Three Ways to Boil Sweetened Condensed Milk to Make Caramel

[@CAJUNTWINSMOM]

yes it's also a southern thing. My grandmother taught me how to do this. She mixed hers with chopped pecans

[@nicatlaca]

Nothing beats dulce de leche in the old fashion way. Yes it takes hours, but fresh milk from the farm is best. This canned milk, I won't lie though, is delicious❣😊

[@almalockett4998]

I heard of boiling condensed milk to make caramel pie filling about 20 yrs ago, but was scared to try it. Thx for showing us how.

[@luisespat5141]

Thank you for sharing.

[@stacyshock286]

Yes it’s a southern thing

[@ginger3269]

Always top up the water to ensure the can is covered when doing it on the stove.

[@chrsd2536]

My Mom is a Filipina and survived WW2. After the war she went to nursing school. She told me that they used to cook sweetened condensed milk in one of the machines that maybe sterilized things. Or something like that. I wish I could ask her. But she told me this and like the kid I was I rolled my eyes and nodded. Then I saw people on Pinterest doing the same thing. Sorry, mom. (She's 94yo with dementia.)

[@sylviapaul1529]

Yes😊 I am from Louisiana and my Mama made this every year for the holidays, she made yellow cake and caramel pecan fillings😊I’m 55 so it’s been around the south forever. Love the slow cooker idea, maybe less time.

[@tammyhill2894]

Yes it's been done here in the states for many years. I'm 53 and my grandmother boiled her cans to make frosting for cakes and homemade turtles so it didn't just start when you got here. But good video for comparisons.

[@BrendaBodwin]

Im 51, from South Eastern Tennessee. The deep South area. My grandmother did this. Yes, people in the south have always done this. 👍🏼 Im glad your teaching it to others though. Very nice. 😁❤️

[@LycianWicca]

I am 67 years old, and I remember my mom making it, with the stove top method, when I was five years old. We've always lived in Texas, so yes, it was done in the South for a very long time.

[@alexandraasbury9974]

The stove top way seems like the most convenient to me. I've never done a pressure cooker since I have heard some strange and scary things about them, esp. if someone's not doing tomatoes correctly. One time a neighbor girl (a couple years younger than me), came running over saying she was frightened bcs she was left alone and didn't know how to shut off the pressure cooker. My friend LuAnn and I went over there and LuAnn just pulled the plug out.🙄😁

[@lani1life]

I have recently learned that you can pour it in a Mason jar with the lid and boil it that way, so I can see how dark it is.

[@bettyboop2468]

Yep. I did it that way and it turned out great.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

I've seen it where they put it in a baking pan in the oven too. I'll try all these suggestions. Thanks for sharing.

[@Unbought]

I will be trying this method as soon as my Ninja Foodi arrives. Thanks!

[@alijamescasonete8539]

@@TheBarePantryShow just want to ask if any type of pressure cooker can do same like this I'm afraid it might explode if I use mine

[@sharonkaywebb]

I would want to put in glass jar... wouldn’t want it boiled in aluminum

[@WallysPlace66]

It's not just the South... my mom made that for us in the early 80s here in Michigan. Great video

[@MsProsperity.]

Yes!! The south has always done this. You're just getting the memo!!

[@kathybyrd8765]

This is a VERY southern thing! My granny made this every Christmas. It can be cooked until it makes a candy you can cut or whipped for icing.

[@kristymc6784]

Yeah I'm from the south originally. My granny used to make caramel cakes for my birthday. And she's the cook her condensed milk on the stove for my frosting. And I'm 40 plus years old so yeah it's not a new thing here in the states. I enjoyed you tutorial just subscribed and gave you a thumbs up. Have a great day

[@glenicecrease5115]

If you only have a short time to make caramel, you can cook a can of condensed milk, 50g.butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir it all the while until it thickens (10 minutes) and do not let it burn. EXTRA YUMMY!

[@artlitmusic]

Make a video! lol

[@thomasclendening2664]

That's how we did it in my restaurant kitchen...same, and you had perfect control over how brown you wanted it. For most cooks though, this is a pretty foolproof way to do it.

[@serenitygardeningandorchid2809]

Thanks so much. This recipe was a candy saver!!

