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Sweetened Condensed Milk
Although 21st-century Americans have refrigerators and no longer need to rely on canned milk for safety, we still reach for sweetened condensed milk to make such desserts as flan and Key lime pie because it’s sweet, thick, smooth, and resistant to curdling.
Top Picks
Co-WinnerBorden Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
Tasters found this product mild and “fairly generic” when sampled straight from the can, but it produced a textbook “smooth and velvety” flan.
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Co-WinnerNestlé Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk
Although it was slightly “thick” and “chalky,” this product was our favorite to eat off the spoon for its “buttery, caramel” flavor. Flan set a whisper softer than the one made with Borden Eagle Brand, but we still licked our plates clean.
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What You Need to Know
Although 21st-century Americans have refrigerators and no longer need to rely on canned milk for safety, we still reach for sweetened condensed milk to make such desserts as flan and Key lime pie because it’s sweet, thick, smooth, and resistant to curdling. To find out which product is best, we tasted four (all about $3 for 14 ounces), both plain and in flan. Three contained only whole milk and sugar; the fourth was made from nonfat milk “filled” with partially hydrogenated soybean oil. When we tasted the canned milk on its own, our preferences varied. In the flan, though, one whole-milk brand was too thin and produced a looser, grainier flan. To ensure perfect desserts without unnecessary ingredients or extra work, we’ll reach for one of our co-winners.
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Everything We Tested
Recommended
Co-WinnerBorden Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
Tasters found this product mild and “fairly generic” when sampled straight from the can, but it produced a textbook “smooth and velvety” flan.
Ingredients: Milk, sugar
Price at Time of Testing: $3.19 for 14 oz
Tasters found this product mild and “fairly generic” when sampled straight from the can, but it produced a textbook “smooth and velvety” flan.
Ingredients: Milk, sugar
Price at Time of Testing: $3.19 for 14 oz
Co-WinnerNestlé Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk
Although it was slightly “thick” and “chalky,” this product was our favorite to eat off the spoon for its “buttery, caramel” flavor. Flan set a whisper softer than the one made with Borden Eagle Brand, but we still licked our plates clean.
Ingredients: Milk, sugar
Price at Time of Testing: $2.99 for 14 oz
Although it was slightly “thick” and “chalky,” this product was our favorite to eat off the spoon for its “buttery, caramel” flavor. Flan set a whisper softer than the one made with Borden Eagle Brand, but we still licked our plates clean.
Ingredients: Milk, sugar
Price at Time of Testing: $2.99 for 14 oz
Recommended with reservations
Parrot Brand Sweetened Condensed Filled Milk
Eaten straight from the can, this soybean oil–enhanced milk was greasy and sticky, and several tasters found its flavor funky. But it made a perfectly acceptable “firm but smooth” flan.
Ingredients: Nonfat milk, sugar, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, vitamin A palmitate, and riboflavin
Price at Time of Testing: $2.99 for 14 oz
Eaten straight from the can, this soybean oil–enhanced milk was greasy and sticky, and several tasters found its flavor funky. But it made a perfectly acceptable “firm but smooth” flan.
Ingredients: Nonfat milk, sugar, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, vitamin A palmitate, and riboflavin
Price at Time of Testing: $2.99 for 14 oz
Meadow Gold Sweetened Condensed Milk
This “runny” sweetened condensed milk tasted fine, but its lower-than-average viscosity resulted in flan that wouldn’t set properly and came out “goopy” and “slippery,” even after a second try.
Ingredients: Whole milk, sugar
Price at Time of Testing: $2.99 for 14 oz
This “runny” sweetened condensed milk tasted fine, but its lower-than-average viscosity resulted in flan that wouldn’t set properly and came out “goopy” and “slippery,” even after a second try.
Ingredients: Whole milk, sugar
Price at Time of Testing: $2.99 for 14 oz
*All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.
Reviews You Can Trust
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See Why.