Some housewives prefer to cook condensed milk on their own, as cases of falsification in the production of this product have become more frequent. When buying condensed milk in a store, you can no longer be sure that it contains natural cream, and not vegetable fats.
For the preparation of homemade condensed milk, fresh cow's milk is taken. It can be replaced with cream in tandem with powdered milk or baby food. But it's still better to take a whole fatty product.
For condensed milk to succeed, it is worth buying milk from a proven milkmaid. Sometimes farmers dilute it with water, mix it with skim milk, or add components that prevent the product from souring. Such milk is not suitable for making condensed milk.
Whole milk always has cream on top, while skim and thinned milk don't.
After choosing quality raw materials, try making condensed milk according to the classic recipe. For every liter of whole milk, you will need 500 g of sugar.
Heat milk to body temperature (37-40 ° C) and dissolve sugar in it. Drain the sweetened product into a thick-walled saucepan, place on the stove, turning the heat to low, and cook for 2-3 hours, stirring regularly.
To check whether the condensed milk is ready, simply - blacken a little milk with a spoon and drop it on your finger - if the drop does not spread, then the product is cooked.
Do not try to shorten the cooking time of condensed milk by increasing the fire - the milk will simply burn out. But if you add another 200 g of sugar for each liter of milk, it thickens much faster.
Condensed milk at home can be prepared according to a simplified recipe. You will need: whole milk - 500 ml, milk powder - 3 cups, sugar - 3 cups.
Mix whole milk with dry milk and beat with a blender until smooth. Add sugar and place the container with the composition in a water bath. Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour, making sure that no water gets into the milk. Stir continuously until the product thickens.
Condensed milk can be prepared without whole milk, using dry cream and butter.
For a simple recipe, take: 4 cups dry cream, 2 cups sugar, 50 g butter, a glass of water.
Boil the liquid. Combine softened butter with sugar, add to water and beat with a blender. Then add the dry cream while whisking.
Put a homogeneous mass in a water bath, and cook until thickened. Then cool and put the condensed milk in the refrigerator - there it thickens even more.
Another option for homemade condensed milk: heavy cream (at least 25%) - 1 l, sugar - 1.2 kg, powdered milk - 400 g, baby food - 200 g, vanillin - 2 g.
Pour the sugar into a thick-walled saucepan and mix with a little water - literally to wet. Place the container on fire and heat slightly without letting it boil. There is no need to dissolve the sugar at this stage.
Combine cream with warmed sugar in a separate container. Add baby food, milk powder, vanillin and place a saucepan in a water bath.
For the first 15 minutes, stir the ingredients continuously with a whisk or beat with a mixer at low speed. Then stir the mass for 5 minutes. every 10 minutes.
Boil the condensed milk for at least an hour. Determine the readiness of a product by its consistency.
