Dulce de leche

Has anyone actually ever made the stuff? I've seen a few recipes, but I haven't tried it yet. Some call for boiling an unopened can of condensed milk, others have the milk in a water bath, and some others make it entirely from scratch.

Any recipes, suggestions, or experiences for me?

I have made it the way described in David Lebovitz's blog. Boiling an unopened can scares me.

Maybe you know someone with a goat...goat milk is the way to go.

teatpuller wrote:Maybe you know someone with a goat...goat milk is the way to go.

Can you get sweetened condensed milk made from goat's milk? I've been looking for it. Do you think Harvestime would carry it?

I've made it by boiling an unopened can and have never had any problems. Having said that, I'll make it from scratch from now on - more fun and probably safer.

My mother always made it by boiling a can, it comes out very different from the varieties you see in markets: darker (closer in color to dark maple syrup than peanut butter) and thicker. In all her years of making it - she kept a constant supply, as it wasn't commercially available in Cincinnati - we never had an accident. I understand that the key to this is making sure you compensate for evaporation by adding water to make sure your can is always submerged. (In our house, a can with no label was always Dulce de Leche) I once found six-packs of tiny cans of a Mexican brand of condensed milk, and wonder if they could be used for this process - and, in that event, how long you would cook them.

I can't promise it is always safe, but neither my mother or I ever had a bad experience. I wonder if somebody should submit the exploding can idea to Mythbusters.

I've done it from scratch (it's time consuming, but worth it) and with an unopened can. Never had any problems - just make sure you keep water nearly covering the can. I think I've seen condensed goat's milk at my neighborhood Mexican market, but I can't swear to that.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is it about boiling a can of commercial condensed milk that would make a better dulce de leche than just buying a can of commercial dulce de leche? Nestle, for example, sells both products in what looks like the same can.

For a great storre bought version, try El Mercado. Havanna (yes, 2 n's) is a very good premium DdL from Argentina. It is very thick and dark as described above. The Mexican stuff tends to be a thinner, different product. Mexican cajeta de cabra (goat's milk caramel) is a treat. A certain churro vendor used to get some super-special cajeta with raisins, nuts and booze from one of the interior states. Great stuff.

I haven't found the commercial Dulce de Leche to be quite as thick and dark as the homemade; I may not have tried the one you're talking about - but the one Marketplace at Oakton carries that's an Argentine import (but, interestingly, with a label written in Russian) and the Nestle version are still lighter and thinner than "homemade." The texture is a little bit different, as well - boiling a can gives the sugars a candy-like quality.

A possible reason for the difference is ingredients: Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche lists Whole Milk, Sugar, Agar, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Phosphate, La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk - only milk and sugar. Since it's been readily commercially available, I have to admit I don't make it - but I do think there's a difference. It's also interesting that the commercial stuff here doesn't seem the same as the commercial stuff I remember in Argentina, which IIRC was almost runny (and even more plastic-y, but in a good way.)

iahawk89 wrote:Has anyone actually ever made the stuff? I've seen a few recipes, but I haven't tried it yet. Some call for boiling an unopened can of condensed milk, others have the milk in a water bath, and some others make it entirely from scratch.

Any recipes, suggestions, or experiences for me?

I made it this way once, and the result was something that tasted like a caramel-covered cheeseburger. I've been afraid to try it again.

This article might be helpful.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/dulce ... ice-cream/

Besides the fact that I get a kick out of the blog title, this blog posthas a photo that gives you an idea of the texture and color.

Mhays wrote:Besides the fact that I get a kick out of the blog title, this blog posthas a photo that gives you an idea of the texture and color.

I followed the instructions to a t--no explosions, only delicious, warm, pudding-thick dulce de leche. It it took about three hours of low simmering.

A previous poster mentioned the obvious...why not save yourself the time and buy canned dulce de leche? A side-by-side tasting provides the answer: DIY dulce is much creamier than the canned. And, hello, it's more fun to make. I secretly wanted it to explode, just to see what would happen.

Now, I'm wondering if I should've opened the second can I simmered before refrigerating it...it hasn't exploded, yet, but will it be deadly with bacteria when I open it?

crrush wrote: Now, I'm wondering if I should've opened the second can I simmered before refrigerating it...it hasn't exploded, yet, but will it be deadly with bacteria when I open it?

I'm not sure if I'm reading this right - but you boiled an unopened can and then cooled it, left it unopened? Unless the can was somehow breached, I don't see how this could result in anything untoward growing in there, as you just made it hot enough to caramelize the sugar (caveat: I am not a food scientist) IIRC, my Mom would do 4 at a time and stick the boiled can surplus right back on the shelf.

Thanks for taking one for the team, C! BTW - this is a topic on the Mythbuster's forum, (may require registration to view) but they don't seem terribly interested in exploding food products (I'd suggested they explode a pressure cooker as well) Maybe we should see if we can find a chemistry lab somewhere and blow one up, just for education's sake.

Mhays, I just wanted to thank you for that blog you posted. There's a recipe for dulce de leche banana pie in the comments. I made it for Mother's Day, and my mom loved it so much that she has made it her go-to desert for every family party and holiday since. For those who don't want to scroll through all the comments, it's a super simple recipe: fill a graham cracker pie crust with a layer of dulce de leche, cover with a layer of bananas, top with a layer of whipped cream, and it's done. It's simple and delicious - my favorite combination.