[@nancyskinner5207]

My husband’s aunt Olive showed me this technique in the early 70’s. She had made Carmel this way since the 30’s. We are from Pennsylvania. I use this to fill cupcakes.

[@hollyingraham3980]

@@jarose7396 Not long, if anyone knows it's there.

[@carolleenkelmann3829]

Well, I know my mother was doing that in suburbia Australia 60 yrs ago! So...there you are.

[@debedwards1717]

Absolutely. Aussie here too and everyone my age remembers boiling condensed milk.

[@starfire8314]

My grandma would do this when I was little over 40 yrs ago in Boliva.

[@carolleenkelmann3829]

@@taathefriendlyway6888 gee you make things difficult to read! It's much easier to make caramelize condensed milk! We only got the holes in the ceiling from making unattended ginger beer! 😀

[@rjchavers9267]

If the cans have the plastic lining to prevent food poisoning, then you are actually releasing the plastics composition into the food. 👎

[@simplemebandit2764]

Yes many people in south cook it this way.

[@loudcloudstormy1915]

Yes ma'am Lambert Mississippi right here and that's the only way we make our caramel for our caramel cakes

[@zsleepwalker]

Yes, I can remember my grandmother doing this in the 1950's, and she had done it all her life.

[@supertrw]

It’s wasn’t just in the south that they did it, because I’m from Montana & I vividly remember my grandmother doing it when I was a kid. I absolutely loved the stuff & still do. That was back in the late 50’s, yet my mother recalled having it as a treat when she was a child too, so it at least dates back to the 1930’s.

[@geraldinepebdani4972]

My mother is from Kentucky and she used to cook this for us in a cast iron skillet pan and would add peanut butter to make candy for us. I like your joyful attitude.

[@jenniferreed2227]

Live in Louisiana and have been doing this for a long time. After you boil and let cool put in fridge for a day. Call then use to roll in pecans and cover with chocolate to make homemade turtles

[@stephanied2063]

I recently learned this as well. It’s really delicious! If you want to frost a cake you can also beat it with a handmixer with the same weight of cold slightly softened butter. It makes a caramel buttercream that is creamy and delicious! Add a little sea salt

[@miapdx503]

Thank you for this! As someone who loves caramel I don't know why I'm just now learning this! 😍

[@dorajenkins5348]

I didn't know either !

[@aymeevillar2153]

My mother is 87 and is doing this for life. I love it

[@Voodoo318]

Water boils at 212°F. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a slow cooker or on a stove. If you are boiling the water, the milk is cooking at the same speed.

[@ErinDavila76]

and releasing all the toxic BPA lining into the Carmel

[@adbc1f72]

★Erin★ Do you know another way to make homemade caramel?

[@ErinDavila76]

@@adbc1f72 the way real chefs make it. Sugar and butter in a non toxic pan

[@jillhumphrys8073]

@@ErinDavila76 you're obnoxious.

[@lisahinton9682]

@@adbc1f72 Yes, to make homemade caramel put sugar in a pan and turn on the heat. (Don't touch it or it will crystalize!) Add cream, or don't, depending on your taste. In less than 15 minutes you'll have perfect caramel. There are many many KZbin videos on this. I think boiling something in a can is a waste of time and electricity/gas, and probably toxic, with the BPA leeching into the food. No, thanks.

[@Factsmatter22]

Yeah pretty sure it's not a good idea to boil in a metal can. Just saying....

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Paula Frasl pretty sure this has been going on for a long time. Just saying.

[@Factsmatter22]

@@TheBarePantryShow well... there has been a lot of things going on for a long time that aren't particularly good for you. Doesn't mean you should continue them just because they have been "around". But hey, it's all good. Whatever does it for you, by all means... continue.

[@pamelamanning99]

I've lived in Massachusetts all my 70 years. I learned to do this as a child.

