Community Pick
Dulce de Leche
photo by May I Have That Rec
- Ready In:
- 4hrs 2mins
- Ingredients:
- 1
- Yields:
-
10 servings or more
ingredients
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
directions
- Pierce the top of the can with a bottle opener and remove paper from can.
- Cover top of can tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place in a sauce pan, submerge in water to 1" from the top.
- Boil over med-low heat for 4 hours.
- Open lid of can and place contents in a bowl.
- EXCELLENT for dipping apples, pears, crackers and for spreading of bread and great on ice cream!
Questions & Replies
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Reviews
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Actually, the people that boil the can without opening it first are not idiots but know what they are doing. If you submerge the whole can in water (at least an inch of water above the can) the can will never explode. Instead, you will be able to make the caramel in half the time, since it will be boiled under pressure. In two hours you will have semi-solid spread and in 3.5 a solid dessert. Plus it's easy, no need to open the can, find a foil, measure the water level. Just take the can and boil it. Voila.
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You're right, this is an incredible sauce! I can remember doing this in college in the '70's, so it has been around awhile (ooo...I'm getting old!). At that time, warnings were abundant, regarding exploding cans, burns, etc. But I think the method you describe can be done safely. I think the previous idiots were trying to boil the can without opening it first (DUH!).
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Previously I used to cook this (can unopened method) a lot, but as I like to see what I'm cooking, today I tried yet another method: pour contents of can into a sterile glass jar, the kind you would use for fruit or jam preserves. Close lid with ring in place. Put in a pot with water level an inch or so higher than contents of jar. Boil until desired shade of golden brown. It worked!! I think I boiled it for approx. 1 1/2 hours.
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After reading all the comments, I felt obligated to add my own to clarify. Dulce de Leche is originally from Argentina, not Brazil. Dulce de Leche is Spanish, not Portuguese for 'milk jam' or 'milk sweet'. It it was from Brazil, where the speak Portuguese, it would be called "doce de leite". Originally, my mother made it from scratch by boiling milk, sugar and a vanilla bean pod, stirring constantly for 8 hours. Now, we have an easy way to make it out of sweetened condensed milk in 2-4 hours, depending on the thickness you prefer. Yes, you boil a sealed can (or several), making sure they are fully covered with water at all times. If they are not fully covered with water at all times, they will explode and you will have caramelcicles hanging from your ceiling. The cans will now blow up as long as there are a couple of inches of water covering them. In Argentina, 'cajeta' is a dirty word, so don't refer to dulce de leche as 'cajeta' in Argentina. Cajeta is the term used in Mexico for this product. A little research will answer these questions for you. And yes, you can buy this product commercially in the United States. Most Walmart stores sell dulce de leche in the ethnic food isle. You can also purchase this only through Amigo Foods: http://www.amigofoods.com/dulce-de-leche.html and other resources. You cannot obtain the same results by using evaporated milk. That is a different product and does not contain the necessary ingredients to become dulce de leche.
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I have never had Dulce de Leche before but have new neighbors from South America and wanted to make them something special to welcome them...so alfajores seemed like an easy one to try. So after deciding simple Dulce de Leche was best and reading the reviews I decided to try the UNopened can version of this, but was prepared to fall back to the slower version if needed. I set my timer every 15 minutes to make sure the water level was sufficiently over the cans and cooked for 2 hours, then I left the cans in the water with the heat off over-night to cool. When I opened them this beautiful golden creation greeted me. About the consistency of peanut butter and a small taste sent me reeling. How incredible! One can would certainly have been enough but I guess I will just HAVE to make some cake truffles with it too or maybe just a filling in a layer cake if I can keep my spoon from finding it's way to my mouth. Won't be the last time I make this!
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Meghan
Washington, District of Columbia
ravenous foodie. fortune cookie prophet. crochet superstar. graceful klutz.