Sweet & Condensed Milk (homemade)

I have always had a sweet tooth, and I have always loved milk, so as a child, sweetened condensed milk was a real treat for me. I know that it is intended to be an ingredient used to make candy and desserts, but I remember a spoon and a can. Of course I never thought about food when I was a kid, or even much up until the last decade or so.


Recently I have seen candy recipes that call for sweetened condensed milk, and I started thinking about the cans that are commercially available and weighing my options. Not that there is an issue with the list of ingredients: milk and sugar, except that I haven't seen an organic option. Well, that and the cans that I imagine are lined to prevent metallic taste transfer (and what is usually in the lining material).


Which these thoughts in mind, I looked at a few recipes and decided to go my own way. The process took me a little over two hours of patient stirring and monitoring, but I think the results will work beautifully in candy, coffee and tea, and it definitely went well on the end of a spoon. ;) In the future I may try some flavor variations.

After several hours in the refrigerator.

• 6 cups organic milk (I used whole milk)
• 4 cups or organic pure cane sugar
• glass jars (I used 4 8oz & 3 4oz jars)


Stir sugar into milk in a medium size pot until sugar is dissolved.
Place on medium heat (adjust to keep the mixture steaming, but turn down if/when it starts to boil).
The mixture will gradually darken and thicken, cook until it is the desired consistency. Be patient, and if you want to test the milk, put a spoon or two of the mixture in a small cup and place it in the freezer for a few minutes.
Refrigerate jars and use in a timely fashion. I don't know how long this would remain 'good', but I made this with some candy experiments in mind, and I sent a small jar with Hubby to work (for coffee and tea).

You can see how the condensed milk coats the spoon.