To say that dulce de leche is a pantry staple throughout Latin America is almost an understatement. Tubs of the creamy, glossy milk jam sit on kitchen tables and line supermarket shelves the way peanut butter does in America—but it’s arguably more pervasive. Under some circumstances, the preserve is actually eligible for medical coverage.
Recipes
15 Great Ways to Eat More Dulce de Leche
Is there anything Latin America’s creamy, butterscotchy milk jam can’t do?
By Sandra Wu
Published Dec. 28, 2021.
“If you’re diabetic in Argentina,” said Josephine Caminos Oría, Argentine American author of Dulce de Leche: Recipes, Stories, and Sweet Traditions (2017), “you can get a prescription for a dulce de leche with stevia that your insurance company will cover at the pharmacy.”
It’s also easy and satisfying to make yourself. I developed two approaches, for an oven and for a multicooker, that are almost entirely hands-off; read more about them and the magical transformation of runny milk to gooey jam here.
Best of all, it’s incredibly versatile and keeps for weeks in the fridge. Thanks to its complex sweetness and semisolid consistency, it can function as a spread, sweetener, glaze, filling, and topping. Here are just a handful of ways to use it; feel free to share new ideas in the comments section below.
15 Great Ways to Eat More Dulce de Leche
1. Spread on buttered toast.
2. Stir into coffee or hot chocolate.
3. Balance acidity in vinaigrette or pan sauces.
4. Sweeten baby food.
5. Drizzle over pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
6. Mix into oatmeal.
7. Pour over ice cream or yogurt.
8. Fill cookies, cakes, crepes, doughnuts, or churros.
9. Swirl into brownies.
10. Blend into milkshakes.
11. Use as a dip for fruit or (for a salty-sweet fix) pretzels.
12. Glaze pork or poultry.
13. Toss with roasted vegetables.
14. Flavor butter for corn on the cob.
15. Pair with assertive cheeses.
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