We Ukrainians have been making cooked sweetened condensed milk (guschonka) for years, but who knew we were actually making dulce de leche? What’s in a name right? I discovered a new way of cooking this in the crock pot; a safer way. I was poking around my can of sweetened condensed milk and found this:
Oh snap!! This is exactly what I’ve been doing. I’ve heard the can can explode if it’s not fully submerged in water, but could there have been chemicals from the can entering my dulce de leche? Well, I was inspired to try something new! Thanks to Pinterest, I learned that condensed milk can be cooked in a crock pot. I took it one step further to ensure the condensed milk remained untainted while cooking…
Crockpot Sweetened Condensed Milk:
So I used two cans of condensed milk and found 2 little jam jars; washed them clean and poured 1 can of sweetened condensed milk into each. I sealed the tops as tightly as I could by hand.
I then placed them in my Slow Cooker
and completely covered them with hot water from the sink; hot water speeds up the process. I set it on high for 4 hours and walked away (played with my son, sat on pinterest for awhile, cooked and ate dinner, yada yada…) and when it was done, I drained the water and set the cooked sweetened condensed milk cans on the counter to cool. From my reading you can also set it on low for 6-8 hours overnight.
The dulce de leche was perfect. The right color and texture. No mysterious chemicals and now I get to lick the spoon.
When choosing a brand of condensed milk, just make sure the ingredients are simple. This was a cheap-o can and it reads “milk and sugar” – sounds simple enough to me! I’ve never noticed a difference between brands. Have you?
I’m dipping into this tonight with apple slices. What are your favorite dulce de leche recipes?
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Love your tip! Thanks again Natasha!
Natasha,
I, unfortunately, have experienced an exploding can of condensed milk! It was such a horrific diaster, the milk was everywhere: ceiling, walls, floor, window, curtains and cabinets!!! I have been very afaird to cook condensed milk again. This is so great, thank you for sharing
-Anastasiya
Oh noo!! Was it fully submerged in water? I’ve heard that it can explode if its not fully in water. I can only imagine what a mess that would make!!
Just wanted to confirm your suspicion, most of the cans are lined with coating that contains bisphenol A, a hormone-disrupting chemical. Heating up the can with contents still in it will increase the contamination (it’s still present even if the can is kept at room temperature).
I don’t even need to know what bisphenol A is to know I don’t want to eat it. Thanks for sharing!! I had a hard time finding out exactly what was leeching into the food.
We are lucky here in Florida, they sell canned dulche de leche right next to the cans of sweetened condensed milk, so that’s how I always buy it. This is definitely a great idea how to deal with cooking the condensed milk to get сгущёнка. I’ll have to share this with all my friends.
Olga, does it taste the same as cooking it yourself? Is it fully cooked? I’ve never tried the store-bought one. I’ve heard about it too, but never tried it myself.
It tastes exactly the same as the one we’ve been making for years:)
They sell fully cooked condensed milk in Walmart in Hispanic food section. Price is almost the same.
My hubby was left home cooking it, He totally forgot about. Water was completely gone and they started exploding, one after another. We lived in bad neighborhood back than, he assumed it was shooting in our house, grabbed something and went downstairs 
lol… It was huge mess, we had to renovate our kitchen so girls hint hint 
if you want new kitchen 
Experienced explosion
Oh my gosh that’s pretty funny (Not funny for your husband) I guess thats the nice part about using the slow cooker is it turns to “warm” when it’s done in case you forgot about it.
Hi Natasha, just wanted to share with you that they do sell cooked condensed milk at walmart in the mexican food isle, but i still like to cook my own… tastes allot better!
Thanks for the tip! This looks awesome and easy. I cannot wait to try it. Oh and yes, bisophenol A is found in all canned food, in the lining of the can. You bet that it leeches into the food, even if the cans are never warmed up. It leeches into anything it comes in contact with, that is why I never buy canned food anymore. If you don’t believe me, google it. The only canned thing I buy is condensed milk because I have not found an alternative and some of my favorite recipes use sweetened condensed milk.
Trying this today! My husband can’t wait.
Wow! This is a huge surprise to me. It seems like we use boiled condensed milk for almost ALL of our Russian/Ukie dessert recipies. I have to share this with my family, my mom and aunts will be very greatful for this tip! Thank you so much…
God bless and lots of love from Rochester, NY
i bought cooked ones at our russian store and mexican stores, its ok, but home cooked is still alot better!!!
