Condensed milk is a viscous, sweet, aromatic pleasure from childhood. After all, cakes and pastries were made from it, they made tea and coffee, and ate just like that with a spoon from a can. Unfortunately, nowadays you cannot eat a modern delicacy with a spoon. due to negligent sellers and manufacturers, there is a possibility of purchasing a tasteless and sometimes unsafe product. This is confirmed by the shocking information from laboratory studies - 90% of condensed milk is fake.

How, in this case, not to fall for deception? Of course, there is nothing better, but there is not always time to cook it. So you have to stand in front of store shelves for a long time and choose condensed milk from all the variety. But in order not to become a victim of a low-grade product, let's figure out what real condensed milk is and how to choose a quality product.

Appearance

The appearance of the container in which condensed milk is sold is the first thing that catches your eye. Naturally, crumpled, rusted packaging repels the purchase. They may have been improperly stored or deformed in transit.

Most likely, the goods inside are also spoiled, tk. crumbled metal or cracked plastic spoil the taste of milk, which can also get dangerous iron particles and small pieces of plastic. The abundance of rust on one of the cans may be a signal that the entire batch of condensed milk was originally packed in a low-quality container, which affects the taste of the product itself.

A bad label or its absence is a sign of a negligent manufacturer. If he did not bother to stick information about the product or deliberately did it on a bad label to reduce the cost, then there is no point in even reading it. If they save on little, then what to say about the condensed milk itself, it is unlikely that there will be delicious condensed milk in the can.

You should buy condensed milk only in its entirety, without visible damage to the package.

Types of packaging for condensed milk

The most common container for condensed milk is a metal can. Traditional packaging initially evokes sympathy, reliably protecting its contents. Recently, more and more often they began to pour condensed milk into plastic jars. And small portions of milk - in bright packages and tubes. By the way, none of the listed types of packaging are dangerous. However, when buying milk in unusual packaging, it is best to focus on the label and study it carefully.

It should be remembered that the shelf life of condensed milk in an iron can is 12 months, and in plastic - up to 3 months.

Product according to GOST or TU

GOST is a sign of the authenticity of a product, a guarantee that it was prepared from real and useful ingredients. Therefore, when choosing a sweetness, you should focus on this indicator.

According to GOST, there are three main requirements for condensed milk:

TU - technical conditions according to which the manufacturer sells his own recipe. And it may contain all kinds of additives that are not always useful to a person.

Unlike GOST, the product according to TU can be packaged in any container, be called by different names ("Condensed milk", "Condensed milk", etc.) and contain many unnecessary components.

It is better to buy condensed milk prepared according to GOST, and not according to TU.

What does engraving on cans mean?

Not the last place among the indicators of high-quality condensed milk is the embossed or applied numbers on the container. They should not be neglected, because they are the carrier of important information and will show you how to choose the right product.

1. Among the numerous letters and numbers on the correct condensed milk, M. should go first. Such a letter, according to all requirements, denotes condensed milk.
2. Next comes a two-digit number, it denotes the manufacturer's code. These figures vary from company to company and do not provide the necessary information.
3. But the following two- or three-digit code is the assortment range of the product. And if you choose a product with coding 76, you are guaranteed to get condensed milk without any additives.

Typically, the second row of numbers indicates the expiration date of the item. You just need to clearly understand what specific dates the manufacturer indicated (the date of creation of the product or the date of final consumption) and, if necessary, make mathematical calculations.

It is important to remember the M and 76 encodings, as well as focus on the expiration date.

Condensed milk composition

The classic composition of condensed milk is milk or cream, sugar. But there is practically no natural milk in the current composition. To reduce the cost of purchases, manufacturers replace it with coconut or palm milk. And the widespread composition of modern condensed milk is as follows: palm fat, milk powder, starch, sweeteners, flavorings, a lot of additives with the E-coded boring.

