Dulce de leche
 A jar of dulce de leche | |
| Alternative names | Manjar, manjar blanco, Arequipe |
|---|---|
| Type | Confectionery |
| Created by | Disputed[1][2][3] |
| Main ingredients | Milk, sugar |
| Variations | Cajeta, Arequipe |
| 320 kcal (1340 kJ) | |
Dulce de leche (pronounced [ˈdulse ðe ˈletʃe]; Portuguese: doce de leite [ˈdosi dʒi ˈlejtʃi] or [ˈdose de ˈlejte]) is a confection prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a substance that derives its taste from the Maillard reaction, changing flavor and color.[3] Literally translated, it means "candy or sweet of milk" or "candy or sweet [made] of milk", "milk candy or sweet", or "milk jam" in the same way that dulce de frutilla is strawberry jam. It is popular in Latin America, notably in Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela. The dulce de leche of El Salvador has a soft, crumbly texture, with an almost crystallized form. Mexico had versions as manjar (vanilla flavored) or cajeta which is made from goat's milk. In Cuba, dulce de leche is made from soured milk that's curdled and then sweetened. In the Dominican Republic it is made with equal parts milk and sugar with cinnamon, and the texture is more like fudge. In Puerto Rico dulce de leche is sometimes made with unsweetened coconut milk.
Dulce de leche is also popular in the only Hispanic country in Asia, the Philippines, where it is usually paired with cakes or breakfast rolls. As in other places, it has also found its way into other desserts such as cakes and ice cream.
A French version, known as confiture de lait (literally "milk jam"), is very similar to the spreadable forms of dulce de leche.
The Norwegian HaPå spread is a commercial variant that is thicker and less sweet. The name is an abbreviation of "Hamar" where it originally was made and "Pålegg"(spread). "Ha på" literally means "put on" as a reference to putting it on a slice of bread. HaPå originated during the Second World War when, due to the scarcity of supplies, housewives would boil Viking-melk (a type of condensed milk) to a very similar type of spread. After the war the production was commercialized and continues to this day.
In Russia, the same preparation, traditionally made by boiling cans of condensed milk in water bath for several hours is known as "варёная сгущёнка" ("boiled condensed milk") as long as condensed milk is known there, and was (and still is) a mainstay of home confectioners and sweet fillings. In Soviet times there was some commercial production, but at a scale insufficient to meet a demand, so most households returned to traditional at-home preparation. Since the fall of the USSR the spread (though often imitated by various starch-based concoctions) exploded in popularity and is widely commercially produced both in can form and as an ingredient and default filling in various sweets.
Preparation and uses
The most basic recipe calls for slowly simmering milk and sugar, stirring almost constantly, although other ingredients such as vanilla may be added for flavor. Much of the water in the milk evaporates and the mix thickens; the resulting dulce de leche is usually about a sixth of the volume of the milk used. The transformation that occurs in preparation is caused by a combination of two common browning reactions called caramelization and the Maillard reaction.[4]
A home-made form of dulce de leche is sometimes made by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for two to three hours (or 30 to 45 minutes in a pressure cooker), particularly by those living in countries where it cannot be bought ready-made. It is dangerous to do this on a stove: if the pot is allowed to boil dry, the can will overheat and explode.[5]
Dulce de leche is used to flavour candies or other sweet foods, such as cakes, churros, cookies (see alfajor), waffles, crème caramel (known as flan in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions), and ice creams; it provides the "toffee" part of English Banoffee pie and is also a popular spread on pancakes and toast, while the French confiture de lait is commonly served with fromage blanc.
A solid candy made from dulce de leche, similar to the Polish krówka and named Vaquita ("little cow"), was manufactured by the Mu-Mu factory in Argentina until the company went out of business in 1984. Subsequently, other brands began to manufacture similar candies, giving them names such as "Vauquita" and "Vaquerita" in an effort to link their products to the original.
A similar recipe is used to prepare basundi in India, which resembles a less condensed dulce de leche, flavoured with cardamom and eaten as a dessert.
In 1997, the ice cream company Häagen-Dazs introduced a dulce de leche-flavoured ice cream. In the same year,[6] Starbucks began offering dulce de leche-flavoured coffee products.[7] In early 2009, Girl Scouts of the USA introduced cookies with dulce de leche-flavored chips as part of their annual cookie sales program.[8][9] In October 2012, Herbalife released a limited edition dulce de leche flavored nutritional shake mix.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "How To Make Dulce De Leche". Huffington Post. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2014. How To Make Dulce De Leche "Dulce de Leche". Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ "History of Dulce de Leche". Retrieved 11 June 2014."History of confiture (French)". Retrieved 03 December 2014.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b "Origen mítico del dulce de leche". edant.clarin.com (in Spanish). Clarín. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner. p. 657. ISBN 0-684-80001-2. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ Kijac, Maria Baez (2003). The South American Table: The Flavor and Soul of Authentic Home Cooking from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro, with 450 Recipes. Boston, MA: Harvard Common Press. p. 391. ISBN 1-55832-249-3. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ Google books Orange Coast Magazine Nov 1998
- ^ Felice Torre (2007). "Taste the Flavors of my Homeland". Starbucks. [dead link]
- ^ "New weights and shapes (PDF)" (PDF). Girl Scouts Eastern Washington & Northern Idaho. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Girl Scouts. Meet the Cookies: Dulce de Leche". Girlscouts.org. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ Limited Edition Formula 1 Healthy Meal Nutritional Shake Mix, Dulce de Leche
External links
