How much rum can you add to the milk before it is too much (ie: not thicken b/c of the rum)?

This will sound like a stupid question to some b/c there's no way to really have too much rum in something!! haha

I love tips like these! Thanks!

O.k. so I tried this. I boiled this for about 20 minutes and it thickened up, but has a rough texture to it. Plus it doesn't taste very caramelly, if that's a word. My kids have enjoyed it though. Could it have been the brand I used? I used the GreatValue brand.

Can you dip apples in this?

I tried this again with a non stick pan and it's great! I am so happy now I can add caramel to my christmas baskets! thanks for sharing this kelly75

I have a question about how hard the caramel will be when it cools. I have a recipe for caramel apple pie that is great when it's hot. I wanted to give some to the neighbors, but I was afraid that when it was cold the caramel would be too hard to bite through when you're eating pie and not expecting hard caramel. So if you use this as a filling for a cake, are you chewing through caramel as you're trying to eat the cake or does it melt in your mouth? I would love to try this method of caramel. Thanks for sharing it.

Cakey I think it depends on how long your cook it. I cooked mine until it was noticably firm for hard caramel.

toristreats...same thing happened to me. And I also used the great value. hmm, may go get the carnation or just make my own...

I wonder if its just the brand. I think I probably will stick to my mom's recipe for homemade caramels. It is so yummy. It takes longer to make, but they are worth it.

I think I'll stick to mine tried and true also....but I may for curiousity sake go get a can of carnation..

ok so i'm a bit late but i would like to know also if you can use this on apples. If you roll it into a rope and cut is it very sticky? I would also like to add this to my christmas baskets but i dont want to individually wrap each one.

Does this turn out too thick to actually frost the outside of the cake with? And you would have to go back to the old way of making caramel filling if you used evaporated milk...add sugar....vanilla etc.
Also if you boil it in the can do you just time after it starts to boil and go for a hour and a half??

Has anyone tried adding a little butter to the condensed milk. I would think It would help with the sticking part. I plan to try this today. I'll let you know.

Any of the saucepan or microwave methods discussed here are preferable to boiling the sealed can in water. There is the danger the can may explode and that method is strongly discouraged by sweetened condensed milk manufacturers.

Well thanks for the tip I usually make carmel the way they taught us in school but this is a short cut and I like the sound of this.

this is great! I always make caramel from scratch with sugar and cream. What a time saver, thanks.

I visited Brazil one summer in college. They use this method to make a candy called brigadero. It's sweetened condensed milk and couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder boiled until thick. Then you need to butter your hands (it's super sticky stuff) and roll out small balls of it. After you've rolled several, brigadero is traditionally rolled in chocolate sprinkles or coconut.

Sugar overload!!! So addictive!!!

Cool! I have been wanting to try the can method, but didn't realize it had to be on the burner so LONG!! Thanks for the tip!

I had no idea it was so easy to much caramel, and truffles, this is great!! Thanks Guys!

oh and this may have been said already, but Im going to pour some over my popcorn!!!! Caramel popcorn!!! Somebody slap me!

I didn't realize this was such an old thread when I started from the beginning. I am glad cocorum was able to use a non stick pan and had success. I thought I'd pass on a tip re burnt on foods: After scrubbing out as much as possible, I sprinkle a good coating of dishwasher detergent in the pan, add about 2" of water and simmer gently. Then let it rest overnight and scrub out again in the morning. I have managed to rescue several pans this way. (You'd think I'd learn eventually and be more careful.) Another method I haven't yet tried is to simmer a pan with a dryer sheet in it. Quite frankly, I hope I never have the need to give it a try.

To get back on target, I have always used the boil in the can method and am anxious to try this open pot version. I do make caramel candies with my old tried and true long recipe, but have only considered that for candies. This "new" method is going to go into a caramel pecan filling this weekend! Yum!

I make mine in the pressure cooker at least once a month. I was scared when I first tried it (I would shield my face when I went in the kitche to check on it..haha) but it's sooo easy and no mess and it can stay in the can until needed. I love it. I made some last week to put in the cake on my avatar. What I do is remove the labels to the sweetened condensed milk place your can/s (I do 4 cans) into the pressure cooker COVER the cans with at least 1" of water. Bring pressure cooker to rock then reduce heat to a slow rock and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool completely. I don't open the cans until the next day. Never open a hot can it will explode.

What are your thoughts about using the easy pull top cans? I hesitated at the store today and bought the old good style. Are the easy open more subject to pressure issues? (I know it is not recommended, but do want to minimize whatever risks there might be.) The pressure cooker sounds ideal. Although I wanted to give the open pan method a try, I do like to keep several cans on the shelf.

Thanks for this great tip! I was boiling it in the can and always worried if it was the safest thing (rust, toxins etc!) but now I have just finished a batch and it is looking mighty fine! >_<   I am going to put a few drops of vanilla essence in just to jazz it up a bit! (I know food nerd - but what the hey!)

I tried it and it was a great success! Never again will I be boiling cans for hours! Thank you!

If you have a Mexican/Hispanic grocery store in your area, you can buy Nestle Dulce de Leche.  It is sweetened condensed milk, already boiled for you into a thick caramel.
 

Saves another step if you are trying to achieve a very thick caramel.

Liz

Thanks for the tip, I can't wait to try it!  I'll also keep my eye out for the Nestle Dulce de Leche--thanks Liz!  

I'm wondering if a cake filled with this caramel (sweetened condensed milk cooked straight from the can as it is, without the other typical ingredients like sugar, butter, corn syrup) would need to be refrigerated?  My thought is that it does (since it doesn't have the other sugars to help preserve it), but thought I would double-check and ask anyway 

I'm gonna try this the next time I make caramel sauce, thanks for sharing!