Can i substitute light evaporated milk for heavy cream in a pasta sauce recipe?

Want to make a pasta sauce with fresh basil, lite evap cream, white wine and garlic - do you think this would taste ok?Can i substitute light evaporated milk for heavy cream in a pasta sauce recipe?
You can, but it isn't going to taste like the cream version. When I use evap milk on pasta, I use lots of parmesan too.Can i substitute light evaporated milk for heavy cream in a pasta sauce recipe?
Evaporated milk has had some of the water removed from it. So it is thicker than regular milk. But it also does not have the fat that cream has.


Given this information the sauce may be thinner than if you made it with the cream, it will be better than if you made it with whole or skim milk. But as we all know FAT=FLAVOR and because you are reducing the fat in your dish you will be missing some of the flavor. You will also have a slightly thinner sauce, this may be corrected by either adding a thickener like flour or by reducing the sauce but you may run the risk of curdling the sauce with such extended cooking.


If you are doing this because you do not have cream and can not get to the store then try it.


If you are doing this to reduce calories in the dish I would find another way to reduce the calories, smaller serving, reduce the cheese, or even make a smaller amount of sauce and just lightly sauce the pasta. We have a tendency to over sauce our pasta any way. The pasta should be able to be tasted not just a carrier for a sauce.
Evaporated milk will have a drastic effect on the taste if substituted for the heavy cream. I shouldn't think it'd be a good thing, either.





I can't believe someone would think this is a bad answer. Ever used evaporated milk in a freaking cream sauce? Well, neither have I, and for a reason. Most cooks know better.
It will alter the taste.





You could make a Bechamel sauce instead here is a recipe for it just switch the cheese instead of cheddar use Parmesan cheese.





http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/v鈥?/a>
it will thin out the sauce, you might consider adding some flour to the light milk or melting cheese into it. I think it sounds good, just potentially runny
God no, that sounds (and would be) awful! If you're going to substitute for heavy cream in a recipe I wouldn't go any lighter than half and half or MAYBE whole milk (3%)
it will look like soup
Evaporated milk is the same as regular milk, just reduced. Heavy cream has a much richer taste. The sauce will not have nearly as much creamy flavor if you use the light evaporated milk. If you have to use the light evaporated milk, maybe add a roux to the sauce to thicken it up, or add grated cheese to make up for the flavor and make it thicker.