Sugar added concentrated milk - Sweetened condensed milk

Sweetened condensed milk (SCM) is one of the oldest industrially produced dairy products. The method of preserving milk by sterilizing evaporated milk in sealed containers was developed at the beginning of the 1880s. Earlier, in about 1850, the method of preserving evaporated milk by the addition of sugar had been perfected by an American. Gail Borden was the first to conceive and patent a process for condensing milk which proved practical and resulted in the development of a patent on the condensing process in 1856.

Sweetened condensed milks are milk products which can be obtained by the partial removal of water from milk with the addition of sugar, or by any other process which leads to a product of the same composition and characteristics.

Fresh milk is clarified and standardized to a suitable level of fat, and it is then heat treated at 85–90 °C for several seconds. This heating process acts as a hurdle, which destroys the majority of microorganisms. It also decreases fat separation and inhibits oxidation. The water content of the milk is reduced due to evaporation.

The high sugar concentration in sweetened condensed milk increases the osmotic pressure to such a level that most of the microorganisms are destroyed. This product is not heat treated after packaging as its high sugar content preserves it for a long shelf-life. The sugar concentration in the water phase must not be less than 62.5 % or more than 64.5 %.

Condensed milk is a convenient product for household use, processing, as it does satisfactory keeping qualities, it is particular useful on-board ship and in the tropics.

Condensed milk products have several advantages over fresh milk, such as they require less storage space, they retain high quality, they preserve milk’s valuable surplus nutrients, and they reduce transportation costs.
Sugar added concentrated milk - Sweetened condensed milk