Condensed Milk Sauce
Condensed Milk Sauce is a thick, sweetened dairy paste used in bakery and beverage manufacture as a filling, spread and flavour base, built around sweetened condensed milk or its reconstituted equivalent.
The base is milk that has been concentrated by evaporation and stabilised with sucrose, so that sugar in the water phase suppresses water activity and controls microbial growth. Industrial sauce versions extend that base with glucose syrup, vegetable fat or butter oil, milk powder and an emulsifier, and add a starch or hydrocolloid thickener to give a body that holds shape when deposited. Many versions are lightly caramelised, which develops the cooked milk and toffee notes associated with dulce de leche.
The product is a viscous ivory to pale caramel paste with soluble solids typically between 68 and 75 Brix and a water activity low enough for ambient storage in sealed packaging. It is fully miscible with water and milk, so it disperses into drinks and creams without grain, and it softens rather than melts on heating. Bake stable versions resist boil out inside pastry, while spreading grades are formulated to stay soft and pipeable at room temperature.
We source bulk Condensed Milk Sauce from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Jiangsu. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Bakery ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Smooth viscous paste, free from lumps, skin and foreign matter |
| Colour | Ivory to light caramel, uniform |
| Flavour and odour | Sweet cooked milk, no rancid, oxidised or scorched note |
| Soluble solids | 68.0 to 75.0 Brix |
| Total milk solids | Not less than 24.0% for dairy grade |
| Fat | 8.0 to 12.0% |
| Moisture | Not more than 28.0% |
| pH at 20 degrees Celsius | 6.0 to 6.6 |
| Water activity | Not more than 0.85 |
| Lactose crystal size | Not more than 15 micrometres, no sandy mouthfeel |
| Lead | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Total plate count | Not more than 1000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and mould | Not more than 50 cfu/g |
| Coliforms | Not more than 10 cfu/g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
The main division is between sauce made from genuine sweetened condensed milk, which carries a milk fat and milk protein declaration, and vegetable fat filled versions in which part or all of the milk fat is replaced with palm or coconut based fat. Filled grades are cheaper and firmer at ambient temperature, and they behave more predictably in tropical distribution, but they cannot be labelled as condensed milk.
Beyond that, buyers specify caramelisation level, from a pale uncooked sauce through to a deep dulce de leche shade, plus Brix, viscosity at a stated temperature, and whether the sauce is bake stable or intended for cold application. Sugar reduced grades built on maltitol or a polyol and high intensity sweetener blend are produced for reduced sugar bakery, and lactose reduced versions are made for markets where lactose intolerance drives demand.
Applications
- Injected filling for buns, doughnuts and steamed breads, where the bake stable grade stays inside the crumb rather than soaking into it
- Sandwiching and topping for biscuits, wafers and alfajor style products
- Swirl phase in cakes, muffins and Danish pastries, deposited before baking
- Sweetening and body base for milk tea, bubble tea and bottled coffee drinks, replacing separate sugar and creamer additions
- Toffee and caramel flavour base in ice cream ripples and dessert sauces
- Filling for egg tarts, custard buns and Chinese bakery pastries where cooked milk flavour is expected
- Spread for retail toast and pancake products, packed in cups or squeeze bottles
- Component of buttercream, mousse and ganache, contributing dairy solids without added water
China Manufacturers of Condensed Milk Sauce
Top Condensed Milk Sauce manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Condensed milk sauce sits in two regulatory frames at once. Where the product is sold as sweetened condensed milk it must meet the compositional standard for that food, which in the United States is the standard of identity for sweetened condensed milk in 21 CFR Part 131 and internationally the Codex standard for evaporated and sweetened condensed milks. Those standards fix minimum milk fat and milk solids content and limit what may be added. A vegetable fat filled sauce falls outside those standards and must be named as a milk sauce, filled milk product or similar, according to the naming rules of the destination market.
The additives used, principally modified starch, carrageenan, sodium and potassium phosphates and mono and diglycerides, are permitted in the European Union under Regulation 1333/2008 with assigned E numbers, and in the United States under generally recognised as safe status or specific food additive listings. Milk is a declarable allergen in all major markets. Products traded internationally are also subject to Codex limits for contaminants and to residue controls on milk of animal origin.
Manufacturing Process
Production starts either from fresh milk or from recombined milk made by dispersing skimmed milk powder and butter oil or vegetable fat in water. The mix is standardised for fat and solids not fat, preheated, and homogenised to stabilise the fat emulsion. Sucrose and glucose syrup are dissolved into the mix, then the batch is concentrated in a falling film or vacuum pan evaporator until the target soluble solids are reached. Vacuum evaporation keeps the temperature moderate and limits uncontrolled browning.
Where a caramelised sauce is wanted, the concentrate is held under controlled heat so that the Maillard reaction between lactose and milk protein develops colour and toffee flavour to a defined endpoint measured by colorimeter. Thickener and emulsifier are dispersed in, and the sauce is pasteurised in line, then hot filled at above 85 degrees Celsius into pails, drums or bag in box and cooled rapidly. Crystallisation control matters in condensed milk systems, so cooling is managed to keep lactose crystals below the size at which the sauce feels sandy on the tongue, and seed lactose is sometimes added at the cooling stage for that purpose.
