6th September: Evaporated Milk

On this date in 1899, Carnation processed its first can of evaporated milk. Here are ten things you might not know about evaporated milk.

1. What is evaporated milk, anyway? It is fresh Milk, which has undergone a process whereby about 60% of the water has been removed using heat and vacuums.
2. Condensed milk is a similar product in which sugar is added. Condensed milk is much thicker in consistency.
3. Marco Polo observed the Tartars in the 13th century consuming something that appeared to be condensed milk. They would carry a type of milk paste and add Water to it. However, this was probably milk curd rather than condensed milk.
4. Condensed milk as we know it today was invented by Gail Borden, Jr in the USA. He had been a surveyor and a newspaper editor (some believe he was the one who came up with the "Remember the Alamo" slogan). His other inventions include the lazy Susan and the prairie schooner, a sail-powered wagon.
5. Borden decided to come up with a milk product which wouldn't go off after seeing several children die on a sea voyage because the milk from the Cows on board was contaminated.
6. The Shakers used a vacuum pan to condense fruit juice, and after several failed attempts, Borden managed to adapt this method to produce condensed milk.
7. The product first became popular during the US Civil War when it was issued to Union soldiers as rations.
8. The best known brand, Carnation, was started in Washington by E. B. Stuart in 1899. It was then known as Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company and later the Carnation Milk Products Company. There was a bit of a bubble of condensed milk production with a lot of entrepreneurs jumping on the bandwagon and so production exceeded demand - but Carnation survived. Nestlé acquired the Carnation Company in 1985.
9. Since the 1960s, labels of cans of Carnation Condensed Milk have contained recipes on the inner side. Here are some of its uses around the world: the high sugar content means it's ideal for making creamy desserts. Many Indian desserts contain it, although a traditional Indian cook would start from scratch and condense fresh milk themselves. In some parts of Europe and Asia, people add condensed milk to their Tea and Coffee. In Jamaica they add it to bottled stout, nutmeg and Cocoa to make Guinness Punch. It has also been used as an alternative to jam and eaten on toast - this was popular in Yorkshire after World War II.
10. The ratio of sugar to milk is 9:11 so unsurprisingly 100g of condensed milk contains 54g of sugar and 321 calories. It has 9g of fat, 8g of protein and also contains small amounts of Vitamins A, C, D, B6 and B12, Calcium and Iron.

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