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Cost: $ $ $ $ $

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Time: 2h25

Boiled Sweetness!!!
My mother-in-law told me about this one and I just had to try it.
Turned out pretty good, and it's really rich, so I'm gonna add bananas to the pie I made if there's any left by the time i get them, to kinda even out the sweetness.

BTW, you don't have to use your caramel right away, you just put the can back in the cabinet to save for later use.

Posted by Creativemind from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States • Published 5th June 2009 • See Creativemind's 116 projects »

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Melissa Beth added Caramel In A Can to Foodening 14 Nov 10:37
Melissa Beth favorited Caramel In A Can 07 Nov 04:01
Kala V. favorited Caramel In A Can 16 Jul 19:51

Step 1
First you remove the wrapper from the can and start boiling your water before you put in the can.

Sorry, no pic for this, like you guys would need one.
Step 2
Now you just boil on medium high for 2 hours, making sure the water stays above the top or right below the little lip of the lid.
I had another pot of water that I had on, but not on high, just to have hot water when the water level got low. Of course I had to refill it sometimes to have it on hand when I needed to raise the water level.
Step 3
After the time is up and if you want to use your caramel right away, carefully pour out the water and remove the can, refill it with ice water and replace the can in the sauce pan or pot (I actually switched pots). Periodically shake and flip the can over, do this for 15 minutes, at least that's how long I left mine in.
You can feel the top of the can for warmth, which will give you some idea how cool it is.
Step 4
And there you have your caramel!!

I learned from my mother-in-law's mistake to cool it off first, because she used hers right away without cooling, her cool whip melted when she added it on top of the caramel.
Step 5
I actually used mine to make a caramel pie, using the same method with my kool-aid pie, just without the kool-aid.

I added it to one small tub of cool whip.
Step 6
Mixed it.
Step 7
And poured it into a 9inch pie shell. I found that I only had to use one pie shell for the entire mixture and it has a fairly thin consistency, so it poured easily.

Chill it for a couple of hours and it's ready for serving.

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Comments

Creativemind · Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US · 116 projects 27th December 2010

Ok, it's getting a bit irritating for ppl to keep posting what they think is a better way of doing this. If you want ppl to see it done your way, then post your own project or whatever for it and stop trying to correct me, especially when "again", I haven't had anyone say they had a problem with any dangers, nor have I read anywhere where boiling cans is a danger besides contamination. I googled it eons ago and found nothing.

xxthat girlxx · Worcester, Massachusetts, US 23rd December 2010

Here's a safer way to caramelize condensed milk.

"Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Pour one can of sweetened condensed milk into an 8" glass pie plate. Cover with foil and place in a shallow pan. Fill pan with hot water. Bake one hour or until thick and caramel-colored."

Original Text: http://www.foodsafetysite.com/consumers/faq/index.html?m_knowledgebase_article=324

This is how I make the toffee for my banoffee!

Creativemind · Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US · 116 projects 19th August 2010

Yeah ok, had no incidents of anything exploding ever and no reports of anybody else with exploding cans. Besides keeping the water level high over the can for it all to completely "caramelize", it's also making sure that won't happen, of course I have heard of people boiling other foods in cans and nothing exploded, so the only danger I see is possibly the food getting contaminated with what they use in recycling the metal. And I'm not from Argentina so I'm calling it caramel.

Owl Tattoo 19th August 2010

This isn't caramel; it's Dulce de Leche, an Argentinian specialty. This is the most dangerous way to do it because the can becomes pressurized. Make sure that if you use this method, you don't drop the can because it will explode and shoot tin can shrapnel all over your kitchen and you. It's also very very important that you don't use damaged cans. The link below has an excellent alternative that lessens the danger slightly, although it's still not safe by any means.

http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/01/dulce-de-leche.html

Creativemind · Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US · 116 projects 12th May 2010

Neh, it's ok, but yeah it has to boil for a very long time and completely under water the whole time. Mine turned out good the first I tried it. I did learn from my mother-in-law's experience though to wait for it to cool off before using. She used hers before cooling it off so the cool whip she put on top melted right into it. Anywho, keep me posted on your 3rd attempt. Good luck!!

♥.Pe@chy=] · Southern, Virginia, US 12th May 2010

alright, so ive attempted this twice! the first time i tried to remember the recipe from a quick glance- FAIL. i only put it on the stove for 30 mins! haha! then i check back and it says 2 hrs, but as i read previous comments,i though id do it 4hrs [just so it doesnt mess up this time]]].another fail, i forgot to keep the water level above or exact to the top of the canXD so now i will do this a 3rd time=] sorry for the long comment=P

♥.Pe@chy=] · Southern, Virginia, US 8th May 2010

<3GENIUS!=]

Creativemind · Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US · 116 projects 5th May 2010

Haha @Dessah H.! Actually my mother-in-law told me about it, but I don't know where she got the idea.

CO + K User

May 5th, 2010

This is how you make caramel? That's so weird! Wonder who the first person to figure this out was..."Say...lets just put a can of something on to boil for a few hours and see what happens!"

I'm so curious to try this now!