Condensed milk is an incredibly popular and demanded product among modern people, which contains many useful substances. Condensed milk can be used as an independent delicacy or addition to coffee and tea, and can be used in the manufacture of all kinds of confectionery and goodies. In order to buy really high-quality and good condensed milk, you need to know the main features of choosing this sweet and very tasty product.
Good condensed milk: packaging and labeling
Condensed milk is produced in metal cans, plastic containers and special sealed vacuum bags. A metal can is the most common way of storing a product for most condensed milk lovers, but a plastic container and a so-called doy-pack are considered the easiest and most convenient to use. When choosing condensed milk, be sure to make sure that the packaging is intact and that it does not have all kinds of mechanical damage and deformation.
An important sign of good condensed milk is the presence on its packaging of the GOST badge, which indicates the legality of the manufacturer's use of the product's own recipe. According to GOST, condensed milk is subdivided into "Whole condensed milk with sugar", "Skimmed condensed milk with sugar" and "Condensed cream with sugar". All these products practically do not differ from each other in composition and differ only in the unequal content of fat in them.
Products whose name sounds like "Condensed milk", "Diet condensed milk", "Condensed milk with sugar" and even just "Condensed milk" have nothing in common with real condensed milk.
When choosing condensed milk, carefully study the composition of the product. According to GOST, a real good condensed milk contains only such ingredients as raw cow's milk or cream, drinking water and sugar. Only ascorbic acid can be used as an antioxidant, and only some derivatives of potassium and sodium can play the role of stabilizers. Any other components, in particular, vegetable fats, starch, pectin, palm oil, synthetic dyes and other substances not provided for in the composition of condensed milk by GOST indicate that the product is not "real" condensed milk.
An important criterion for choosing condensed milk is the shelf life of the product. Typically, it is 1 year for metal cans and doypacks and 2-3 months for plastic containers.
Good condensed milk: contents of the pack
You can also make sure of the naturalness and high quality of condensed milk by opening the package with the product. Good condensed milk has a white color with a subtle creamy shade, a uniform consistency, a pleasant sweet taste and smell of pasteurized milk.
In no case should you eat the contents of a swollen can. Such a change in packaging indicates the content of bacteria and microbes harmful to the human body in condensed milk.
A light brown or grayish tint, a bitter taste, too liquid or too thick consistency, the presence of impurities and lumps, as well as the presence of dark spots and mold under the lid of the product indicate improper production or storage, and, consequently, low quality of condensed milk.
