Thrifty Tips From Wartime: Evaporated Milk
And why understanding how to use it is a skill worth knowing...plus recipes!
First a little bit of history…
In wartime America, part of the nutrition campaign was getting more calcium and Vitamin D into citizens’ diets. Milk was considered an economical superfood with many of the health benefits people needed, especially children. Milk wasn’t rationed in the United States during WWII — at least not by the government. Localized shortages leading to community rationing helped balance a stretched milk supply. Other areas experienced huge surpluses (especially in Spring) resulting in perfectly good milk being dumped in the ditch. Due to its perishable nature, milk needed to get used or sold quickly. It could be made into various products: cheese, butter, ice cream, buttermilk, and more. If you’d like to learn more about the dairy industry in wartime, listen to my episode “The Dairy Dilemma”!
The military and our allies relied on the vast dairy resources the U.S. produced. Milk could be transported in two ways: evaporated and powdered. Evaporated milk in tins was invented in 1885 with homogenization improving the product in 1909. Evaporated milk supported troops during WWI and continued that trend into WWII. It was easy to transport and didn’t spoil as quickly. Powdered milk had even more benefits due to its lighter weight, and there are many stories the British and others can tell of using powdered milk during the war. Evaporated milk companies urged American consumers to use some of their precious ration points on evaporated milk as another dairy option. Fun fact: During WWII, evaporated milk was used as baby formula!
What exactly is evaporated milk?
Evaporated milk is regular, homogenized milk that’s had 60% of the water removed and is heat sterilized in a can. Typically, pumpkin pie recipes will call for undiluted evaporated milk. It’s different from sweetened condensed milk which is a similar product but has sugar added (and was invented much earlier in 1835 and commercially produced for the first time in 1856!). Sweetened condensed milk is thick and sticky and is typically used in no-bake cheesecake recipes.
What are the benefits and disadvantages to evaporated milk?
Pros:
#1 benefit is that it’s shelf stable. No refrigeration needed until it’s opened.
Evaporated milk can be mixed up in small batches, so if milk isn’t used as frequently in your home, there’s less chance of spoilage.
It can be used straight out of the can or can replace regular milk by adding water.
It’s sterilized.
It contains calcium and Vitamin D.
It’s portable for camping trips and similar adventures.
Cons:
It doesn’t taste the same as fresh milk.
It’s more processed than fresh milk and is treated at higher temperatures.
It’s more expensive per ounce than fresh milk.
Is it cheaper than regular milk?
Depending on where you live, evaporated milk isn’t cheaper, unless you get it on a great sale. (November is the prime sale month. All that pumpkin pie… lol)
At my local store, the store brand evaporated milk is $1.39. If I were to reconstitute the milk (1 part evap. milk to 1 part water) a 12 oz. can would make 24 oz. of milk which is 1 quart. That means a gallon of milk made from evaporated milk would cost me $5.56. The cheapest fresh milk in the same store is $3.29…. but it has a much shorter shelf life of course.
Why does evaporated milk even matter then?
What are some of the first things to disappear in any kind of local crisis like natural disasters? Toilet paper, water bottles, and milk. Industry or transportation problems can also lead to shortages. While you might not be a fan of the idea of using evaporated milk on a regular basis, I will say this:
Keep evaporated milk in mind when fresh milk is hard to get. Better yet, keep a few cans on your shelf for “just in case”. If the power goes out those cans aren’t going bad like the stuff in the fridge will. It’s easy to reconstitute it for regular use. It’s fairly economical. It provides calcium and Vitamin D. And there are hundreds of vintage recipes that use evaporated milk. You can even use evaporated milk in lieu of whipping cream. (see below)
The Internet Archive has a few evaporated milk cookbooks you can peruse:
Winter Surprises with Carnation
Be a Better Cook with Carnation
So… How About Some Recipes?
Searching through my collection, I was surprised to find I had four cookbooks dedicated to evaporated milk! I spotted a lot of fun recipes, which I’m including here. The first one is a drink recipe I’ve tried and actually love a lot! It comes from a Lysol brand wartime recipe booklet called Victory Cook Book. The drink is refreshing and has some nice body to it due to the evaporated milk. So good!
I’ve got my eye on this recipe for Creamed Chicken and Mushrooms. They say to serve it with rice, but noodles, steamed veggies, or even thick slices of toast would work equally well!
This is a simple meat-stretcher recipe that uses undiluted evaporated milk.
I’ve never had curried shrimp, but I’d go for this recipe. It’s served with chutney and freshly grated coconut. Wow!
I’m a huge fan of oatmeal bread and this looks like a great recipe to try! I love that it uses molasses instead of sugar too. Oil or shortening can replace the butter if you don’t have it on hand. (You can use a packet of yeast or 2 1/2 tsp. loose yeast in place of the yeast cake.)
Here is a pair of frozen desserts that sound delicious. But that Lime Jade…! I definitely want to try that one. It sounds so art deco. lol
Upside Down Cake is one of my favorite desserts. Pineapple will always be #1 in my heart, but I love that this recipe leaves it up to you which fruit to use. They suggest cherries or peaches, but I’ve also seen apples or berries. Yum!
Chilled, whipped evaporated milk is one of the most iconic, yet sadly unknown, tips from wartime. I see it everywhere in wartime cookbooks. It’s something I’ve been meaning to try for a long time! The key is to get it really, really cold.
Here’s an amazing-looking recipe utilizing some of that whipped evaporated milk. Raspberry Ice Cream Shortcake? Triple yes!!! (this recipe is in the next 2 pictures)
Did you grow up using evaporated milk? If not, would you consider using it now?
P.S. Powdered milk is another great topic I’m planning on writing about soon! Do you have any questions about it or things you’re curious about?
RESOURCES
Bordens Invention of Evaporated Milk
Everything You Need to Know About Evaporated Milk
Tin of National Dried Milk (WWII)
My mum and I made formula for my sister from evaporated milk in the 1960s. I don't know what the current thinking would be on how healthy that was, but she grew up fine.
We use evaporated milk every day in our coffee. We stopped buying half and half a long time ago, it was too expensive and spoiled too quickly. We buy a flat of about 24 cans at Costco.