[@demetragandy5225]

Hi !! I want to say I live in Louisiana “the dirty south “ and I was born in 1960’s and my cousin Always made a Carmel Pecan 4 layer Cake , and she would boil the condense milk , I’m now in my 60’s and I’m thinking ppl just finding out about using the condense milk to make Carmel !!! So I’m sorry Ma’am I thought this was our specialty, and I’m sure my cousin never visited your part of the world , when I was a little girl As scripture say’s There is nothing New under the Sun “ God Bless You & Keep on Baking 🎉 Happy Holidays

[@charmainebillops2367]

Just yesterday I watched a video for making Carmel chew candies. They aren't FAV. It was indeed a lengthy process, still doable. I just wonder, if I use your stove top method of cooking the milk, how will I get it to a firmness, in order to roll out, a 1/4 - 1/2 inch rope's, to then cut into bite size pieces. Thank you for the hack.***OBTW. I am almost 70, I grew up eating various forms of Carmel. I grew up on the West Coast. I can see, how you might think, that Latin American's introduced, Dulce de Le'che, to North American's. When it is a matter of language. I will be the "FIRST", to say, in Spanish, brings another level of enjoyment to the product. And to Marketing Ad Agencies, it's $GOLDEN$. Overall, it's about the delight it brings, in consuming it, whatever form it is make & taken. It is GOOD. ALL THE BEST, THANK YOU. 🤗🕊️🙏👑

[@Patriotgal1]

My Granddaddy told me that he made this as a young man during the Great Depression. In Virginia, so the South. Boiled in a pan.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Boiled in a pan meaning what? Boiled in the original tin the or open the tin and cooked the milk in the oven or stove top? I saw people do that and we do that to make fudge. We don't make fudge with chocolate. I've in Florida, Texas and California and since the early 1980's and no one we came in contact with knew anything about this way of boiling milk in the can to make this frosting.

[@flyfishing1776]

@@TheBarePantryShow most eat at McDonald's and can't even fry egg without burning

[@vaemcdowell6205]

I have great grandparents from the South (S.Carolina and Kentucky) four sets of them, and all their kids knew about and the girls made this candy at least till the mid 1970's that I know of personally, and I'm sure if I asked all those cousins, they would consider it Granny's candy, along with divinity and a kind of toffee that stayed pale. You shouldn't sneer at other cultures who have the same thing, like only people in Belize know about condensed milk candy. Oh please.

[@larrysands4465]

Like to say, I did this with 2 cans in a crockpot for 6 hours and it worked great. thanks

[@ebonyfair9487]

Seriously people have done it in the south my great aunts my grandmother they owned restaurants and they were cooks in the restaurant and they would do this technique I’ve done it basically just to let the kids eat the Carmel and for my grandmother and my aunts that was 70s for my kids that was early 90s. To me black and Latinos cook the same thing I’ve been cooking the same thing forever we eat the same foods so don’t be shocked honey you look very shocked when they said people from down south have been doing this I’m laughing right now because it’s funny that you didn’t believe that😊👍🏾 but their math it was more of a jar pour from the can into a jar let it cook 👩‍🍳

[@dmytrokovalskyy677]

It’s a Ukrainian dessert 🍨 as well. I was born in Ukraine where my mother and grandmother have showed me and have made different dolce de leche desserts.

[@gwenmoss1993]

Saw someone pour the sweetened condensed milk into a small bowl, place that bowl into a larger bowl with water, and then place it in the microwave for 8 minutes. Also if you want to use your crock pot, put it on low and cook for 7-8 hours.

[@maryrottman1530]

Just a thought...it really worried me when the steam was being released so close to the outlet. Next time maybe unplug the cooker and move it away from the wall. Please be safe.

[@henriettahenson]

In the UK you can buy this condensed milk that has been turned to caramel... I feel its cheeper than all that boiling.....and less bother...

[@forthosewhoiswithGod]

First thing : if your slow cooker brining water to boil, than you need only 3 hours as you have it in boiling water on the stove. This is basic physics! Second : we have done it for generations in Russia and Ukraine! We are using it for spreads and cake creams.

[@madampolo]

People in the South of the USA have been making it for 50 years at least. You didn't bring it to the US.

[@archer9211]

If you read the label on Kroger's can it says: Caution: Do Not Heat In Can So boil in can is ok?

[@evolvinglovej5263]

Yes ma'am my mom made carmel apples for me as a child. I am currently 53 yrs old, and her mom made it for her. My mom is currently 78 yrs old. We are from the south.

