Sweetened condensed milk has two main spheres of use: Desserts and drinks. And while most dessert recipes call for a whole can of the stuff, smaller treats—like fruity shaved ice—and drinks often call for a drizzle or dollop, leaving you with leftover condensed milk.
Once opened, the creamy, syrup-like dairy will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks, and I suggest you use that time to make and drink as many Brazilian limeades as you can.
According to the New York Times, Brazilian limeade is “also known as limonada Suíça, which translates to Swiss lemonade, because it typically includes sweetened condensed milk, which was marketed by the Swiss company Nestlé in Brazil in the 1940s.” Whatever you call it, it’s delicious. A cloudy combination of blended whole limes, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and ice, it is intensely flavored, but no one flavor lingers on your tongue for too long. It’s tart, then sweet, then creamy, then bitter, in rapid succession.
You’re gonna need a blender:
A big pitcher of the cloudy, sweet and tart, and slightly bitter beverage is welcome at any gathering, but it’s not well-suited to batching, so if you’re making Brazilian limeade for a party of one, it’s best to make it a glass at a time. This drink is made with whole limes, peel and all, which makes for a more complex, aromatic sip, but it can grow unpleasantly bitter as it sits. To make a solo limeade (with or without a Solo cup), you just need a lime, a big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk, and some sugar. (You also need water and ice, but those are barely ingredients.)
Once you’ve gathered your supplies, you’ll need to blend it all together. You don’t want to completely decimate the lime, as doing so can draw out too many oils from the peel, which will also make the drink bitter. After blending, you should still be able to see little bits of green peel floating around (about 1/8th of an inch is a good size). I ended up blending mine for 15 seconds in my (seemingly discontinued) Instant Pot blender. Strain and serve in a tall glass with even more ice, and be refreshed.
Brazilian Lemonade (for One)
Ingredients:
1 whole lime1/4 cup sugar1 1/2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk1 cup water1 cup ice, plus more for servingWash the lime with hot water, then dry and slice off both ends. Quarter the lime and add it to a blender along with the other ingredients. Blend until the lime is broken up into tiny 1/8th-inch pieces.
Fill a tall glass with ice and strain the limeade through a fine mesh strainer and over the ice. Enjoy immediately.
