I’ve seen this pin a lot. I always read it and sort of dismissed it because it 
seemed too simple, too easy. Supposedly all you need for delicious caramel is a can of condensed milk. Mmmmm warm caramel. One of my favorite things to put on my ice cream! So you submerge the whole can in water in the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. It took me a while to do this one because it requires thinking ahead, at least 8 hours ahead, which is not my strong suit. Finally I did remember and so here are my thoughts.
First, right on the label it says to not heat the can. Hmmm, 
pourquoi? It gives no reasons. Without some symbols for radiation or poison I thought I’d take my chances. Nothing exciting happened, good or bad. It just looked like a can in hot water. For 8 hours. By the 
end it did look a little suspect, with what looked like either leaking caramel or rust on the can. It took me a few minutes to determine how to take it out of the crockpot. Super hot water and super hot can…. tongs? Nope. Hands? absolutely not. Slotted spoon? Winner! Definitely the best option. After getting the slippery sucker out I put it in a bowl to cool, and honestly, forgot about it for at least an hour. At dessert time I had an epiphany and ran to get some ice cream with caramel sauce.
Just opening the can the caramel started oozing out looking fabulous. It’s a bit thicker than the store bought stuff and lighter in color. Honestly a little less appetizing to me. So I scooped some out, drizzled on the ice cream and took a bite. Yum. Is it the best I’ve ever had? Nope, not really a contest. But it is good. And it’s easy and cheap! A can of condensed milk will run you maybe $1-1.50. And it’s unattended cooking which is easy. (:
Bottom line – great short cut
Not the most impressive caramel sauce ever, but still tasty. It’s a super short cut that’s cheap and easy, as long as you can think at least 8 hours ahead. I’m also wondering how long it will keep. I imagine in a sealed container in the fridge it would last long enough. Long enough to eat all of it that is.
Stephanie
O'Charley's Caramel Pie is made with this - pour that caramel into a graham cracker crust, refrigerate, top with whipped cream and miniature chocolate chips and you have their dessert. ;)
ReplyDeleteThey might be recommending against heating the can because of BPA, which is a toxin in most food cans and is released when the can is heated.
ReplyDeleteIt's usually in plastic as well, and it mimics estrogen in the body, which of course has eeeenteresting effects.
Thanks for the info Brigid! that is not something I want to be eating! I didn't realize that BPA was in cans too! blech!
DeleteBPA is an endocrine disruptor - causing such effects as metabolic syndrome(type 2 diabetes, anyone?), increasing the likelihood of estrogen-related tumors and disorders, among many other things. It is banned in quite a few countries. Not in ours, apparently, as we seem to be the United States of LOBBY MONEY! Anyway, this particular caramel is toxic, long story short.
ReplyDeleteYou do know that the canning companies process the canned foods IN the can at higher temperatures than we're talking about here. Also, you don't need 8 hours. 2 hours submerged in gently boiling water on the stovetop yields the same results.
ReplyDelete