What does evaporated milk do that regular milk or cream doesn't?

[VAfoodie]

I'm still on that mac and cheese quest and made Alton Brown's creamy recipe. It still did not surpass creaminess of Kraft. Just wondering what it is that evaporated milk does as I notice it is called for in many Weight Watcher's recipes.

[chowser]

Evaporated milk is just milk where half the water has been boiled off. If you want it creamier, I make it w/ some whole milk (from a glass bottle) and sour cream instead of evaporated milk.

[greygarious]

In mac&cheese, it allows the cheese to melt without becoming clumpy or grainy. Without it, you'd need a roux blended into the milk (= bechamel sauce) for the cheese to melt evenly.

[happybellynh]

I use FF evap milk instead of cream nearly all of the time, now. Just last night I tried it in scallion and cheddar scones- my regular recipe calls for 2 cups of full cream, and the evap milk worked just fine as a replacement.

[salsailsa]

It's heavier than milk which gives it a cream like consistency but has lower fat content than cream.