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« The Biggest Bottle of Red in Paris... Dulce de Leche/Confiture de Lait November 6, 2005
The first time I had Dulce de Leche I began spooning it directly from the jar and into my mouth and before I knew it, I had made it almost all the way through the jar. I scraped it off the spoon with my teeth, savoring every sticky, sugary mouthful. The jar of Dulce de Leche I was given had a picture of a goat on the label and was called Cajeta. I had developed a fondness for goat milk since I lived very near a goat dairy in upstate New York, and while perhaps not to everyone's taste, the farmhouse tang of it I found very appealling. Once in a while they'd invite me over for some homemade goat milk ice cream which was so delicious that any ice cream I ate with cow's milk after that seemed bland and one-dimensional. Since I also love anything caramelized, coupled with the barnyardy taste of goat milk, I'd found heaven in this sweet-silky paste...conveniently packed in a nice glass jar from our friends south-of-the-border.
(And if you don't like it, I urge you to send me the rest of the jar.) I had always associated this delicious spread with Mexico, but when I moved to France, I was surprised to see fromageries all across Paris with bright-orange signs announcing the presence of "Confiture de Lait, Ici!". And sure enough, between the earthenware bowls of gloppy and rich crème frâiche and mounds of sunshine-yellow beurre en baratte inside, there's always a heaping bowl of shiny and deeply caramelized milk jam that they're happy to scoop up for you to take home to spread on your morning baguette, which the French call le tartine. It's the traditional breakfast of leftover baguette from dinner the night before, toasted, then smeared with lots of butter, perhaps some nice jam, or confiture de lait (which as you can imagine, is especially popular with les enfants.) The crusty, buttery rusk of bread is dipped in your morning bowl of café au lait, a rather delightful way to start the day. Making your own Dulce de Leche couldn't be easier. Those same recipes now also carry an advisory since sometimes those cans explode. Even though my tube of sweetened condensed milk was the inspiration for this recipe, I made the adjustment for the amount of milk that comes in the tin for your comfort, safety, and convenience. If using canned sweetened condensed milk, the brand I like best is Longevity, which I've found in Asian markets in the United States. In Paris, I find it at Tang Frères in the 13th arrondisement (48, avenue d'Ivry) or other Asian markets. Do not use evaporated milk, which is the same thing but without sugar. It ain't gonna caramelize.
From my book, The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)
Pour one can (400 gr/14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt. Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate. Once the Dulce de Leche is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using. Spoon warm Dulce de Leche over Vanilla Ice Cream or smear it on toasted slices of baguette for your morning breakfast, as I've been doing.
Comments This reminds me so much of growing up. In Brazil 'doce de leite' as we call it, has always been very popular. What a surprise to see it here in your blog. Always good things. Posted by valentina at November 6, 2005 6:59 PM Hmmm, I always boil the cans, but I do make it a point to be separated from the stove by a wall for as much of the boiling time as possible! Actually I read that as long as the cans stay completely submerged, there's very little risk. Have you tried making your own goat-milk cajeta? I did a few months ago and it was stellar. Let me know if you'd like the recipe. By the way, I love your addition of sea salt to the milk, I'll have to try it. Posted by Melissa at November 6, 2005 7:22 PM Here in Argentina the Dulce de Leche is THE national sweet... there are several versions and dulce de leche icecream is great! For me the best procedure is boiling milk, sugar and sodium bicarbonate but boiling condensed milk cans is also good... always taking care of covering the cans with water. Next post I´ll send my recipe... Posted by Sil at November 6, 2005 10:17 PM I've always wanted to try making dulce de leche, but that can-boiling business seemed too scary. Now with your recipe, though, I see some caramelized condensed milk in my immediate future! Thank you. Posted by Molly at November 6, 2005 10:47 PM Hi David! Posted by Nicky at November 7, 2005 2:25 AM I have been reading everything - just lacking time for commenting. So in no particular order here