscosity, thickness, and uniformity are tested to indicate they are consistent through the mixture and there are no separation, lumps, graininess, or instability.
• Microbial Testing: this evaluation mostly measures the microbial levels, existence of harmful microorganisms, bacteria or yeast after processing which may threaten human health and reduce the shelf life.
• Shelf-Life Evaluation: it checks the acidity level for a stable flavor, texture and bacteria growth, also provides various conditions to predict the shelf-life time and oxidation caused by exposure to air or light.

Homemade Methods of Making Condensed Milk

After discovering how the industrial method of condensed milk has been made, it’s time to make it happen to have your own homemade, natural, non-preservative SCM at home. Just look around these DIY methods from traditional to dairy-free!

1.    Traditional Stovetop

Ingredients: To go with this method, you only need a cup of whole milk and a half cup of white sugar, also if you’re craving for a fancy homemade type of it, you can add a bit of vanilla extract or vanilla bean as well.

Recipe: First, pour the milk and sugar into a heavy-bottom saucepan to avoid early caramelization. Put it over a medium heat and stir it constantly for 40 minutes, then reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes, until it gets dense. then remove the heat and let it cool completely and pour it into an airtight container for additional usage!

2.    Blender Method

• Ingredients: This method varies a bit from traditional one and includes butter to give the extra rich and thickened condensed milk.
• Quick Recipe: port e hot milk and other ingredients (let the butter to achieve the room temperature) into the blender and blend until uniform.
• Bullet Tip: scrape down the sides with a spatula and go with repeatable blending technique to get the smoothest finish ever!

3.    Microwave Method

Ingredients: it’s the same as the traditional one, just milk and sugar!

Instruction: whisk the mixture until the sugar gets melted in a large and microwave-safe bowl, then place it in a microwave for 1-2 minutes, stir the mixture every 30 seconds to make sure the density is under control. Repeat the process till it gets smooth, then remove it and let it cool for a while to achieve the desirable thickness!

Dairy-Free Condensed Milk

If you’re a vegan or lactose tolerance person and looking for a quick and vegan recipe to have a syrupy condensed milk, we’re providing you this easy-to-follow recipe:

Main Ingredients

• Plant-Based Milk such as soy, coconut, or almond milk which may be vanilla flavored.
• Sugar can be granulated sugar, maple syrup, or honey
• Cornstarch is used due to its ability to thicken quickly. (the condensed milk is naturally thick)
• Vegan Butter is simply added for a better flavor and texture.

How To Make Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk? (Instruction)

Firstly, mix your milk with cornstarch and sugar in an extra-large microwave-safe bowl and stir it till it gets dissolved and no lumps of cornstarch or sugar crystals. As suggested in Krissa’s Vegan Kitchen, put it into the microwave and go for a repeatable 1-minute heating to achieve a creamy mixture. Now, it’s time to add butter for a smoother texture. Let it cool before covering and cooling it in the fridge.

Method	What It Does	Time Required	Special Notes
Stovetop	Slowly reduces milk with sugar for thick consistency	~40-55 min	Needs constant stirring to avoid burning.
Blender	Blends ingredients into a smooth, condensed texture	~10 min	Quick but requires a high-power blender.
Microwave	Rapidly reduces milk and sugar using heat	~5-10 min	Frequent stirring needed to avoid crystallization.
Dairy-Free	Uses plant-based alternatives for lactose-free option	~10 min	Different taste and texture from traditional SCM.

 Troubleshooting Tips and Common Mistakes

Is condensed milk not as satisfying as store-bought type? Here are some of general issues, including their simple solutions:

1.    How To Achieve the Desirable Consistency?

To achieve the consistent condensed milk, manufacturers usually control the evaporation process by eliminating the best ratio of water to get such a rich and thick finish.

Also balancing the sugar concentration will reach that syrupy texture without experiencing crystallization, while monitoring the homogenization section may break down the fat globules into smaller pieces to reach such a uniform and stable final result.

2.    How To Prevent Sugar Crystallization?

This may destroy the pleasant texture of your condensed milk, then control the cooling process by considering the gradual technique. Invert sugar also prevents the crystallization. Eventually, for a longer lasting, store it at a permanent temperature.

3.    Why Does Condensed Milk Taste Differently?

The flavor of condensed milk can be varied due to high-temperature heating that causes the Maillard reaction which tastes like caramel or using cane sugar or additives like vanilla, cocoa, or coconut oil that remain such a unique taste on your tasting-palates!