To protect yourself and your family from troubles and poisoning, you should definitely deal with all the incomprehensible words and terms on the label. Knowing what is hidden under one or another coding in the E system, it is easy to identify the ingredient, understand what it is for and assess the harm it can cause.

Condensed milk should not consist of:

Unfortunately, not all manufacturers declare in their labeling the elements and substances that were used to create the product. Therefore, you should be very careful about unknown condensed milk from a dubious enterprise.

Do not buy condensed milk, which contains a list of E markings, and other additives.

Price

To reduce the cost of their goods, manufacturers can use low-grade cheap products, replacing them at will. As a result, real and “pseudo-condensed milk” may differ in price by 2-2.5 times. Therefore, choosing cheaper milk in the store, you consciously purchase a mixture of milk powder with palm oil.

Focus on your financial capabilities, but remember that "the miser pays twice."

Shelf life of the product

If stored improperly, even good condensed milk may turn out to be of poor quality, but these will already be claims to the direct seller. But in order not to buy expired and stale goods, focus on these storage periods.

Of course, these terms are only suitable for the correct temperature regime. According to the rules, condensed milk should be stored at temperatures from 0C to + 10C without direct sunlight. And being exposed to a sharp temperature drop, remaining in heat or cold, condensed milk will begin to prematurely sugar.

It is necessary to carefully study the expiration date and independently adhere to the storage rules.

Checking the contents in the bank

Correct milk has a pleasant white or light milky color, a homogeneous structure without sugar crystals. The presence of impurities, heterogeneity of the structure. Lumps are a sign of a cheap and low-quality product.

• The presence of additives. If you drop iodine on condensed milk and the mixture turns blue, then starch is present in the composition.
• The presence of fats. Cook the purchased condensed milk. If, after heat treatment, the mass becomes homogeneous and dense, then you bought a quality product, which includes real animal fats and proteins. If the condensed milk darkens poorly and remains viscous in the middle, then the product has a large amount of artificial or vegetable fats.
• Fluidity. Real condensed milk flows from the spoon in a uniform thick stream. A low-quality product has a mucus-like consistency without constant fluidity and “gurgles” from a spoon in lumps.

If the contents of the can raises any suspicion, then it is better to refuse to use this product and, at least, not to give it to children.

Going to buy condensed milk, be vigilant and extremely careful. Don't let someone else cash in on you. Spend a little time studying the purchased product, evaluate the entire assortment and then the purchased product will delight you with its aroma and real milk taste!

What is common between condensed milk, wallpaper glue and toothpaste, what does fake condensed milk consist of?

Distinguish between real and fake condensed milk More than 90%, all condensed milk on store shelves is fake, in such "condensed milk" there is practically no natural milk. The composition of modern condensed milk: milk powder and palm fat. Real GOST condensed milk consists of milk, which gives it a unique taste and fat content. In fake condensed milk, milk fat is replaced with cheap palm oil, and vegetable fat gives condensed milk its favorite consistency.

Counterfeit condensed milk costs the manufacturer half as much as real condensed milk.

Palm fat, refers to solid fats, does not melt from the temperature of the human body, does not soften at room temperature. And it is not absorbed or excreted by the human body, it is deposited wherever possible, in the form of fat, cholesterol plaques. You may have noticed an unpleasant bloom and aftertaste that remains in your mouth after eating foods with palm oil: sweets, chocolate bars, ice cream, especially covered with chocolate icing and many other sweets, and not only there is a lot of palm fat in semi-finished products. It is this fat that forms cholesterol plaques and disrupts the functions of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition to palm oil and milk powder, fake condensed milk contains titanium whitewash - E 171 titanium dioxide, pigment - for clarifying condensed milk (it is also used before making the toothpaste white), not all manufacturers indicate on the label the presence of E 171 in their product, because it is very harmful.

Titanium dioxide is divided into two groups: food and technical, but, using laboratory tests, it is not possible to determine which titanium dioxide contains condensed milk.

Titanium dioxide is also not absorbed by the body, being deposited on the mucous organs. This “product” is prohibited for children under 7 years of age.

