Why You Need To Be Cautious When Making Caramel From Canned Condensed Milk

Boil canned condensed milk, they said. It's an easy way to make dulce de leche, they said. All well and good until the can explodes, shooting hot, sticky, burnt milk all over your kitchen. It happened to Jane. "I have a huge mess to clean up that stretches ... everywhere," she said in a TikTok.

Sure enough, Carnation condensed milk comes with a warning: "Do not boil unopened can as bursting may occur." According to Serious Eats, when the boiling water evaporates, leaving the metal exposed, the can may warp, split, or yes, explode.

Does that mean you should heed the condensed milk can's warning and never, ever boil it? Not necessarily. People have been making dulce de leche this way for decades. And for good reason — the process is easy and the result tastes great. As a bonus, it requires almost zero clean-up. As long as the can doesn't burst, that is.

To make dulce de leche instead of a small bomb, follow these dos and don'ts. First and most importantly, do fill your pot with plenty of water. Serious Eats recommends two inches above the can. The real danger comes from walking away and letting the water evaporate.

On that note, don't walk away. Boiling canned condensed milk is so simple that it's tempting to set it and forget it. That's exactly how this TikToker had her dulce de leche disaster. "ADHD got me today," she wrote. "Got distracted and forgot I was making Dulce de Leche and the water line went below the can level." Set a timer at regular intervals to remind you to sneak a peek at your pot and refill it with water as necessary.

Once you've boiled your condensed milk for a few hours, you may think you're out of danger. But there's one more rule to remember: Don't open the can right away. The pressure that has built up in that little hunk of steel could release all at once — and its contents with it.

A small risk of explosion not small enough for you? Make dulce de leche the old-fashioned way: On the stovetop. Combine milk and sugar in a saucepan, then cook for at least two hours, until it has reached your desired level of caramelization.

If you already have cans of sweetened condensed milk but don't want to try the boiling trick, you have manufacturer-approved options, courtesy of Eagle Brand. Pour the condensed milk into a baking dish and bake. Alternatively, pour it into a double boiler and simmer. Either way, you'll have caramel sauce in about two hours.

Or, if you're really scared, just buy it. Look for dulce de leche, confiture de lait, or milk jam at your local grocery store. That way, you can let the manufacturer deal with the explosion risk and enjoy your dessert in peace. No one's going to say no to Impossible Cake, banoffee pie, or alfajores cookies just because the dulce de leche filling was store-bought.