[@MdBxvii]

South Africa it is massive and all our food is like the south!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@heidichancey]

My mom and dad did the stove top boiling method when I was a kid. That was back in the 1960s in Southern California. We put it on ice cream or ate it with a spoon. Lol

[@nancye9265]

I learned this in Southern CA, also. My mom probably learned it in Chicago.😋

[@heidichancey]

@@nancye9265 my mom was from rock falls, Illinois. Maybe she brought it from there too.

[@danhill2543]

Yeah we Americans did this a lot it's not just from the south we didn't hear in the city 2 by putting the cans in the water and boiling it so

[@frangarner925]

My Momma...born 1924. Did this for us.

[@jennysmith-dack1963]

We've been boilling condensed milk in South Africa since I was young about 50years ago.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

I believe that, my issue is with the people in America who says they did it here. I came here in 1981 and lived in Florida, Texas and then California and people were shocked when I did this.

[@jacksprat429]

Jenny Smith-Dack I absolutely agree, greetings from a fellow South African.

[@sherrydelmen3374]

@@TheBarePantryShow Does it tastes as good as the sugar, butter, ect recipe in the pan?

[@nankidd3050]

You could open the can,?put in frying pan and have it cooked up in no time.l wouldn't have the nerve to do it your way.but l see many people do this.

[@wandaburgess9400]

Great video! Eagle Brand condensed milk makes Dulce de Leche now! If I can find it in Canada, it's in the U.S.A for sure!

[@gsdmomb530]

I am in Ontario and Food Basics has it. 😉

[@wandaburgess9400]

@@gsdmomb530 That's where I got mine from! *LOL*

[@gsdmomb530]

@@wandaburgess9400 LOL.

[@supertrw]

Wanda Burgess It’s usually available during the holiday season, which is when I picked up a number of the cans. However , I was quite disappointed in it. It doesn’t taste the same as when doing it yourself & it isn’t quite the same consistency either. It’s definitely not bad, but just not nearly as good.

[@wandaburgess9400]

@@supertrw So true, it's too runny for me too!

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

Ohhhh fancy with the pressure cooker! I never knew you could use it for this-and only takes like 30 mins?! That is WAY FASTER than the stove/cooker methods I grew up with!!😱❤️😋

[@lexiemaep7930]

I think it tastes best when you pour the sweetened condensed milk in a glass baking pan and add water to a second pan. It's like boiling it flat. It creates some chewy parts in the caramel which tastes great if you are using it for banoffee pie.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

I’ll test this method abs give you my opinion.

[@tikity-boo6225]

Make sure you let it cool!!! Don't be stupid!

[@imalwaysme4332]

I see the convenience in doing it this way, however do you not worry about what ever chemicals used to producing the can will leach into the food in which you are boiling for three hours in? I would try it this method only with a guarantee that I'm not consuming heavy metals or chemicals! Maybe not everyone's thing to pay attention to this kind of stuff. Food for thought any how!

[@carolchaput8675]

Lots of canned food is pressure cooked in the can at the factory! Food safety regulations must apply! Food grade cans etc....

[@nat93007]

Sorry to burst your bubble this is not something new, maybe to you or Some parts of the US I’m from South America and this has been taking place for ever, lol down there they even sell it already made on sweets.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Consider my bubble not bursted. I said "I don't believe this started in the southern parts OF America. I didn't say anything about South America. I do believe this started in the Latin countries in South America and Central America. Belize is located in Central America.

[@PittheadX]

Stop it, sister. You sure don't have any problem with the dark ones.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Only the milk.

[@tube29]

Three hours?! What a waste, just eat the damn condensed milk. Or just buy the freaking dulce de leche 😒

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Lu Mo Yiu can do that. The dulce the leche from the store is overdone.

[@janetlapierre8307]

Not true, we do this is Canada. Always boiled it

[@jennymcdonald4174]

I've known about the stove method for several yrs. Didnt know about the crockpot or the pressure cooker.

[@BAPrincess]

We have been making caramel like this in Mississippi for centuries.

[@jillhumphrys8073]

Wow! Has condensed milk in a can been around for centuries?

[@BAPrincess]

@@jillhumphrys8073 Apparently you're not familiar with sarcasm...

