My mother-in-law told me how she made caramel decades ago with sweetened condensed milk. I have sons done it over a hundred times. Thankfully only once did it end like this. On the plus side though you could literally lick my walls. No I didn't . OK, maybe just a little, lol
by HistoricalPermit6959
45 Comments
If you even do it again (will you?) perhaps put them in an instant pot with lid on (and vent open) to contain any… surprises?
Geez….
I’ve been cooking cans of condensed milk in the pressure cooker for years, and it’s still one of my biggest fears. I hope no one got hurt!
Holy shit, I would thow the apron on the counter and walk away. That is both hilarious and infuriating, not sure I would laugh or cry. Maybe both.
Were you in the vicinity? Did you also look like the ceiling?
That’s going to take a hot minute to clean up. I feel for you.
crying just looking at this
I would simply move
My mom was once walking to the kitchen table with a giant bowl of chipped beef gravy for breakfast. My little brother threw up his hands in the air at the exact moment she walked behind him. Bowl flew up, contents of bowl flew into ceiling fan. Our kitchen looked remarkably similar to this afterwards – the clean up was….lengthy!
First off, holy shit, how scary. I hope no one got hurt!
Second, I REEEEEAAALLLYYYY hope you don’t live in an area that gets ants….
OMG i saw this hack online and wanted to try it. My husband who is real good with science absolutely shut it down. Now I know why!
I am so overwhelmed by this. Just hire a major cleaning company to help you. Like fire or flood cleanup. Heavens!
I think it would be faster to build a new kitchen.
When I was young we knew someone who got badly hurt when the car exploded, I’m sorry this sucks but glad that you didn’t get shrapnel in the face. You can buy the pre-made caramel now, at least where I am in the UK you can.
Oooohhhh… so THIS is why people have tiny canning kitchens. I always figured it was for counterspace and so it wouldnt be disturbed
OMG I would sit on the floor and just cry!
Sounds like Dulce de Leche, not caramel, although it tastes much the same.
It is the standard method to make it, and I always wondered if that was safe. I’ve never done it myself.
Good luck!
Took me awhile to figure out what happened. Coz to me it looked like those very old soviet era apartments in Russia.
What in the Fall Out New Vegas.
Where do you even start with cleaning that 😭
I had the exact same “explosion of flavor” in my kitchen about a decade ago. I forgot that the cans were on the stove and too much of the water evaporated. Now I always set a bunch of timers to remember to check in it when I make it. It took forever to get all the creamer off the walls and ceiling…
Totally thought this was r/crimescene for a sec
Ohhh my god. RIP 🪦
Was it a pull tab lid? I stopped boiling those because of exactly this fear.
This is when you decide hiring professionals to clean up is 1000% worth it!!
Boiled the cans? What do you mean by that?
Oh no! Where are the giraffes with the really long tongues when you need them?
Apparently you can just microwave the condensed milk. Not only is it quicker, but also you don’t run the risk of killing yourself, or making this mess.
To be clear DO NOT PUT METAL IN A MICROWAVE. But also I would say don’t boil cans. Prior to clicking this post I didn’t even know people did something so stupid. Just because your grandma did it doesn’t mean you should. Just because you’ve done it 1000 times with no problems doesn’t mean the picture above won’t happen.
Imagine if you were walking up to the stove to top up the water right as it exploded and you get a face full of boiling caramel and potentially shrapnel. Or worse imagine if your kid walks into the kitchen when it happens and now your kid has melted face the rest of their life because you hate common sense.
(to be clear the you and yours are all people that boil cans, I’m not trying to rag on OP)
Can someone break this down for me? OP put closed metal cans of sweetened condensed milk (or something else?) into a pot of boiling water and walked away? Why???
I’ve always been afraid to do that, both for that reason and the lining in the cans leeching into the dulce de leche. What I do is use small canning jars with lids on very loosely, put a silicon pad on the bottom of the pot, and use the slow cooker. You not only will not explode a can, but you can see how dark the caramel is getting. I made two at once, one I left in longer so I had light and dark caramelization.
I just looked up the directions for doing this and wonder if there was a step you didn’t follow, like making sure the can was always covered with water or turning the heat to simmer.
To boil a can of sweetened condensed milk, remove the label, place the unopened can in a deep pot, and cover it with at least 1-2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2.5 to 4 hours, ensuring the water level remains high throughout. After simmering, let the can cool completely in the water before carefully opening and using it.
Thank you, now I can remove trying this from my bucket list
It happened to me once. It was a chocolate condensed milk 🙁
This is how you make dulce de leche not caramel but this is exactly why you cannot make them with the pull tab lid and ONLY with a regular lid. Even then you need to open it slowly and only after it’s cooled.
Oh no! Everyone and their abuela does this. You simmer the can for dulce de leche and make sure it stays underwater (it cannot float). In theory it can explode, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually living that nightmare. Definitely no photographic evidence. May it rest in peace… or in syrup.
This is why they say on the can not to boil it whole.
Reminds me of the time my partner lightly shook a dressing bottle. The cap stayed om, the bottom fell off. Cleaning up glass and vinaigrette is not how I usually like to spend my evenings, lol.
No idea what happened, the bottom just fell off. The mess was instant and incredible.
This happened to my mother when I was a kid. She had the scars for years, luckily faded now! IIRC there was still caramel on the ceiling when we moved years later.
So the limit is 99?
Just don’t do this for caramel, if you aren’t going to be able to watch it.
OP, you can do something similar without this dangerous situation. Take your condensed sweetened milk and dump into a oven safe dish, cover with aluminum foil. Grab a roasting pan and fill it with about 1 inch of water. Place your dish in roasting pan and bake in oven at 425 F. for about 60-90 minutes, you will want to periodically check to make sure water has not evaporated.
Ngl I think I would actually burst into tears if this happened to me, not because of the fact that it went wrong but just imagining the cleanup effort
You sit down and cry for a bit and then tackle it, one section at a time and hope you have a couple of really good friends to help.
At least thats how I handle things of this nature. They aren’t going away, they aren’t going to get any better by ignoring it and usually you have helped a friend or family member out in a similar situation and they will show up for you.
But having a good old pity party/rage cry is perfectly fine, just don’t stay there.
One time I dropped like half a gallon of salsa my husband made for some reason and it splashed all over the ceiling, cabinets, EVERYWHERE. It has been years and I still find it.
Oh no, I’d have a for sale sign out front that said AS IS lol. So sorry
Scrolling through my feed, I legit thought these pics were from a crime scene. 😅
I boil cans but i use a slow cooker with a lid on and a thick layer of towels on top just in case. So far, so good.