History of Sweetened Condensed Milk

As you have probably noticed in many of the Mexican dessert recipes I have shared with you, the use of sweetened condensed milk is widely used. I used to think that only my mom used this sugary milk when she made her cherry cheesecake. This milk has been used for almost 150 years! I had no idea......did you? I was playing around with a couple of recipes given to me by a friend and wondered who decided to combine milk and sugar in a can and make it thick. I found some interesting information and I hope you do too!

History of Sweetened Condensed Milk.

As you can imagine, it had to be a member of the Borden family who developed this milk. In 1851 Mr Gail Borden, Jr. was returning via ship from a trip to England. He was distraught about the death of several children on the ship, apparently from poor milk obtained from the cows on board. He had less than one year of schooling but knew something had to be done to keep milk fresh for more than a few hours. After several failures, he learned of the vacuum pan, used by the Shakers, a religious group. This vacuum pan allowed them to condense fruit juice and using this method he was able to reduce or condense the milk without scorching it. In 1853, his process of condensing milk worked and he was able to produce a usable milk that needed no refrigeration.

Borden had requirements for the farmers who sold him the raw milk, known as the "Dairyman's Ten Commandments", which included washing the udders before milking, keeping barns swept clean, scalding and drying the milk strainers morning and night. By 1858, Mr. Borden's milk, sold as Eagle Brand, was known for it's purity, durability and economy. Sugar was added to extend the shelf life of the milk. It can be kept unopened almost indefinitely.


By the time the Civil War had commenced, over 200 dairy farmers were supplying raw milk to Borden. The U.S government supplied it's Union soldiers with this canned milk as a field ration. After the war, the soldiers told of this wonderful product and it became a household product.


So, as Paul Harvey would have said, 'now you know the rest of the story'.


Click below to read the Dairyman's Ten Commandments”
http://w5ran.com/2010/01/the-dairymens-ten-commandments-mr-borden-1885/

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Vegetable Stock

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Since I recently posted a recipe calling for 6 cups of vegetable broth (stock), I have had a few emails asking for a recipe for stock. There are so many versions but I will give you the one I use. It is very basic and simple and uses very few ingredients. I like simple... adding other flavors to a soup or stew depending on the recipe I want to use. You will see that I don't use onion or garlic in my stock which is not normal for most people. But you will see why in a moment.

Some people save clean veggie scraps all week and freeze them......goodness who in the heck has room in the freezer for that? We still have 100 pounds of ahi tuna in there..... Feel free to save scraps, but I find just using some of my freshly purchased vegetables much easier.

Ok, why I don't use onions or garlic in my stock. I prefer to add those two ingredients freshly sauteedto my recipe. PLUS, I have two dogs that love cooked carrots and celery. There is not much you can do with the mushy veggies you have leftover in that stock, so I smoosh them up and give them to my doggies as a gravy on their kibble with some of the stock. This is a real treat for them.

Please feel free to experiment with many different types of vegetables in your stock. I like mine mild and fresh tasting instead of strong tasting, such as I would get if I used broccoli or other strong vegetables.

This makes about 8 cups and freezes well. Freeze in small 2-3 cup containers.

Ingredients

10 cups cold water

6-8 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 2” pieces

6 stalks celery, scrubbed and cut into 2” pieces (leaves too)

2 large potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2” pieces

2 large squash, scrubbed and cut into 2” pieces

few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried

handful of fresh parsley

2 bay leaves

2 peppercorns

Place all the ingredients in a large pot, no need to cover it. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to simmer and cook for about 45 minutes. Strain the liquid into containers (you will have about 8 cups). Either discard the vegetables or do like I do and give some each day to your doggies. They will thank you.

Note that I do not add salt. I prefer to only add salt to the recipe I am using the broth in. Again, that is a personal preference. I like salt and do not conform to a salt free diet, but I don't want my food tasting like a salt-block.

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