[@LJordanLPN70]

I'm from Mississippi and my Grandmother taught me to boil it on the stove. Makes THEEE BEST make from scratch caramel cakes!!

[@bjbaldwin4315]

I’m 68 and I know about it

[@Bubby448]

I have been doing this for years. I leave it in the water overnight after the boil, then refrigerate 24 hours. Never let the can show. Water should be at least two inches above can at all times.

[@peekaboots01]

So you bring to a boil first then leave it simmer or bring to a boil turn off and leave over night?

[@Bubby448]

Simmer for one hour. The longer you simmer the darker it will be

[@denasewell]

Yeah but I think the idea arrived in the south via the Carribean just like many foods we consider Traditional Southern foods like Okra which slaves brought seeds from Africa/Haiti/Caribean Islands a lot of Cajun food has Caribean,Spanish and Native American as well as European influence many of the Europeans in the south were poor peasants and sharecroppers. ...most people think of Plantation Owners when they think of the south but the reality is the Plantation owners were .01 percent elite they did not represent most of the population which were poor people who came to America like many immigrants escaping poverty and religious persecution. I am from the south and I love the melting pot of influences in Traditional Southern food.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing. Great history lesson.

[@stephaniehall2552]

Enjoyed the video new subbie ,your fault when my jeans don't fit 🤗🤗🤗😅😅😅😋😋😋👏👏👏👏👏

[@deltarain4030]

My mom and her generation have been doing this for a long time in Mississippi. . But we always called it caramel cooked in its (condensed milk) can. It’s always been done here on the stovetop. Thanks for showing us your experiment. And looking for those cake layers you’re going to frost! Lol ! I’m sure it’s gonna be tasty!

[@catherinecrew1739]

We did this in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 eons ago

[@markallen2806]

We've been doing it in the north for almost 40 years so it's not something you people invented

[@odettemanlove1759]

Yes it has been done here in the north too

[@SinnGread]

sorry it is for real..that people from the south did this … My grandmother used to do this all the time.

[@Dlohrs]

I took a candy class back in the early 1970’s so yes it’s been around for a long time....you certainly do not look that old! 😉

[@lani1life]

Ask Joe for some paint to make a mark on the pressure lock so that you will be able to line it up without him. Unless you just want to make sure he feels manly all of the time.

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Lani C the paint comes off after a couple of use. The steam takes it off.

[@lani1life]

@@TheBarePantryShow you can use the acrylic paint for stove touch ups.

[@MsprettyBrnGrl]

I'm 51 and my granny did this for desserts when I was a kid :-) I use it for my turtle bars :-)

[@MandyCummins]

You sound like you're from the Caribbean! I'm from Barbados :) (*edit* ohhhh from Belize!)

[@donnamartz4599]

Sorry for your misinformation, however, my granny was making this back in the 1900's in Blountstown, Florida. You can also make it from plain cane sugar in a cast iron fry pan with no liquids-just straight sugar. I do like your stove top caramel. Beautiful!

[@Unbought]

I just learned this after I bought an Instant Pot earlier this year. I am not ashamed. 🙃

[@denisehutchinson6318]

Lol me too

[@rudituesday.822]

Yes we did this in the Midlands UK. For hundreds of years.

[@kpzcbttp]

Very true. Also we have been doing this in Scotland for years too!

[@hollyingraham3980]

"Hundreds of years." Lol, wisegal. Canned sweetened condensed milk invented in 1850s by Gail Borden. US product and market until turn of the century.

[@Sabrina-01]

Ma'am it's true

[@hollyingraham3980]

Science!

[@treedsquirrel1969]

Watching you reminds me of my childhood! I've been searching for someone that makes recipes like she did. ✌️🕯💜

[@gill5619]

We have been doing this in the uk for many years

[@BeyondtheVeilwithKorah]

My mom has been doing it for a long time. It would make sense considering that she is Creole. My sister is 51 and she remembers my mom doing it.

[@georgebailey6307]

Hola. My mother is from Juarez/El Paso Texas region of America and she had been making this since the early 70s for us kids, my grandmother was doing this for kids since the 40s.. It's like Nutella in that it goes with bread, apples, pretzels, and ice cream..

[@candicehawkins2676]

Thank you for your instruction on Dulce Le Leche with heritage added.

