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February 20, 2008 – March 2, 2008
Product of the Week – Dulce de Leche
La Salamandra Dulce de Leche, Häagen Dazs Dulce de Leche Ice Cream, and Ciao Bella Dulce de Leche Gelato will be 25% off for Gourmet Club members for the next two weeks.
Dulce de leche is a traditional South American confection. I discovered it when I wrote about it in a gourmet newsletter back in 2004. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a friend about dessert sauces and mentioned dulce de leche. This friend had never had any so, of course, I went to my refrigerator and offered her some. She was hooked, and I realized that it was time to write another article about one of my favorite foods. Deulce de leche is a versatile sauce. South Americans refer to it as “milk jam,” “milk candy,” “mild caramel,” or “sweet milk”. Whatever it is called, it is heaven! I have always been a lover of both butterscotch and caramel sauces to top coffee ice cream with or drizzle over brownies or pound cake but those sauces don’t come close to dulce de leche, whose main ingredients are sugar and milk. You can taste the milk in this sinfully thick, smooth and creamy, rich, but not overly sweet confection. I hate to admit it but I sometimes eat it by the spoonful (pure heaven!). I also heat it and spoon it onto ice cream (coffee is my favorite), spread some on toast for breakfast (remember that it is called milk jam), and mix it with warm milk, I also use it in the recipes provided below. Try some dulce de leche while it is on sale for the next two weeks. I’m sure it will become a staple in your home!
RECIPES –
(All recipes may be found in the recipe archives at www.sicklesmarket.com)
DESCRIPTION –
Dulce de leche is a cooked dairy product made from whole milk, sugar, baking soda, and vanilla flavoring. Basically it is milk cooked until it caramelizes. There are two basic methods for making dulce de leche. The actual recipes can be found at www.sicklesmarket.com in the recipe section. One method calls for cooking cans of sweetened condensed milk (unopened or with two small holes punched in each can, depending upon the recipe) in fairly deep boiling water for at least two hours and up to six hours. Let the cans cool to room temperature before opening them or they might explode. What you get is a thick, delicious, creamy caramel-like sauce. If you are thinking of following this basic recipe you should be aware that all cans of sweetened condensed milk contain a phrase warning you not to boil them since they might explode. The internet is full of people who say they make dulce de leche this way all the time but, being somewhat cautious, I probably would try the more traditional method. This basic recipe calls for boiling whole milk and skimming it several times, then adding sugar and a split vanilla bean and cooking the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. You then add the baking soda and continue cooking until the milk mixture has been reduced by at least half and is really thick and golden colored. The process takes more than three hours and requires some attention during that time but the end result is definitely worth the effort!
Sickles Market carries the Farmhouse La Salamandra brand of Dulce de Leche. In 2000, it received the Gold Product Award for Outstanding Jam, Spread, Preserve, or Sweet Topping at the New York Fancy Food Show. It is the best of the best! La Salamandra is an Argentinian dairy farm located near Buenos Aires. This farm is in the process of being certified organic. Their cows are allowed to graze on open pastureland so their milk is rich, flavorful, and of high quality. The milk is taken straight from the dairy to the “dulceria” where it is cooked with sugar until it turns into dulce de leche. This dairy does not make butter so the butterfat has not been skimmed off. The whole milk makes incredibly rich dulce de leche. With Salamandra Dulce de Leche readily available you don’t need to make your own. Simply treat yourself to some La Salamandra Dulce de Leche today!
There are two other products we carry that are made with dulce de leche: Häagen Dazs Dulce de Leche Ice Cream and Ciao Bella Dulce de Leche Gelato. Each is vanilla ice cream or gelato with dulce de leche swirled through it! Häagen Dazs has had the flavor for a number of years, well before La Salamandra won its award and the Fancy Food Show. Häagen Dazs probably had a lot to do with popularizing this truly incredible taste sensation. Their clientele developed a taste for dulce de leche and the rest is history!
A COMPARISON WITH OTHER DESSERT SAUCES –
As I mentioned earlier, I have always loved butterscotch and caramel sauce. The Dulce de Leche label says it is “milk caramel” but it is distinctly different than either caramel sauce or butterscotch sauce. Good caramel sauce, as we know it in the United States, is thicker than peanut butter in consistency and has an elasticity (like caramel candy) that neither butterscotch nor dulce de leche have. Also, there is almost always a touch of burnt sugar flavor to good caramel. Butterscotch sauce is smoother, very creamy, and not as thick as either caramel or dulce de leche. I almost always taste a hint of the brown sugar and butter with which it is usually made. Both caramel sauce and butterscotch sauce are delicious! The other night I did an informal taste test of all three sauces. I still really liked both caramel sauce and butterscotch sauce. But then I tried La Salamandra Dulce de Leche again. La Salamandra truly is the best of the best. Its incredible texture and its sweet caramel milk flavor are much more subtle and sophisticated than the other two sauces. There is no comparison! I am a dulce de leche convert!
SERVING SUGGESTIONS –
When you open a jar of dulce de leche (either homemade or store bought) you will need a spoon to scoop some out. It is much too thick to pour and reminds me of the thickness and texture of very smooth peanut butter. Straight out the jar you can spread it on toast or eat it with a spoon. When it is heated (the microwave works well and quickly) you can pour it over ice cream, drizzle it over cheesecake, angel food cake, or brownies or use it as a dipping sauce for fresh fruit such as strawberries, bananas, apples, pineapple, or star fruit. It makes a delicious filling for cookies and cakes and is an incredible addition to rice pudding, bread pudding, crème brûlée and crème anglaise. The uses for dulce de leche are limited only by your own taste and imagination. Experiment! Regardless of how you eat dulce de leche, savor the thick, rich, deep caramel flavor. Yum!
Happy eating,
Sallie Smith
WEBSITES –
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Cheese of the Month Club
Each month members receive three premium cheeses (over 1 pound), accompanied by tasting notes, cheese descriptions, and complimenting condiments. Store pickup, local delivery or UPS available.
It’s like a party in box!
A Great Gift To Give Or Receive!
Please visit our Cheese Department for further details or call (732) 741-9563 and speak with one of our Cheese Mongers!
3 Month Membership - $100.00
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