Carboxymethyl cellulose CMC - E 466 is the basis of all wallpaper adhesives. CMC provokes allergic reactions and is especially harmful for a growing child's body. This thickener is also added to the cake mask, from which flowers and other decorations are then molded into custom-made confectionery decorations.

Instead of sugar in condensed milk, substitutes E 950 and E 951 are used - these are dangerous sweeteners

Also included are thickeners: modified starch, stabilizers

In appearance, the fake condensed milk is slimy, that is, it does not have the viscosity, like real condensed milk. It does not stretch as a single mass, but falls off in pieces if you pick it up with a teaspoon or dessert spoon. It does not have that pleasant pronounced aroma of milk and it does not stick together on fingers or lips like natural.

Fake boiled condensed milk, in addition to all of the above components, dyes are also added to it to give a characteristic caramel color. This condensed milk contains more water (it is not boiled in order to make more money on water) and in order to bind it and stabilize the consistency, more starch and thickeners are added to it, and then colored with caramel dye.

How to choose real condensed milk

The correct name of condensed milk: "CONDENSED WHOLE MILK WITH SUGAR" on the label on the reverse side says: Whole condensed milk with sugar

Ingredients: whole cow's milk and sugar and all Without other ingredients, E stabilizers, sweeteners and others

Look for GOST

GOST R 53436-2009 “Canned milk products. "Condensed milk and cream with sugar" - This is the national GOST adopted on January 1, 2011. In accordance with it, milk must be made from raw milk, cream, sugar and water. GOST, separates condensed milk, 19% fat content into cream, 8.5% ordinary milk and skim milk no more than 1%

Since 2013, the international GOST for condensed milk has come into force 31688-2012

GOST 2903-78 became invalid on 01/01/2011 - this GOST should not be trusted

DSTU - (state standard of Ukraine) 4274: 2003 Ukraine. If it's Ukrainian condensed milk

Fake condensed milk:"Condensed milk" "Condensed milk" and other names other than "Whole condensed milk with sugar" On the reverse side of the label read the composition: vegetable fat, stabilizers, dyes, bleaches, starch, sucrose

Pay attention to this:

	All about garden plants

The natural condensed milk contains only two ingredients: milk and sugar. On its packaging there should be a mark that the product is produced in accordance with GOST, those variations that are placed in cans are preferred. Real condensed milk is often falsified by adding starch, palm oil, preservatives to the mass; certain compositions of such substances are dangerous for chronic patients and are unacceptable in the diet of children.

What indicators are worth paying attention to

The attention to details of the composition, taste and other properties of the product helps to choose high-quality condensed milk:

1. Only sugar should be present in the composition of real condensed milk.
2. The label must be marked that the product is manufactured in accordance with GOST.
3. Acceptable name - "condensed milk with sugar", other names may indicate a fake product.
4. The technology assumes that the finished mass is packed in a tin can. The container should not be damaged, have dents, scratches or other defects.
5. The shelf life of a natural product is 1 year.

At home, you can check condensed milk by its appearance, a homogeneous thick consistency is inherent in a natural product. Such milk will drain from the spoon in an even strip, counterfeit drips with the formation of clots.

A drop of iodine provides an opportunity to check the mass for the presence of starch. Upon contact with the drug, a poor-quality composition will turn blue.

Frequent violations

It is not so easy to buy natural condensed milk. A significant proportion of manufacturers seek to reduce the cost of an expensive product by using palm and coconut oil, milk powder as ingredients.

To give the resulting mass the desired shade, it is bleached with titanium dioxide. In the composition, this chemical compound is designated by the abbreviation E171.

Thickening of the product and the formation of a homogeneous structure is carried out by introducing modified starch. It makes the appearance of the surrogate more attractive, but worsens its taste, so the next stage of its preparation is usually the addition of sweeteners and flavorings to the composition.

High-quality boiled condensed milk is candied for 30 days; it is even more difficult to find a natural version of such a product on sale than an ordinary one. Most often, customers are offered a dyed and filled with chemical flavoring composition from palm milk.

