You COULD just eat it off a spoon - or try it on toast! Or use it to replace milk and sugar in your coffee. Or adjust quantities to make this icing for a half batch of patty cakes: Condensed Milk Icing 1 cup sifted icing sugar 1 good teaspoon lemon juice condensed milk flavouring as desired (finely grated orange or lemon rind, vanilla, cocoa, melted dark chocolate, coffee or coffee essence etc) Blend all ingredients, adding enough condensed milk very gradually to make the mixture into a thick cream.

Blimey, that's a sugar-fix-and-a-half, considering that sweetened condensed milk contains vast amounts of sugar! SCM will keep for a long time - several weeks - in the fridge. You don't need to cover it. It's that sugar content that keeps it preserved! I'm another person guilty of eating the stuff from a spoon. I love it! Ever tried it spread on toast?? One of my self-indulgent treats. I mainly use it to make mayonnaise. Just add vinegar and stir. You can play around with it by using different kinds of vinegars, or mustards. You can chop gherkins into it to make tartare sauce, and tomato paste into it with chives for a seafood sauce. I like it with oomph and add Hot English Mustard to mine. The following is a recipe for the easiest and nicest cheesecake in the world. It calls for 1 cup SCM, but you can always make half a batch of the filling and use it to fill mini pastry or crumb cases. Lemon Cheesecake Base: 250g plain sweet biscuit crumbs 125g butter, melted Lightly grease a 23cm springform tin with butter. Combine biscuit crumbs and butter, press mixture onto the base and sides of prepared tin. Chill. Filling: 500g cream cheese 1 cup condensed milk 4 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind 2 teaspoons vinegar 1 cup whipped cream extra cream nutmeg Soften the cream cheese, then beat with condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon rind and vinegar until the mixture is smooth. Carefully fold in the whipped cream. Pour mixture into prepared base and chill overnight. Serve topped with extra cream and sprinkled with nutmeg. Or you can make half a batch of ice cream: Ice Cream (1) 2 tins evaporated milk 1 tin condensed milk Stir all together and put in freezer until partly set. Beat until creamy, then return to freezer. To prevent icing up of the surface, use an airtight container. For variety, add any of the following: any liqueur; dried fruit soaked in liqueur; cocoa or chocolate syrup; crushed nuts; fruit pieces or crushed fruit (especially mango, strawberries or passionfruit); chocolate pieces and peppermint essence; rum and raisins; crushed butterscotch lollies; or top with crushed peanut brittle, toasted coconut, chopped preserved ginger or other additions to suit. Or you can make half a batch of this - or a full batch and add some evaporated milk or cream and a little extra sugar to make up for the quantity of SCM. With all SCM, it's very sweet and very rich, and could do with some adjustment, IMO! Baked Rice Pudding (1) 3 generous tablespoons rice 1 cup condensed milk 2 cups water pinch salt vanilla or other flavouring 2 teaspoons butter pinch nutmeg Put the rice into a buttered pudding dish, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle a little nutmeg on top and bake at 150C for 1 1/2-2 hours until set. Serve hot or cold. Try this on your next cake: Condensed Milk Icing 1 cup sifted icing sugar 1 good teaspoon lemon juice condensed milk flavouring as desired (finely grated orange or lemon rind, vanilla, cocoa, melted dark chocolate, coffee or coffee essence etc) Blend all ingredients, adding enough condensed milk very gradually to make the mixture into a thick cream. Condensed Milk Teacake 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour 1 egg 1 dessertspoon (2 teaspoons) sugar 2 tablespoons condensed milk 1 dessertspoon butter or margarine Sift flour and rub in butter. Add sugar. Beat the egg and combine with the condensed milk and just enough warm water to make a light workable dough. Shape into a roll, glaze with milk and a little sugar and bake in a hot oven. May be served hot or cold, with butter. (Teacakes are usually served for morning or afternoon tea, often sliced thinly and with butter spread on them, but that is optional. I often serve them with a dollop of softly whipped cream.) You can boil up the leftover SCM to make a small batch of caramel sauce! Here's a full-batch recipe: Using a 400g tin of sweetened condensed milk: Oven Method: Pour condensed milk into 23cm pie plate. Cover with aluminium foil; place in larger shallow pan. Fill larger pan with hot water. Bake at 220°C for 1 hour or until thick and caramel-coloured. Beat until smooth. Stovetop Method: Pour condensed milk into top of a double boiler; place over boiling water. Simmer over low heat for 1-1 1/2 hours or until thick and caramel-coloured, stirring occasionally. Beat until smooth. Microwave Method: Pour condensed milk into a 2 litre glass measuring cup. Cook on 50% power (medium) 4 minutes, stirring briskly every 2 minutes until smooth. Cook on 30% power (medium-low) 20-25 minutes or until very thick and caramel-coloured, stirring briskly every 4 minutes during the first 16 minutes and every 2 minutes during the last 4-10 minutes. Honestly, hunt through your recipes (especially things like pie fillings) and you'll get zillions of ideas. You can always make half a batch of anything, as I do all the time anyway, having only one to feed! I know one person who buys SCM in tubes, and uses it to sweeten and milk her coffee. Very convenient at work, she says.

