The pharmacist Henry Nestle a German born researcher who sought an economical alternative to breastfeeding to combat infant malnutrition, began experimenting with combination 0f sugar, wheat flour, and cow’s milk in the 1860s.
In 1813, an English patent awarded to Edward Howard described a ‘vacuum pan’ in which milk boiled vigorously at a low temperature of 54.4 °C and half of the water removed.
The American, Gail Borden who concentrated milk by evaporation in a vacuum and then sold the product from open vessel like ordinary milk, was the true pioneer; he also produced a canned condensed milk which preserved by the inclusion of sugar.
The evaporated milk deteriorates as quickly as fresh milk once the can is opened. Whereas the sugar in condensed milk enables it to last longer without refrigeration.
Gail Borden had been a teacher, land surveyor, inventor, real estate salesman and editor. He went into invention the canning of condensed milk.
He researched for several years to develop concentrated milk that can be marketed. He patented condensed milk in 1856. This was the birth of the first sweetened condensed milk in hermetically sealed cans.
In fall 1861, the Commissary Department order the first 500 pounds of condensed milk from New York Condensed Milk Company for the Union Army.
By 1899 twenty-four condenseries were manufacturing condensed and evaporated milk countrywide.
In Europe, tinned milk consumption increased rapidly after the establishment of the Anglo Swiss Condensed Milk Company in 1865 and an export trade emerged almost immediately.
Before that, in 1857, an English patent was granted to Joseph House for preserving unsweetened condensed milk.
By 1890 price had fallen enough to make it appeal to poorer. It became increasingly popular in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Some was produced in Britain, but a rising proportion was imported.
Sweetened condensed milk was cheaper than fresh milk if diluted to the same consistency, and of also kept longer, an important matter in houses with no cool larders.
History of condensed milk processing