It is especially important to pay attention to the presence of acesulfame potassium (E950) among the sweetener components. It is contraindicated in certain diseases in adults, it is unacceptable for use in food for children under 7 years of age.

Rating of the best and worst brands

• "Roskachestvo", a state-owned enterprise that pays the greatest attention to the compliance of goods with the requirements of the law and their safety for the health of citizens;
• Roskontrol, a public organization that takes into account the opinion of consumers and data from laboratory analyzes.

Top brands

Research by Roskachestvo made it possible to find out that more than 50% of condensed milk brands in Russian stores show an acceptable and high level of quality. Roskontrol's data is not so optimistic until its employees have accumulated even five product names that they could unambiguously recommend for purchase.

Table 1. Top 5 best brands of condensed milk

Source: official sites of Roskachestvo and Roskontrol

Worst brands

Blacklisted products are essentially counterfeit goods. They are characterized by a lack of fat and protein, the presence of preservatives and phosphates, and taste defects. Among the violations of labeling, those that make one think that the product is intended for the nutrition of children, such as "Milk Rice", are especially dangerous. In fact, neither the name nor the presence of foreign compounds in the composition allows them to be used in the children's diet.

Table 2. Top 5 worst kefir brands

Condensed milk- the product is very tasty and loved by both children and adults. However, many understand that not all manufacturers are conscientious about the manufacture of this delicacy. That is why today we will talk about how to choose condensed milk not only tasty, but also healthy for the whole family.

Let's start with what criteria should be used to choose condensed milk in the store:

1. Label.

When choosing condensed milk, look at the label and read what it says. Good condensed milk must be made in accordance with GOST. In addition, real condensed milk can only be called:

Sweetened whole condensed milk

Condensed cream with sugar,

Condensed milk, skimmed with sugar.

If a delicacy is called "Condensed milk", "Condensed milk", "Boiled condensed milk", Condensed milk and cream "," Varenka "or has other names, it means that it contains substitutes for natural substances. It is better not to take such a product.

low quality condensed milk

the best condensed milk according to the test purchase result

2. Packaging.

Condensed milk can be produced in metal or plastic containers. Both types of containers do not affect the taste and quality of the product, provided that the manufacturing technology has not been violated. Therefore, you cannot buy condensed milk in deformed or dented jars. In addition, even after opening condensed milk at home, it is best to pour it into glass jars.

3. Contents of the jar

Colour. Good condensed milk has a white color with a cream shade. If the product has a greenish tint or light brown color, then it is of very low quality or the manufacturing technology has been violated.

Consistency. It should be homogeneous, without lumps and sugar crystals. The sandiness and powderiness of the product indicates its poor quality.

The sweetness of condensed milk is a sign that it has expired or is coming out.

Smell and taste good condensed milk should be clean (without foreign aromas and flavors) and have a pronounced taste of milk.

Product defects under which in no case it can be used:

Dark spots or mold under the lid

Bitter, musty, rancid, or other odor

Bloated, wrinkled, or deformed cans

Foreign matter in the product.

According to the results of the well-known TV show "Test Purchase", which is held on Channel One, the brand became the leader among condensed milk "Alekseevskoe"- http://www.aif.ru/health/food/1110801.

Alekseevskoe whole condensed milk with sugar - the best product our industry has to offer today.

Gone are the days when condensed milk was a useful product - a concentrate of milk and sugar. Now you can find anything you want in a tin or plastic jar called "sweetened condensed milk". And the inscription: made in accordance with GOST does not guarantee anything.

Hello everyone.
I decided to bring up the topic of safe food. I'll start with condensed milk, beloved by many.
I have been buying this product less and less lately. Mainly for creams and baked goods. I only take condensed milk from a small dairy plant located in the suburbs, as the plant has a generally good reputation. But there are still doubts.
Earlier, when I bought any jars, without hesitation, there was an unpleasant story. Instead of condensed milk, there was a strange mass of rich dirty beige color. Of course, I immediately went to the store to return this product. To which the seller objected to me: "Girl, normal condensed milk, she doesn't stink!"
You know, it really didn't stink. I can’t say anything about the taste, because I didn’t dare to try it. But the money for condensed milk was still returned. After a little scandal.

