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Answers: I'm making pumpkin pudding and I hate to go to the store just for evaporated milk.

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In the absence of evaporated milk, one option is to take some dry milk and reconstitute it using only 40% of the recommended water. That would give you the right texture. It is difficult to find dry whole milk (because the fat in it tends to spoil and so should be refrigerated), so you would most likely be using dry nonfat milk, which would cause some adjustment in flavor.

Or you could take a page from Southern cooks and use buttermilk, which is often used in the breading process for fried chicken. It has the thick texture to help the coating adhere and certainly gives a boost to the flavor, although it might be more on the tart side, where evaporated milk leans towards sweetness.

You can also use some cream instead of evaporated milk, although you might find that too rich.

If you have a little time, though, you can easily reduce a quantity of milk by half or more. Put it in a pan on the stove, bring it to a simmer, and let it reduce. A wide-mouth pan such as a saucier will allow more surface area for faster evaporation. Keep the milk below the boil, to keep it from curdling, and make sure it doesn't scorch on the bottom of the pan, or you'll have a tough time scrubbing it off.

In short, just break down and go to the store.

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Sure it will work..

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Evaporated milk is thick, and heavy. So I really dont think you can. But if you have a cook book handy they may have a substitute you can use.... look in the back of the book.

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Yes you can, it might end up tasting/smelling different and/or looking funny.

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