Canned evaporated milk can stand high temperatures without curdling, making it a good choice used whole-strength in recipes to add creaminess to thick sauces, puddings and crock pot recipes. It's also good as a dipping liquid for breading meats, fish, and poultry.

Because it’s inexpensive and has so many uses, I’ve actually created an entire cookbook chapter in my Cook’n software dedicated to canned milk recipes. I’m convinced it’s a winner! Read on to see what I mean.

If need be, very cold whole evaporated milk can be whipped. I’ve done this before when I was in a pinch for a topping for fruit cobbler or crisp. It does need to be extra COLD—even the beaters and the bowl should be super cold for this. I’d add a little vanilla extract and a tablespoon of sugar and it worked well. But it collapses quickly, whip just prior to serving and don't expect to store any leftovers.

The natural lactose sugar is concentrated in evaporated milk, so you may need to reduce the sugar when using it as a fresh milk substitute in recipes. To substitute, one cup whole milk is equivalent to ½ cup evaporated milk plus ½ cup water.

The intense high heat process required to make evaporated milk and the processing into tins does not make for a palatable substitute for fresh milk to drink as a beverage on its own. However, it can be diluted to be used on cereal in a pinch, as my grandmother used to do often. Older generations often used evaporated or condensed milk as a creamer for coffee or tea.

When using canned milk in recipes, you shouldn't notice any taste difference at all, except in yeast breads where the result will be slightly sweeter. Also, canned milk can be substituted in equal amounts for cream or half-and-half in most recipes.

Many professional chefs (Alton Brown, for instance) like to use canned milk when making homemade macaroni and cheese because of the superb smooth and creamy texture it creates. I also use it when making broccoli and cheese soup and homemade cocoa. And my gourmet-cook neighbor, Marla, uses it in her chicken pot pie recipe to create an extra creamy base for the meat and veggies.

Out of curiosity I visited the Pet Milk® website (one of the more popular makers of canned milk) to see what recipes they had that used canned milk. Oh my goodness, who knew all the many ways to use canned milk?

Soups, chowders, drinks and punches, potato salads, meatballs, fondues, stroganoffs, pasta dishes, dipping batters, mashed and other potato dishes, casseroles, pies and other desserts, scalloped vegetables, biscuits and breads, and appetizers are all enhanced by the addition of canned milk! And I love adding it to thickened cocoa and freezing it for homemade fudgesicles as a summer treat. Basically, as mentioned, canned milk can be substituted successfully in any recipe that calls for milk, cream, or half and half.

And speaking of appetizers, how about setting out a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, the traditional cheese ball? Here’s one of Pet Milk’s cheese ball recipes you might want to try for Christmas dinner:

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