goes; Among the things I love about Paris is having met you * And learned of your blog. Is all Cajeta made from goat's milk? I purchased a large jar of Cajeta at the Mexican restaurant supply here in Paris, and have been slowly going through it. Yum! We put it in plain yogurt, but a pinch on a crepe, or on toast is a good idea. As much as I agree with some of your things to hate about Paris I don't universally include bad coffee. You can find really good coffee, you have to search it out. Hope your internet/cable is back soon. Have you thought about getting a FreeBox? Posted by Alisa at November 7, 2005 3:24 AM Thank you for this excellent and easy recipe. I love this stuff madly. It's really nice swirled into Greek yogurt. Milk with milk. And a few walnuts. Posted by lindy at November 7, 2005 9:19 AM I like this coincidence - I just picked up my very first jar of confiture de lait at a fromagerie on Rue St Antoine when I was in Paris a few weeks ago, and ate my first few spoons this weekend! It's totally scrummy and spreading it on bread sounds good or stirring into yogurt even better... Posted by Luisa at November 7, 2005 10:45 AM A jar of confiture du lait was the only foodstuff I brought home from Paris last month and I've been hoarding it. Thanks to you I can now eat the whole thing!! Posted by Shelli at November 7, 2005 1:26 PM OH MY GOD! This looks so damned good that I'm salivating at this school computer. How improper of me. David, that top picture is nearly pornographic it's so good. Okay, I'm making some tonight. That's it. Posted by shauna at November 7, 2005 5:06 PM My mother used to make dulce de leche by boiling the cans. She called it "caramel pudding" and I assumed it was a white trash delicacy (canned milk? boiling tin?). Posted by Amy at November 7, 2005 6:17 PM First of all that comment about the Diamond nose was very funny, to some of us. And if you could see my nose you would know that I don't have first hand experience. Posted by Nancy at November 7, 2005 7:30 PM One of the things I enjoyed most about a trip to Argentina a few years ago was having dulce de leche several times a day! In addition to having it on my breakfast toast, there was frequently a scoop of it served alongside flan. Sounds like overkill, but it was a brilliant idea. Posted by Paula at November 8, 2005 4:16 PM David, how long will this last in the fridge? I am not taking in to consideration how fast i might eat it but if I wanted to give as a holiday gift...WHat do you think? Posted by Nancy at November 9, 2005 1:39 PM Omigosh. Manjar!!!! I discovered this food of the gods when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile in the early 90s. I became an addict. I would eat it straight from the container. I finally had to stop when I realized I was gaining weight. But my roommates kept buying it. They thought they were hiding it from me, but I could find it no matter where they put it. Behind the red wine? Please. (Yes, I had no shame. I would steal the manjar of others.) One of them thought he could deter me from eating his manjar by leaving me a note on top of the container. He wrote, "CF - I spit in the manjar." Right. Like that was going to stop me in my desperate search for a hit. Posted by class-factotum at November 10, 2005 9:40 PM Whoa, another walk down memory lane. Growing up, my grandfather always had Longevity sweetened condensed milk in his pantry. I remember having many cups of Lipton black tea with the sweetened condensed milk. It's delicious! Definitely richer than plain old cream and sugar. Posted by Jessica "Su Good Eats" at November 10, 2005 10:58 PM This post made me laugh out loud! I completely agree that spooning dulce de leche directly into one's mouth is the way to go. I really enjoy your sense of humor! Posted by Anne at November 11, 2005 8:33 PM I have spent all day at work surfing through your blog and adoring all of your recipes and getting antsy over the descriptions. This recipe, however, has made it into my oven!! (40 minutes left, woo!) Posted by nicole at December 1, 2005 8:59 PM Okay, this is so unfair. I had just convinced myself that the can of Nestles Dulce de Leche that I bought would be fine as my intro to the caramelized treat. Now you post an easy homemade version! Curse you, you clever creative person. Okay, I'll still try my can. But next week after I've worked off the pounds, I'll make yours as well. The addition of salt makes me drool in anticipation... Posted by Ohiogirl at February 9, 2008 3:46 PM how to build a smokehouse Posted by Halo at February 12, 2008 7:17 PM
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