[@bigeasylivin1]

You have to take a blender and mix it once you mix it. It’s very very smooth. All three you have to mix it.

[@dwaynelopez9125]

Saw this when I was a kid. By the way people from the south is from the islands fool especially if you a person of color. This so old School. Funny she acts like she brought it to the USA. This was done in early 80s in front of my face when they didn't use pop top cans. In Louisiana

[@TheBarePantryShow]

Dwayne Lopez Fool is your mother. This is strictly a Caribbean thing. You saw this when? In the 80’s? You’re the fool if you think this wasn’t a thing in the Caribbean way before the 80’s. People in the south didn’t all come from the Islands. Go learn your history Lee bwai. Jackass.

[@dwaynelopez9125]

@@TheBarePantryShow bitch I know my history dad Jamaican mom from Haiti that two islands dumbass fat nasty ass. One of the 9 family that started the City of new Iberia Louisiana. The early 1800s. Like I said people in the south been doing this shit. Because we made da south we are the south. You didn't bring shit out here it just a lazy way of making low class Carmel that taste half ass anyway.lmao! Just sad thumb down

[@bunnyfire58]

Do NOT put a can in a pressure cooker with the lid on!!!!!!!!!! That is a safety issue! Take the lid off, cover with aluminum foil, and put the water halfway up the can.

[@keepingit100integrity4]

You have such a way about you, very likable and charismatic. First time I've watched you. Wanted to help in the only way I could...like, comment, subscribe etc. So you can make you some $$, girl! Thanks for the tips. I do have a question...if you leave the milk on the stovetop would it be as good but the consistency be more fluid to pour? Thanks!

[@hazelpearson7807]

It’s also a British thing, been around since there was canned condensed milk for sale in the shops. Probably available well before it reached countries that didn’t manufacture evaporated and condensed milk but imported it. I’m 71 and watched as a child aunts grandmothers and my mum doing this, the tin or tins were put in a pot and left overnight on the back of the oil cook stove which was left on low during the night, only source of heat back then. Your claim that no one outside of the country you grew up in knew about this method is way off.

[@sobernow11]

That was scary when you took the can out of the pan. The can MUST be completely submerged in the water at all times or you run a very high risk of the can exploding. Maybe everyone all ready knows this, but I'll share anyways. Water boils at 212 degrees, plus or minus a few degrees depending on your altitude. So, when the can is completely submerged, the contents will remain at 2i2 degrees. But if the water is allowed to evaporate and a portion of the can exposed,, the can has a likely chance of exploding. The reason for this? The portion of the that is above the water level will not be held to 212 degrees, but rather will heat out of control. Clear as mud? But, wow, the caramel is amazing!!

[@yahwehskid4819]

This is brilliant why didn't I know about this year's ago!😉😂

[@juan74leon]

Yes, my grandmother back in Peru used to do boil condensed milk to make majarblanco,or dulce de leche.

[@alexandraasbury9974]

Very nice job, Miss Barbara!!! I learned something. I thank you!! 😊

[@daleroyster2144]

We have been boiling this on stove top since I was a child, I’m now 76 yrs old so I think maybe it’s been done here for a long time....just saying...

[@junepick7899]

Australia here. My mum back in 1940's used to place a can of condensed milk [for special occasions] in the wood copper on washing day. I think she told me for 3 hrs while the coals cooled down.

[@Species710]

Yes it's for real. Way before the internet was a thing. My grandmothers made this often. It was developed when the canned milk was developed. It was also a thing in Sweden. Wow. Should we believe anything you say?

[@MrMarkar1959]

Sweetness any way You boil it🌹 i figure my slow cooker "boils" too,,,so 3 hours Covered in water no matter what bucket i use👍🏼🌺

[@bdianes6339]

YOU HAVE A REALLY GOOD CHANNEL, BUT PLEASE RESEARCH THE DANGER & NEGATIVE AFFECTS ALUMINUM HAS ON OUR BRAIN...NEVER EVER BOIL FOOD INSIDE AN ALUMINUM CAN...PLEASE RESEARCH & DECIDE FOR YOURSELF...

[@TremoJem]

Sorry...been doing this since 60 plus years ago...right here in the great Northeast USA