How To Store Condensed Milk: Evaporated milk Vs. Sweetened Condensed Milk Shelf Life

Storage of condensed milk is easier than evaporated milk due to its high amount of sugar which works as a preservative, while evaporated milk with lower sweetness should be stored at 10-15°C. high temperature may cause unpleasant thickness, milk separation, or sugar crystals in both of them, there are some common conditions may affect:

• Dark Place Storage: According to Bon Appetit storing in dark places will maintain the quality and prevent the light exposure damages.
• Do Not Freeze: Freezing also may ruin the texture and smoothness, let them cool but not in a freezer!
• Can Issues: Spoilage or damages of bulging cans, leaks or rust may be seen, thrown away to avoid spoiled consumption.
• Expiration Date: However, these products include a long-term expiration date, it’s still possible to get funky, so check it for taste and texture before consuming!

Be Creative in Condensed Milk Usage!

In this section, we’ll explore the world from condensed milk POV, from popular Asian drink to the cloudiest cake ever from Mexico, let us simplify these Fabolous F&Bs:

1.    Beverages

Condensed milk is such a rich and pure additive in your drinks whether mixed with tea, coffee, or lemon to discover how colorful this world is!

• Thai Iced Tea: add SCM to a glass of fresh black tea with ice to reach a velvet-tasted cold drink Brazilian Lemonade: add whole lemon into the mixer to have the soul of it into your drink and sweeten it by adding a bit of condensed milk!
• Smoothies: to emphasize on the sharp sweetness of tropical fruits, freeze them and blend them with your magical liquid!

2.    Savory Dishes

To marinate your meats with a sweet kick into Asian-style cuisine, we offer you to add a spoon of condensed milk, moreover for sweet fried chicken you can brine chicken in evaporated milk to have a juicy and dairy-tasted finish!

For thickening your stews or autumn soups, evaporated milk will provide you with a wide range of flavor, while smoothing the texture, like an ocean!

3.    Confectionaries + creative recipes!

Last but not least, we are here with tons of sugary cookies, cakes, breads or desserts. Remember, it’s not only one of the main ingredients of the Tres leches cake, but also provides a world-class confectioneries’ bases from all around the world. So, let’s break into some of the most interesting ones together!

Cloudy Doughnuts: by making the dough with sweetened condensed milk, you will aim for that crunchy, sweet-tasting, while by adding it to the glaze you can simply enhance the milky flavor all over your cowy-wowy doughnuts!

Monster Cookie Fudge: for making desserts like fudge, pie and tart base, condensed milk, whether sweetened or evaporated is the best way to thicken the mixture while adding a sweet and sharp milky kick into it. Then mix your cookie dough materials with a cup of SCM till it gets a fudge-like texture!

No-Churn Ice Cream: we call this recipe “heaven of laziness”. To grab a spoon and put the creamiest ice cream ever, the only thing you have to do is mix condensed milk with heavy cream for 5 minutes and let it cool in the freezer for about 6 hours. To achieve such a fancy and easy ice cream you can add a bit of vanilla extract!

Conclusion

Eventually, we got here. Manufacturing process of condensed milk is remarkable, while it’s a bit complicated. From selecting and testing the milk to evaporation and removal of the extra water, then sugar addition and cooling to final stage, packaging. Each of these steps is important to achieve such a uniform non-crystallized can of condensed milk you buy from the store. In addition, we provide you with new trends and industrial innovations and creative recipes to use till the last drop of your rich and tasty SCM!

FAQs

1.  Why Doesn’t Condensed Milk Need Refrigeration Before Opening?

Due to high sugar content (40%) in sweetened condensed milk, homogenization and pasteurization process, and additives like preservatives it prevents microorganisms’ growth and makes a long-term shelf life.

2. What Equipment Is Used in Industrial Production?

Automatic or semi-automatic machinery which is needed for this process include vacuum evaporator, homogenizers and pasteurizer, canning line, laboratory machine for testing and quality control section.

3. How Long Does Condensed Milk Last?

If the condensed milk is unopened, it can last 1-2 years in cool, dry and dark places. Once you open the can or container, it should be kept in the fridge and used in 1-2 weeks.  If it’s homemade the best timing for consumption is about a week in an airtight container in the fridge.