We put the answer to this question at the end of one of our other answers, where we rambled on happily for a while about evaporated milk. We thought people would read to the end. Silly us. Sometimes it takes us a while to learn life's harsher lessons. Sorry you didn't see it.

You make evaporated milk by reducing it - or evaporating away much of the water it contains. Don't boil it, because it will scorch and stick like mad to your pan, resulting in a grumpy dishwasher. Simmer it until it is reduced by more than half. Commercially produced evaporated milk has had 60% of its water removed.

In these days of instant cooking and gratification, it is rare to find someone who would rather take the time to evaporate his or her own milk than pick up a few cans at the store. But, if you don't want to buy canned evaporated milk - and since you won't have read to the end of this piece anyway - it's nice to know there is an alternative.