No milk was found in this milk

And now a few words about the condensed milk itself.

Ideally, this is natural condensed milk with sugar. As the name suggests. No additives. From this, its production began. This composition was fixed by GOST 2903-78.
But since 2002, entrepreneurs realized that they can save on production and technical conditions appeared, TU in a simple way. That is, the composition was not regulated, but at the discretion of the manufacturer. There could be anything in these banks. But the price for the jar was also lower.
Gradually, the main component - milk - was replaced with various substances that helped to achieve the required fat and acidity indicators. They began to add vegetable fats, then they replaced them with palm oil, and in some places with substandard fats. Instead of natural milk, first milk powder was used, then waste from cheese production - whey.
As a result, the condensed milk has lost not only its taste parameters. But the main thing is that it has lost its use. And in some places, it is now a really dangerous product. The programs often contain information about the detection of hazardous dyes and stabilizers in condensed milk. Disturbed microflora of the product is also reported.

By the way, the presence of GOST on the bank is also not a panacea. Because, firstly, as it turned out, many businesses simply lie that their banks have nothing but milk and sugar.
And secondly, a smart loophole in the legislation appeared for manufacturers. The strict Soviet GOST was replaced by GOST R 53436-2009, which allowed the absence of a pronounced taste of milk and allowed the use of the list of additives E.
And then GOST R 53507-2009 was adopted, which further expanded the scope of using all kinds of components in condensed milk.
Please note that the bank may also bear the inscription GOST ISO 9001-2001. But it has nothing to do with condensed milk. This is the certification of the plant for compliance with the quality management system.

Doubt VS sympathy

Climbed through the forums. And I made up a small list of condensed milk producers who are spat on and whom they prefer. Maybe it will be useful to someone. If you have any additions, write x in the comments to the article.

So, manufacturers with a minus sign:

• Verkhovsky Combine - Glavprodukt
• Gagarin Combine
• Porechsky combine
• Ostankino

I found positive reviews about them:

• Alekseevsky (Russia)
• Rogachevsky Combine (Belarus)
• Glubokoye Combine (Belarus)

How to choose real condensed milk

There are several points to consider when choosing.
When buying, pay attention to where the condensed milk is. Condensed milk in cans has a shelf life of 1 year at temperatures from zero to +10 degrees. So in the store, condensed milk should be in the refrigerator.
Don't buy cheap boiled milk. Substandard products of the plant are poured into it and digested. Often with significant excesses in terms of microbiology. Which is already dangerous. However, if white milk with microflora bombards the jar, swells, then there will be no boiled milk, although the microflora there will be unreal.

Do not take bottled condensed milk - such a 1 kilogram bottle of real milk should cost at least 100 rubles. The cheaper milk should raise suspicion. Plus, in plastic, it is possible for air to enter the product.
And the main thing is the price. If you see a unique offer of a can of condensed milk for 20-25 rubles, this is a fake condensed milk from unknown low-quality products. A can of real condensed milk will cost at least 50 rubles.
After all, not a single plant will operate at a loss. This means that you will remain at a loss, buying and feeding your family with an incomprehensible and unsafe product.

And in the light of everything written above, I decided to learn how to cook condensed milk at home. I wanted to start right now, but my son came from school and made me happy that they had tea tomorrow. I'm going to bake wafer rolls)))
And as soon as I cook condensed milk, I will share recipes and taste sensations. Come back for a tasting!

And finally, a video. This is a documentary about what condensed milk is made of. Horror. And there are the results of the examination of several GOST condensed milk, well-known manufacturers, in which milk is not found or it is much less than expected. By the way, trade names are not closed)