Remember the Alamo, then make dessert

When people, especially Texans, think of the battle of the Alamo they think of Davy Crockett and his coonskin cap, Jim Bowie and his famous knife and the iconic phrase, "Remember the Alamo."

But, strange as it may sound, when I think of the Alamo I think of key lime pie. It's really not quite as odd as it may seem, because the man who coined that famous phrase also invented a crucial ingredient in the pie -- sweetened condensed milk.

Sweetened condensed milk, often referred to merely as condensed milk, is a clear exception to the notion that when something is condensed or reduced it is inferior to the original. That's no doubt true when it comes to condensed history, condensed novels, and most certainly condensed soup. But when it comes to cooking, condensed milk is actually more, not less, than the original version.

Technically, condensed milk is any milk that has had 60 percent of its water removed through evaporation. In fact, if it is unsweetened it is simply called evaporated milk.

Sweetened condensed milk, conversely, is first evaporated and then loaded with sugar to create a syrupy consistency. It is an essential addition to Vietnamese coffee and Thai iced tea, the perfect starting point for making dulce de leche, a central component of key lime pie and similar concoctions (because when combined with an acidic ingredient like lemon or lime juice it thickens naturally), and an almost magical ingredient in baking and candy-making. Now that the holiday season is upon us I find myself buying it by the case.

Tom Harte's Hello Dolly Parton bars put a more adult spin on a popular Eagle Brand recipe. (Kit Doyle)

The fellow who invented this exceptional substance, Gail Borden Jr., was a man of many talents. As a surveyor he plotted the towns of Houston and Galveston (where he was also the customs agent) and helped create the first topographical map of Texas. As a publisher he founded the first permanent newspaper in Texas, the first to report the fall of the Alamo -- with Borden's unforgettable "Remember the Alamo" headline. But it was his work as an inventor that earned Borden the title "Father of the Modern Dairy Industry."

He was inspired to turn his attention to the task of condensing milk when he experienced a particularly rough crossing from London in 1852. The two cows aboard ship became too seasick to provide milk for the infant passengers, one of whom died. Deeply affected, Borden vowed to produce a portable, condensed milk that wouldn't spoil. Borrowing a technique from the Shakers, he used a vacuum pan and added sugar to the milk to retard bacterial growth.

The resulting product was a boon in the era before refrigeration, and during the Civil War Borden's condensed milk, patriotically dubbed Eagle Brand, helped nourish the Union troops. (Today, Elsie the Cow has replaced the bald eagle that originally adorned every can.)

With stepped-up sanitation laws and the increasing prevalence of refrigerators, condensed milk was no longer an appealing alternative to fresh milk for drinking but instead became the "udderly" remarkable cooking ingredient we know today.

I've included a recipe that takes full advantage of the invention.

Hello Dolly Parton Bars

Known variously as Hello Dollies or Magic Cookie Bars, this recipe is the most popular in Eagle Brand history. My version uses cornflake crumbs in place of graham cracker crumbs for what I think is a more adult taste. I also doubled the filling ingredients and therefore felt compelled to alter the bar's namesake so as to reflect the fact that these cookies are truly ample.

1 1/2 cups corn flake crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 cups chopped walnuts

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 2/3 cups flaked coconut

2 cans (14 ounces each) sweetened condensed milk

Melt butter and combine with crumbs and sugar. Press mixture evenly on bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan. In order, sprinkle walnuts, chocolate chips and coconut evenly over crust. Pour condensed milk evenly over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool and cut into bars.

Tom Harte's book, "Stirring Words," is available at local bookstores. A Harte Appetite airs Fridays 8:49 a.m. on KRCU, 90.9 FM. Contact Tom at www.semissourian.com or at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699.