Homestead on Lakeside

Sweetened condensed milk is a staple for many custard pies, including pumpkin,  key lime, and sour orange pie. Whether you’ve run out of store bought sweetened condensed milk or you want to make homemade and control the ingredients in it, this is the perfect recipe for homemade sweetened condensed milk. I hope you enjoy this sweet and creamy treat!

I enjoy making food from scratch.  While sweetened condensed milk is easier to buy from the store, I prefer being able to choose the ingredients. This homemade sweetened condensed milk recipe is made with A2/A2 raw jersey cow milk, maple sugar, vanilla, and salt.

Here is my homemade Graham cracker recipe if you need Graham crackers to make a crust for your custard pie.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk Ingredients:

4 cups of whole milk

1 of sugar (I use maple sugar,  my favorite alternative sugar)

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp of salt

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipe:

Sweetened condensed milk takes a couple of hours to make. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to tend to the pot of milk as it needs to be stirred frequently.

I started cooking the milk after breakfast and was able to tend to it between the boys’ school lessons. The sweetened condensed milk was ready before lunchtime, taking around 2 hours to cook.

This recipe yields approximately 14 ounces.  The same amount that comes in a can of store bought sweetened condensed milk. 2 cups will yield approximately 7 to 8 ounces. I recommend splitting the recipe in half and cooking the milk in two separate pans. This way, the cooking time will remain the same. If you cook the 4 cups of milk all in one pan instead of two, it will make the cooking time longer.

To Begin:

Start by placing the milk, sugar, vanilla,  and salt in a frying pan. Slowly warm the ingredients over a low medium heat while stirring.

Then, once the sugar is fully dissolved, reduce the heat to low. 

Come back to the mixture at least every ten minutes,  stirring.  Making sure the milk doesn’t burn.

Scrape down the sides and be sure to get any milk on the bottom of the pan while mixing. There may be chunks as it cooks. The mixture will be strained at the end of cooking.

Once the liquid has reduced by half. This takes approximately 1 hrs and 30 minutes to 2 hours. Take the liquid off of the heat and strain, removing any chunks.

You will be left with a beautiful silky sweet milk mixture. The mixture should be thick enough to stick to a spoon and drip off slowly. 

Now your homemade sweetened condensed milk is ready!

Place the milk in a jar and store it in the fridge for up to a month. 

I hope you enjoy your homemade sweetened condensed milk! Follow along @homesteadonlakeside for more homemade family inspiration and recipes!

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