Sweetened condensed milk is milk that has been heated to remove any water from the milk. This reduces the milk by at least half and thickens the consistency of the milk into a thick liquid. Once made, store in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months. If frozen, just thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then shake vigorously in an airtight container with a lid on or pour into a larger container and whisk until smooth and consistent throughout.

All you need to make it is sugar and milk, that is it and you will get the same results as the store-bought. In a heavy bottom saucepan, add in two cups of milk, nonfat or full fat. Add in sugar then go ahead and stir in the sugar to make sure it’s even and then leave it be until all the sugar has dissolved. You do not want it to simmer at this point. Once the heat has been heating for a few minutes and you can see and feel that all the sugar has dissolved, only at this point you can let it start to simmer.

Turn down the heat and let it simmer away very gently not boil but a low steady simmer for around 30m to 40 minutes. Once it has simmered for around 30 minutes, it will start to change color almost kind of creamy, peachy color and around the edges of your pan, you will see a little bit of foam which you will remove with a spoon. The foam is impurities coming out of the sugar and milk and you want to remove it so you can have a nice clean, clear condensed milk.

Your mixture should be thick and will slowly dribble off your spoon and also the amount of liquid will have halved which is exactly what you want. Set the condensed milk aside and let it cool and once it is cold, it will look thick and syrupy. If you really want to double-check if you have made the condensed milk right, measure it out into a jug and the finished result should weigh around one cup or 8 ounces. You can now make this easily condensed milk at home and enjoy what you want.

Ingredients;

  • 2 cups (16floz/450ml) full-fat milk or low-fat milk
  • ⅔ cups (5oz /142g) white sugar

Instructions;

  1. Add the milk and sugar into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
  2. Heat it on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Once all of the sugar has dissolved bring the mix to a simmer over medium-low heat. Do not stir once the mix starts to simmer otherwise it can crack and crystalize.
  4. Gently simmer for roughly 35-40 minutes, or until the milk has darkened to a creamy color, has reduced by half and thickened slightly.
  5. You may notice some foam forming on top, gently skim it off with a spoon. (if there are sugary bits hanging around the rim of your pot don’t stir them into your condensed milk, this can also crack your mix)
  6. When ready, remove from the heat and pour it into a jar to cool.
  7. Let the condensed milk cool completely before putting on the airtight lid. Just note, it thickens up a lot after a few hours in the fridge.