Thanks,
Jen

See the LTHF Recipe Index - there are several methods to make it.

viewtopic.php?p=32365#32365

I was inspired to finally give this a try back when this thread popped up, but I completely neglected to post my progress. Three hours of simmering and no exploding yielded a pretty decent product, though somehow unevenly caramelized and also a bit grainy. In all, easier to make than homemade, but it takes longer and didn't have the same high quality. But oh, the excitement!! The only risk involved in boiling sugar with cream involves caramel burns (my least favorite burn) - this could explode at any moment! Or at least, so I led myself to believe. Anyhow, next time I think I'll just make it the old-fashioned way.

There's a seemingly easy crockpot method, too: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03 ... ecipe.html

Haven't made it yet. As soon as we finish eating all the birthday cake left from Science Boy's party, maybe I'll give it a shot and make a pie...

bluroses wrote:There's a seemingly easy crockpot method, too: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03 ... ecipe.html

Haven't made it yet. As soon as we finish eating all the birthday cake left from Science Boy's party, maybe I'll give it a shot and make a pie...

Now that makes sense! Although you do lose water in a crock-pot, you don't lose it at near the rate you do on the stove, and you could easily fill to double the depth of the cans. I'll have to try that, bluroses!

Didn't see your post until now, Jen, but I'm glad you mentioned that - seems like a no-brainer to me! I'll have to remember that next time I'm pressed for a dessert...

I have tried making dulce de leche on several occasions. While the end product wasn't bad, nothing I have made has ever exceeded the rich, wonderful flavor of this purchased product. At one time, you could buy it at Trotter's To Go. I'm not sure that it is still available there.

http://www.amazon.com/Salamandra-Dulce-Leche-Argentina/dp/B000WMPGDW

Buenos aires deli/grocery 3100 N. Cicero is where I get mine. They have a selection of several brands from Argentina in cans, jars and tubs including the same type they used to carry at Trotters to go (at less than half the price). A really good deli counter too, with house made empanadas and little finger sandwiches among other delights.

anyone going to buenos aires deli might want to check out the really excellent house made alfajores, which are sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche or jam. they also usually make some with coconut dusting the edges. delicious. jj

JustJoan, I was just going to mention those alfajores as I recently made them for a client. I did make my own dulce de leche, from condensed milk in a double boiler. At some point, I do want to try Maria's recipe in her South American cookbook from dulce de leche from scratch. Now that we can get better quality milks around here (Blue Marble, Farmer's Creamery), it might be an interesting task.

MAG- i've made dulce de leche from scratch many times. i mean boiling real milk, not condensed. it takes forever, and i always eat too much of it, so now when i need some i'd rather just buy it in a jar and use it up quickly. when i've used condensed milk, i prefer to bake it in a covered cake pan in the oven. less bother. ( the store bought is usually thicker than i can make it, which is nice for a cookie filling) . but you're right, i bet the blue marble milk would be delicious.

btw, what kind of flour did you use for the alfajores? and were they as tender as mario's (b.a.deli)? i've got some harina de trigo 000 flour from argentina, which is the perfect flour for alfajores. i've never made any i was satisfied with from american flour. jj

justjoan wrote: btw, what kind of flour did you use for the alfajores? and were they as tender as mario's (b.a.deli)?

JJ,

Haven't had alfajores in quite a while, I'll have to stop by B. A. Deli

Enjoy,
Gary

Buenos Aires Liquor and Deli
3100 North Cicero
773-685-4241
9:00am-2:00pm Monday-Saturday
9:00am-2:00pm Sunday

Pure genius! Whoever thought of the slow cooker idea was brilliant. I put an unlabeled jar in my slow cooker at about 10:00 last night. I covered it completely with water. I put on the lid, turned it on low, and walked away. At about 7:30 this morning I turned it off. I let it cool completely in the water.

I opened the can and found liquid gold. It was perfect. It was caramel all the way through.

I am definitely using this method again!

I've tried the boiled-can method twice so far. The first time, simmering the can for 2 1/2 hours resulted in perfect caramel. The second time, I replicated the experience and ended up with a can of thinner, noticeably more sugary-tasting caramel, with some thickened burned-looking bits around the edges of the can. What gives?

suzy- did you use the same brand of condensed milk? some are thinner than others to start with. otherwise, the only thing i can think of is that you weren't simmering the water at exactly the same rate both times. it's pretty hard to duplicate a 2 hour cooking time. i'm guessing you had to add water to the simmer to keep it from evaporating away, etc. so if the water level and/or simmering rate werent identical, that could account for it. why not try baking it? i find this is safer, and works pretty consistently. the way i do it is to open the can, pour into a cake pan, cover tightly with fool, put into a bain marie (a larger pan filled with boiling water about halfway up the inner pan), and bake at 425degrees for about an hour. you can bake it longer, for a darker color, as long as you refill the bain marie. justjoan

I agree with Joan, though IIRC, usually in our household the timing was more like 3-4 hours, which may help. I really want to try the overnight crock-pot method...

The 'spouse did note that an Asian-labeled version of condensed milk we had that I'd probably picked up at H-Mart (I think it was still Nestle) seemed thicker than what we usually get, so we have seen some variation even within brands.

It was the same brand of milk, I used Eagle both times. I believe that the temp was the same - the water seemed to be boiling at the same rate - but apparently not. The caramel was still tasty, but was just "Mm, good," as opposed to a chorus of angels.

We have neither a bain marie nor a crock pot; pardon this ignorant question, but what is the difference between a crock pot and a pressure cooker? We have the latter, and only use it about once a year (when we get the urge for beef stew) so it would be nice to put it to use