Good to know!
Thanks Luda.
What a great idea Natasha. I agree with Lisa, home cooked tastes much better. Thanks for sharing.
That’s a great idea to cook this in little jam jars, what size did you use? Also just concerned that cooking these glass jam jars in the crockpot on high for 4 hours..is it ok to do that,? So the cooking didn’t crack the glass jars at all? If so that’s great as I have cooked it in the tins and it’s ben fine but I will cook these in the crockpot from now on in Jars..perfect!!!
No damage to the cans at all
Perfect! What size where your jars? Thanks
Mine were a little big. I dont remember how they are advertised in terms of oz’s but I just filled it and it holds exactly 2 cups (or 16 oz) water. I don’t know if there is a size that works well for condensed milk. I think condensed milk cans are 14 oz?
Thanks heaps
My take on the store bought cooked condensed milk: if you add butter to it (which I always do) when I spread it on waffles or mix it with other ingedients say to make a cream for a cake you will never notice the difference. But if you compare the two side by side the one that you cook is better, probably because it’s fresh and it does not have any perservatives. However, I always keep a few cans in my pantry just in case I have guests on a short notice, all you need is a pack of waffles. Your dessert will be done in minutes and no one will even notice the difference (I promise).
Dina, thanks for the tip! Sounds like a quick alternative when life gets extra hairy
I’ve done it on the wood stove – submerging the can in a covered pot. This is great, tho – wouldn’t have to wait for a cold winter day and it would already be in a jar for storage!
wait a second, i grew up in US and i remember sgushonka from my childhood and i always thought it was condensed milk from a can. Are you saying it is actually dulce de leche = sgushonka? I clearly do not remember what it tasted like when i was young.
Anna, yes! If you cook sweetened condensed milk it turns into dulce de leche!
It’s so good with different cakes and this recipe I posted can sit in the fridge for a good 2 weeks or more!
LOL! all these stories reminded me of my hubbys story… he was about 10-11 yrs old, they lived in Ukraine… He loved to cook/bake (his cooking is the best! but thats another story) so one day when his parents were not home, he sat the cans of condensed milk to cook the original way (in pot with water) and went outside to play with boys…. the water evaporated and cans exploded… he came in the kitchen completely splattered with sweet suff all over… and that was AFTER his parents repainted kitchen (just did their spring cleaning before Easter) he was in BIG, HUGE trouble
but still loves cooked sgushchenka (so do my kids) 
Oh no!!! Poor guy; I can only imagine how bad he felt about that! I’m glad that experience didn’t discourage him from cooking. Isn’t it nice to have a hubby who knows his way around the kitchen?
Wow, great tip–I’ve been leery of using sweetened condensed milk very much because of the BPA in cans (and whatever else may be leaching out with heat), so I’m really glad to have found a new method of cooking it, since it’s such a classic Ukrainian/Russian ingredient! Plus my boys love it
.
I feel so much better about cooking it this way too.
Hiya Natasha! Thank you so much for this information. I made dulce de leche very often, I usually use it for my Medovik cream. And I always boil them with the can. It’s relieving to know that I can use these jars to boil them instead. Love your website and your recipes
Thank you Silvia. I have to post Medovik one of these days! Yes I love this stuff too. I can eat it by the spoonful (but I shouldn’t so I only have a small spoonful
Question: After the 4 hours, when you take the jar out is it dark and thick already or does it cool that way. Mine looks really thin and I am at a high elevation so, I may need to cook it longer. Right?
It gets much thicker as it cools. If the color is the same as the cans in the picture it should be done.
I was so glad to find this process. I have made it before, stove-top, in the can but have worried about explosions too.
Thanks for the great tip! And, I am making a Dulce de Leche apple pie and will pass this tip along with due credit to you! Thanks!
Hi Natasha . Making it right now and need to confirm that I don’t put the lid on the crockpot right? Or do I?
Yes put the lid on
Thanks for a fast reply
http://eliotseats.com/?p=9606
Here’s my post with a shout out to you and this fab technique.
Awesome!! Thank you Eliot!
I’m glad you liked it.
What a great idea!!Thank you. I always wandered about this and knew there had to be another way besides cooking it in the can.
Thanks again for taking the time to share these awesome recipes with us. I always get excited when I see a new email from Natasha’s Kitchen. May God bless you in what you do!
Thank you Marina! I was pretty excited to discover it too. I never trusted the boiled can method after hearing explosion stories.
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