My mornings these days start off with a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a scoop of thick sweetened condensed milk. I skip the cream and sugar all together, since sweetened condensed milk—milk that's been concentrated and heavily sweetened; its viscosity is like molasses or honey and it moves just as slowly—gives creaminess and sweetness in one product.

My mother always had a can in the pantry at any given time. It was a staple in our home. We baked with it, sweetened Jamaican cornmeal porridge with it, and my mother used it in her tea. Once I've opened a can, I store the remaining milk (poured out of the can) in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. (And if you want to met it yourself, Stephanie Le has a simple recipe for making a batch of sweetened condensed milk of your own.)

But what to do with an open can of it besides stir it into coffee? Here are a few practical uses for a leftover sweetened condensed milk:

Sweeten tea and coffee by scooping a dollop of sweetened condensed milk into your mug. Try it chilled in iced coffee or tea, too.

Drizzle over fresh fruit. It brightens up the tangy and sour flavor of grapefruit really well.

Substitute half of the milk needed in baking cornbread with condensed milk for an added subtle sweetness.

Anthony Myint's French Toast Crunch uses condensed milk to create a sweet chamomile custard for dunking the French toast into before baking it.

Sweetened condensed milk is one of the three milks in a tres leches cake, and this Coconut Tres Leches uses a full can of it.

Spread a thick coat of condensed milk butter on a slice of toast or make Darjeeling Tea Pain Perdu.

The filling of Bill Smith's Atlantic Beach Pie is simply a can of condensed milk with beaten together with a few egg yolks and lemon juice (and then baked together on a crust of saltine crackers).

What are the ways that you use condensed milk? Comment below to let us know!