BLENDING LEMON AND CARAMEL

The other day at Albertsons, I noticed they were clearing short-dated Nestle’s “La Lechera” sweetened condensed milk. I hadn’t used this brand before, but sweetened condensed is the base for Mike’s homemade ice cream and also his mother’s recipe for “icebox lemon pie,” one of his all-time favorites. As the product grows ever more expensive, I watch for it on sale.

At home, I researched online to be sure La Lechera was really sweetened condensed milk and found that it was indeed interchangeable with Eagle Brand. Back at the store a week later, I was surprised to see that those cans were still in the clearance bin, so I bought half a dozen. “What a deal!” I thought to myself.

That afternoon, I decided to give my great purchase a try and make an icebox lemon pie. For once, I had everything I needed – fresh lemons, fresh eggs, a graham cracker crust, and my newly-purchased sweetened condensed milk. First, I juiced the lemons, and then I opened the can of product. Uh-oh! Instead of creamy and off-white, it was stiff and brown! At this point, I learned something new of which other shoppers were evidently aware – that sweetened condensed milk is also available in varieties, including caramel and chocolate. I had caramel – every can.

So, there I was with a half cup of freshly-squeezed lemon juice and an open can of stiff caramel sauce. I wondered what I might do with this odd combination and came up with absolutely nothing. Searching harder online, I eventually found a food blogger who said she prefers to use the caramel product for her lemon pie. Something about the caramel tempers the lemon, she said. So, on the strength of her words, I finished making my pie. The color wasn’t great, but after devouring several slices, Mike agreed with the blogger and said he prefers it. He also looks forward to trying it in his ice cream.

Well, finding this product was a happy surprise. It’s not pourable like sweetened condensed, but we can deal with it. And while I’m on the subject, I’ll just add that the less expensive store brand sweetened condensed milk was not to our liking. KW