The two cans look almost the same. They sit side by side on the baking shelf, they are both thick, and they are both milk with water taken out. But they do very different jobs, and grabbing the wrong one is one of the most common ways a holiday pie goes wrong.
What each can really is
Evaporated milk is milk with part of its water cooked off. That’s all. No sugar is added. The federal standard calls it milk from which “only water” has been partly removed, with at least 6.5% milkfat. It tastes like rich, slightly toasty milk.
Sweetened condensed milk is milk with sugar added, then cooked down. The federal standard requires at least 8% milkfat and 28% milk solids, plus enough sugar to keep the can from spoiling. The USDA grading standard sets that sugar level high: at least 61.5% sugar in the water part of the milk. It is thick like syrup and very sweet.
So one can is plain milk. The other is milk and a lot of sugar.
Why the swap ruins a pumpkin pie
The classic Libby’s pumpkin pie on the back of the can uses evaporated milk plus about 3/4 cup of sugar. If you pour in sweetened condensed milk instead and still add the sugar, the pie has sugar twice. It turns out far too sweet, and the filling does not set the way the recipe expects.
Going the other way is just as bad. A recipe written for sweetened condensed milk counts on the sugar inside the can. Use evaporated milk and the filling comes out bland and often too loose.
Which recipes use which
- Evaporated milk: classic pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, mac and cheese, creamy mashed potatoes, fudge made on the stove with sugar.
- Sweetened condensed milk: key lime pie, magic cookie bars, no-bake fudge, dulce de leche, many poke cakes and pie fillings that skip the sugar.
A good clue: if the recipe also asks for a cup or so of sugar, it almost always means evaporated milk.
If you already bought the “wrong” can
You don’t have to go back to the store. Use a recipe written for the can you have. Libby’s even made one: in 2019 it brought out a “New-Fashioned” pumpkin pie that uses sweetened condensed milk in place of the sugar, with less evaporated milk. Follow that recipe as written instead of guessing amounts.
For dishes that only need evaporated milk for creaminess, like mashed potatoes or a cream soup, half-and-half or light cream works in its place.
A quick check at the store
Read the front of the can for the word “sweetened.” Then look at the ingredients: evaporated milk lists milk (and vitamins). Sweetened condensed milk lists milk and sugar.
Sources
- FDA standard of identity, evaporated milk: 21 CFR 131.130
- FDA standard of identity, sweetened condensed milk: 21 CFR 131.120 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/131.120)
- USDA grading standard, sweetened condensed milk sugar ratio: 7 CFR 58.938
- Libby’s New-Fashioned pumpkin pie (2019), reviewed at https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/review-of-libbys-new-fashioned-pumpkin-pie-recipe/
