This was a popular “recipe” in the area where I grew up: take a can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, put in a large pot full of water with a tight fitting lid, and boil for three hours, checking often to see if you need to add water.
After three hours, carefully remove the can, let cool a little and open the can. Out comes a delicious warm caramel, that you can spread on graham crackers, or use as an ingredient in recipes.
Caution: be sure the can stays covered with water the entire three hours or it will explode.
I recently tried this with a store brand of sweetened condensed milk, and after three hours it didn’t turn to soft caramel like Eagle Brand does, it was just hot sweetened condensed milk.
I once wrote to Eagle Brand asking if they had any recipes that used the caramel that resulted from the boiling can recipe. I received a very stern reply that they did not endorse or recommend boiling their product, as it was very dangerous!
I’ve seen recipes where you can fill a slow cooker with water, completely immerse the sweetened condensed milk cans and cook them on high for 10 to 12 hours to make caramel. The slow cooker doesn’t boil and doesn’t go dry.
The slow cooker method seems safe enough, I had never heard of it before. I have tried some of the alternate methods and they just don’t produce the same results as the boiling -in-the-can method.
The traditional method is to boil the sealed cans of sweetened condensed milk in a pot on the stovetop. As long as the can is underwater it can’t exceed the 212 degrees F of the boiling water. It is suppose to boil for several hours to cook the sugar in the milk and turn it into caramel. The problem is if the pot boils dry. Then the can of milk will overheat and explode. It will fly around the room like a rocket, spraying out its contents. People would of course cook more than one can at a time and you could have some real fireworks. It is a very dangerous method.
I’ve made the caramel by cooking the sealed cans in a pressure cooker. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes in the pressure cooker to make caramel. That works quite well and of course the can is contained inside the pressure cooker while cooking. The pressure cooker gets water and steam up to 230 or 240 degrees F and cooks the sugar in the can of milk faster. After the cooking time, you release the pressure and cool the pressure cooker and cans under cold running water in the sink. After the cans are cooled to room temperature you can safely open them.
Whatever method is used, if you heat a sealed can, you have to let it cool before trying to open it or the hot contents will spray out. The cans are steel, but heating a sealed can is risky whatever method is used.
Check out the Mythbusters show on one of the Discovery cable channels, on one episode they heat sealed canned foods on a hotplate to prove or disprove some myth. The cans explode all over the test area on camera. It’s scary to watch. I think you can also see the shows online at the Discovery channel.
People do dangerous things every day, even though they know better, they think it worth it to take risks. Whether it is cigarette smoking, eating fried foods, sun tanning, drinking to excess or anything else, most of us are guilty of at least one unsafe practice in our lives. True, there is danger to it, but many more people die in fires caused by candles than by exploding cans of milk. A covered pot boiling on the stove should never be left unattended, the same as burning candles.
Also, the link between alzheimers and aluminum has been discounted by most experts. Aluminum is listed as a myth on the Alzhimer’s Association website. Most of us get much more exposure to aluminum through antiperspirants than foil, cans, or aluminum pans anyway, and I don’t know anyone who is willing to forego the use of antiperspirants (thankfully! ) I have worked in Internal Medicine for years, and I know that “how to prevent Alzheimers?” is a frequent question from patients, and a subject that has undergone much research. You can choose to avoid aluminum pots, pans, cans, foil, antiperspirant, flu shots and other injections if you wish, but a much greater risk comes from the people you chose to be your parents.
From the Alzheimer’s Association website:
Myth 4: Drinking out of aluminum cans or cooking in aluminum pots and pans can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
Reality: During the 1960s and 1970s, aluminum emerged as a possible suspect in Alzheimer’s. This suspicion led to concern about exposure to aluminum through everyday sources such as pots and pans, beverage cans, antacids and antiperspirants. Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminum in causing Alzheimer’s. Experts today focus on other areas of research, and few believe that everyday sources of aluminum pose any threat.
Remember when eggs were considered bad for you? Then “they” decided 2 eggs a week was ok. Now “they” have said eggs are not a problem.
Coconut oil has gone through the same.
If you read the Alzheimer’s information carefully you will see that it is not conclusive one way or the other.
Cover any acidy food with aluminum foil touching the food. What happens? The foil dissolves.
I prefer to error on the side of caution and put parchment between my food and aluminum foil. It may be unnecessary, but I feel better doing it. I would rather find out many years from now that I was overly cautious than to abandon this practice, and then find out I should have continued.
When I lived in Ohio it was used as a filling for cakes or cupcakes, or as a dip for fruit, pretzels, etc. Sometimes used as a filling between two home made cookies. It was very popularity at church dinners and get - togethers. It was always an ingredient in at least one dessert on the table. I think the first time I saw it was with sliced apples as carmel apple dip. I inquired about the recipe, and it was boiled eagle brand. That was nearly 20 years ago.
And if I was planning to use it for a cake to take to a dinner, I would boil two cans and take one out and check it for the consistency I needed. If it was too thin, I would keep boiling the second can. I would take the thin carmel in a bowl with a box of graham crackers so the kids could spread it and make sandwiches.
) I have worked in Internal Medicine for years, and I know that “how to prevent Alzheimers?” is a frequent question from patients, and a subject that has undergone much research. You can choose to avoid aluminum pots, pans, cans, foil, antiperspirant, flu shots and other injections if you wish, but a much greater risk comes from the people you chose to be your parents.