THINGS I LIKE: Dolce de Leche

Dolce de leche  (Spanish; "sweetness of milk"; "milk candy") is a mixture of milk and sugar that is heated until  caramelized to form a sweet, thick, creamy spread or sauce. Dolce de leche originated in Argentina in 1829 in the province of Canuelas in Buenos Aires where two opposing factions were at war to determine who would control the area. A meeting had  been arranged to discuss a peace treaty between Generals Lavalle and Manual de Rosas, commanders of the two opposing forces, The meeting was to to be held at the camp of  General de Rosas. When General Lavalle arrived at  General de Rosas tent that evening, he found that de Rosas had been delayed and would not arrive for a while. Lavalle decided that since  he was already in General de Rosas tent and had to wait for him, he would take a short nap in de Rosas bed. While this was happening, a servant woman cook on de Rosas staff, was preparing a treat for the his soldiers; "la Lechada, "a mixture of heated milk and sugar. The cook wanted to clarify some things with General de Rosas and went to his tent, not knowing that the meeting with Lavelle had been planned. When she entered de Rosas tent and saw Lavalle in de Rosas  bed, she thought "the enemy' was invading the camp, Therefore, she raised the alarm and ran around alerting the soldiers. General de Rosas who arrived shortly thereafter, sorted out the confusion, stopped his soldiers from waking Lavalle and allowed his nap to continue. However, because of the confusion, the cook had forgotten about "la Lechada". When she finally got back to it, she found that it had become a thick, brown, creamy substance which a brave soldier tasted and loved. Thus, Dolce de Leche was born!

Dolce de Leche is very simple to make using canned, sweetened  condensed milk.(any brand; any size)

 PROCEDURE

1) Submerge a sealed can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water just brought to the simmer,

2) Simmer for two hours.

3) Cool completely.

4) Open can and VOILA! Dolce de Leche.

5) Use Dolce de Leche as a spread on bread, on slices of or as a filling for cake, as a topping for ice cream, for fresh/canned fruit or any other way that comes to your mind. Dolce de Leche will keep very well in your refrigerator.