Many parents wonder if they can feed their babies evaporated milk or condensed milk, including homemade and commercial versions. So let’s talk more about it!
Overall, your baby can have evaporated or condensed milk if they are at least 12 months old. However, condensed milk is very high in sugar so avoid feeding it to your baby. Additionally, evaporated or condensed milk should not be used to replace baby formula or breast milk in any way.
Let’s dive into more details about if and how to incorporate evaporated or condensed milk into your baby’s diet. Read on to learn more!
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Can Babies Have Evaporated Milk?
Babies who are at least 12 months old can have evaporated cow’s milk, whether commercially made or homemade.
However, it is not recommended to provide any variety of cow’s milk (which includes evaporated milk) to an infant under one year old since it lacks enough vitamin E, iron, and fatty acids that breastmilk or formula milk provides (source: U.S. National Library of Medicine).
Additionally, a baby under age one would have difficulty handling the high amounts of protein, potassium, and sodium it contains.
Feeding cow’s milk to your baby to drink before they are 12 months old can put them at an increased risk for gastrointestinal bleeding (source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]). Therefore, avoid it until they are one.
Evaporated milk is essentially a dehydrated version of cow’s milk. It is unsweetened and is in the form of a powder. Similar to regular cow’s milk, evaporated milk is available in whole-fat, reduced-fat, and fat-free varieties.
When your baby is at the appropriate age, stick with the whole-fat variety of evaporated milk to ensure they are getting adequate fat to grow and develop.
Homemade evaporated milk is typically prepared by heating cow’s milk on the stove. When making homemade evaporated milk, use whole milk as well.
Similar to the preparation for powdered infant formula, ensure that when you are preparing evaporated milk for your baby over 12 months old that the water is from a safe source and the bottle or cup is appropriately cleaned (source: CDC). Wash your hands well before preparing evaporating milk.
Can Babies Have Condensed Milk?
Whether homemade or commercial, it is best to avoid giving your baby condensed milk due to its sugar content.
Condensed milk is very similar to evaporated milk except that it is sweetened. A cup of sweetened condensed milk contains 166 grams of sugar (source: U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] FoodData Central).
While it is technically safe for your baby to consume over 12 months of age, giving your baby foods and beverages lower in sugar can help prevent tooth decay and excessive weight gain (source: National Health Service [NHS]).
Can Babies Have Evaporated or Condensed Milk Instead of Formula?
Babies should not have evaporated or condensed milk instead of formula. Baby formula is specially prepared to have the right combination of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals such as zinc, that your growing baby needs.
Additionally, as mentioned above, it is not safe to feed your baby evaporated or condensed milk, which contains cow’s milk unless they are at least 12 months old.
If you are having difficulty finding a baby formula, reach out to your physician or local WIC office (Women, Infants, and Children Program) for help in obtaining some.
Never attempt to replace your baby’s formula, as evaporated milk does not have the right nutrition for your baby.
Can Babies Have Condensed or Evaporated Milk in Food?
While babies should not consume cow’s milk or cow’s milk products under the age of 12 months, it is okay in small amounts, such as in foods prepared for your infant or cooking (source: Cleveland Clinic).
Though, it is best to avoid giving your baby foods that have a large amount of condensed milk because of the sugar content.
However, cow’s milk or cow’s milk products, such as condensed or evaporated cow’s milk, should not be fed to your baby under 12 months old to drink.
In conclusion, I hope this article was helpful in breaking down the critical information regarding feeding your baby evaporated or condensed milk.
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