DULCE DE LECHE

PRIDE OF ARGENTINA

THE TRADITION OF DULCE DE LECHE

No product in Europe has such a cult following as dulce de leche in South America. Every country produces its own version of this milk jam, with its own name: arequipe (Venezuela, Colombia), bollo de leche (Nicaragua), manjar (Ecuador, Chile), manjar blanco (Peru), cajeta (Mexico, where it is made with goat’s milk), doce de leite (Brazil, also Portugal) and dulce de leche (Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, where it is most famous).

THE ORIGINS OF THE RECIPE

The origins of this smooth, creamy caramel-coloured spread remain unclear. It is not certain that the recipe, based on milk and sugar, was invented in South America. Even France has a claim on it—with some historians claiming that dulce de leche made its first appearance in the saucepans of a cook for napoleon’s army, who left some sweetened milk for the soldiers on the heat too long. Dulce de leche had a place in Argentinian gastronomy much earlier than this, however, since business registers from 1620 show that it was already a common import. Today, several South American countries claim the dish as their own. Indeed Argentina’s claim to dulce de leche as part of its gastronomic heritage is controversial for defenders of Uruguayan cuisine. For them dulce de leche, along with the tango and the candombe, belong to the rioplatense heritage (shared by countries around the Río de la Plata).

HOME-MADE DDL/SHOP-BOUGHT DDL

Today, you can buy dulce de leche from shops in jars. Choose brands that are directly imported from Argentina. These are fine for biscuits and ice creams, though nothing beats home-made dulce de leche, with no preservatives and tailored to your own personal taste (more or less sweet, more or less cooked, etc). The recipe following may take a long time, but it’s very easy!