I can also recommend Sharon's (Canarybird) Lemon Squares. These are soooooo goooood! Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table LEMON GRAHAM SLICE ================== SharonCB 1-1/2 cups (350 mL) Graham cracker crumbs 1/3 cup (75 mL) packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) baking powder 1/8 teaspoon (0.5 mL) salt 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine 10 ounces (284 mL)sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup (125 mL) lemon juice 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla Bottom Layer Crumble first 5 ingredients together well and pack into 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) ungreased pan. Set aside. Top Layer Combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla in bowl and stir. Spread over bottom layer. Bake in 350ðF (180ðC) oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and cut into 36 squares. Source: "Company's Coming" - 150 Delicious Squares

12 Questions You Need to Have Answered Before You Eat Splenda From Janet Starr Hull's Health Newsletter, December 2003 The following interview was conducted with Janet Starr Hull on the safety of sucralose found in Splenda. Q: What exactly is Splenda? A: In a simple sentence, you would just as soon have a pesticide in your food as sucralose because sucralose (Splenda) is a chlorocarbon. The chlorocarbons have long been known for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the testing of sucralose reveals that it can cause up to 40 percent shrinkage of the thymus: a gland that is the very foundation of our immune system. Sucralose also causes swelling of the liver and kidneys, and CALCIFICATION of the kidney. Note: if you experience kidney pain, cramping, or an irritated bladder after using sucralose in Splenda, stop use immediately. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: So sucralose is not found as a natural compound in nature, like real sugar? A: Absolutely not. No sugar molecule is compounded with chlorine anywhere in nature. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Do you know how it is made in the laboratory? A: I found this information from a statement from the manufacturer, actually. 'Sucralose is made from sugar, but is derived from sucrose (sugar) through a process that selectively substitutes three atoms of chlorine for three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sucrose molecule. No artificial sweetener made in the laboratory is going to be neither natural to the body nor safer than unprocessed sugar', they claim. People need to stop searching for excuses to eat all the junk food they want without penalty. In the long run, no one benefits from this product but the corporations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: The corporate researchers claim that the chlorine atoms are so tightly bound; they create a molecular structure that is exceptionally stable under extreme pH and temperature conditions. Do you agree? A: They are testing these conditions in lab rats, and these types of corporate studies have forced and 'selective' results, in my opinion. Aspartame research is the proof of this! Test these chemicals on a child and see how stable it is--but that would be cruel. So, why then do we buy it and give it to our children? I don't buy into manufacturers' claims when it comes to human beings using ANY man-made chemical. Plus, I have learned over the past 25 years of aspartame research to value independent research above that which is funded by corporations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: The corporations say sucralose is safe. A: They said the same thing about aspartame, and look at the rampant disease and obesity taking over America since aspartame was put into the food supply over 20 years ago. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Can sucralose cause cancer? A: Any animal that eats chlorine (especially on a regular basis) is at risk of cancer. The Merk Manuel and OSHA 40 SARA 120 Hazardous Waste Handbook states that chlorine is a carcinogen and emergency procedures should be taken when exposed via swallowing, inhaling, or through the skin. It all depends upon how much you use and how often, your present and past health status, and the degree of other toxins you are putting inside your body. Good luck with this one ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Sucralose has been thoroughly tested, they claim. Actually they have stated that sucralose is the most tested food additive in history. I quote, " ... more than 100 studies on the safety of sucralose designed to meet the highest scientific standards have been conducted and evaluated over the course of 20 years. " A: I don't believe that for a second. They stated verbatim the same thing about aspartame. We are looking at the same scenario in so many ways. As with NutraSweet, no human studies, corporate payrolled researchers, selective result reporting, government involvement and personal financial interests and controlled media. I will say that sucralose is not as dangerous as aspartame. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Splenda is approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar. How can that be? A: As I stated before, the product is a forced product, not a natural sugar the body uses for fuel. People forget that sweetness is a by-product of foods--a bonus so to say. Forced sweetness, revved-up sweetness, and artificial sweetness--all altered foods that are a trap for people to get addicted to the sweeter tastes. People with eating disorders, children who are just learning about food, and people with illnesses are all being 'sold a bill of rubbish' in my opinion. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: The manufacturer claims sucralose doesn't react with other substances in the body and is not broken down in the body. A: They claimed the same thing about saccharin, even though I feel saccharin is the only artificial sweetener with true merit. To answer your question, if the body is digesting properly, anything you put into the body will be assimilated. If it happens to be rancid, the stomach will throw it out immediately by vomiting or diarrhea. It is totally out of the realm of biological science to think the body will not immediately attack a toxic chemical. Henceforth, migraines from aspartame and diarrhea from Splenda. Now, to add a note to this: if the body is fed an indigestible product such as plastic (like in margarine) that it is incapable of dissolving through normal digestion, it will pass through undigested (if it doesn't get stuck in the gall bladder, that is.) So, if sucralose is indigestible due to its laboratory compounding, then we have yet another serious health problem to consider, don't you think? Technology is great, but we sure don't need to be eating it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and government food authority committees and the Health Ministries in countries such as Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, and Brazil have confirmed the safety of sucralose. So have the countries of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Uruguay, Romania, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Pakistan, Tajikistan, China, South Africa, and Tanzania. What do you think of all these countries confirming Splenda's safety? A: The history of aspartame has unfortunately proven that individuals within government agencies cannot and should not be trusted to make such empowering public decisions behind closed doors. Now, re-read this list of countries ... Mexico, Jamaica, Tajikistan and Tanzania? These are the countries in which Splenda is now marketed? (See the final question.) As an international geographer, I can comfortably say that these countries are not nations with the same technology and mass marketing strategies to be compared with the United States. These countries are more concerned with birth control, food staples, hostile take-overs, and drought--not diet sweeteners. Compare apples to apples. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Is sucralose safe for children? A: The manufacturer actually made this statement for disclosure: "One should note, however, that foods made with low-calorie sweeteners are not normally a recommended part of a child's diet, since calories are important to a growing child's body." Pay attention ... Children should not be encouraged to grow up on fake foods. But just like cigarettes and alcohol, do what I say and not what I do? And we wonder why the younger generation is angry, ill, and ridden with ADD/ADHD and diabetes?? How many kids do you see taking a sip of mom or brother's diet cola?