History, trends, tips and recipes on the day of Dulce de Leche

Like most great discoveries, the seductive flavors of gastronomy and those that have changed our worldview are born of distraction. And the birth of our beloved
dulce de leche This is not exempt from omission.

The story comes to us since 1829, with the story of a cook from Rosas at the time of the mythical day of the signing of the Cañuelas pact between Juan Manuel de Rosas, head of the federal forces and commander of the unitary army Juan The valley. The room's cook, La Caledonia, was responsible for the coulis, a mixture of hot, sweet milk with which Rosas took his companions. When Lavalle arrived, tired of the trip, she lay down on a bed in which Rosas usually rested. The maid, who went to fetch a friend from the restaurant, found the place occupied by the enemy chief, and informed the guard. Meanwhile, the forgotten gruel was boiling in the pan and there remained a thick brown candy. It's become the mix we all know today under the name of Dulce de leche.

More or less close to reality, and because of the pact of Cañuelas where, with the surrender of Lavalle, Rosas paved the way for the representation not only of the farmers of Buenos Aires, but also the definitive head of all the province, our sweet is born of milk

Thus, for several decades, every October 11, is celebrated the World Sweet Milk Day, a date that aims to pay tribute to one of the most representative products of our country, recognized as cultural heritage food and gastronomy of Argentina .

Local consumption

According to the study proposed by Puratos, the Belgian group supplying raw materials and products to the world of bakery, pastry and chocolate, in Argentina, consumption of dulce de leche per person is between 3 and 3.5 kilos, triple the respect of the kilo that we eat chocolate.

Romina Borda, head of the Puratos Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay operations, understands that the local market is highly developed and competitive. Of the more than 130,000 tonnes produced in the country, 90% are destined for the local market and only 10% are exported. The main international supporters are Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel.

For the family dairy basket, dulce de leche ranks fourth, after milk, cheese and yoghurt. However, most of the production of the product is destined for development in the pastry and food industry. Only 24% go to home consumption, the highest consumption being indicated for the manufacture of alfajores and ice cream (45%), then for the bakery and confectionery.

The cooking process

As with the Rosas employee, dulce de leche is formed by caramelizing sugar with milk. However, the bicarbonate aggregate is still added to the food industry. According to Luz Azul, about the dairy products, "the function of the bicarbonate is to neutralize the natural acidity of the milk, preventing the sugar from" cutting "during cooking and thus facilitating the caramelization of the milk. The mixture is cooked in buckets for about 3 hours until the components are concentrated and caramelized.The glucose is added before the end of the cooking. The main purpose is to shine.For the sweet pastries or confectioners, additives are also incorporated responsible for giving it the necessary consistency.The cooking ends when the solids content of the mixture reaches 68% .The candy cools to 70 ° C and is conditioned in its different presentations ", explains the master Blue Light maker.

In Milkaut they state that "although Argentine dulce de leche is made from cow's milk, sugar, vanilla essence and baking soda, in some cases cream of milk may be incorporated. original candy is made from cow's milk but it can also be made with goat's milk "And they contribute to the fact that although its preparation is not exactly the same, in other countries it also exists, but under other names. "It is known as twelve of leite in the Portuguese-speaking countries, sweet milk in English, milk jam in French, fanguito in Cuba, cajeta in Mexico – they have a specific variety of Celaya that combines goat's milk, sugar brown and cinnamon and Radaby in India, where he then went to the Arab countries. "

To commemorate their day, the San Ignacio company has joined the Ott Institute of Higher Education and will present a pastry demonstration course by Luciano García, director of the institution's pastry shop and author of the book Dulce de Leche. The appointment will be this Friday 11th and to attend, you must register on www.ott.edu.ar

"For 80 years, our history has linked us to this noble product, of which we have retained the traditional recipe and which is today already accepted internationally in more than 22 countries," said Alejandro Reca, San San's director and chief financial officer. Ignacio. points out that "San Ignacio has been a pioneer in the export of dulce de leche since the beginning of its expedition since 1978 in Germany".

L & # 39; alfajor

As the numbers show, ice cream and alfajor are the ones that add the most pounds to the consumption of dulce de leche. The taste in ice cream is one of the favorites and if we talk about two stuffed tapas … it would be worth it if we talked about three.

In 1969, the classic Argentinean alfajor with two heads, filled with dulce de leche, became a triple. Triple Fantoche emerged from one of the many tests conducted at the Villa Lugano factory and flourished in the 1980s with the insertion in school kiosks that gave the mark 50% of the market. From the board of directors of the company, they confess that the triple was a very successful product and without market research. "This is without a doubt an innovation that broke the mold, because it has transformed one of the bases of alfajor without losing its essence, we are already in history." The dulce de leche they use is Vacalin, a family and local business

Borges and the Dulce de Leche

As Luciano García tells in his cookbook Dulce de Leche, edited by Planeta, Borges confessed to journalist Esteban Peicovich that dulce de leche was his sin of gluttony. In one of his many interviews with Aldolfo Bioy Casares, Borges told him "We can not marry someone who does not know what a poncho is or what is the dulce de leche" , and to reaffirm the passion, it is said that the dulce de leche was the dessert chosen by Borges during his last dinner before his dinner. Departure for Switzerland with Maria Kodama.

Types of Dulce de leche

How Luciano García develops in the book, there are several types according to its use.

Classic, Family or Traditional. Its main characteristic is shine and lightness. This is the one that is eaten for spreading toast and in desserts where firmness is not required, such as pancakes. In the mouth, it contains less sugar and has a better taste of caramelized milk.

Pastry chef It is more concentrated, opaque, can contain plant substances to increase its consistency and in some cases corn starch is added.

Ice Cream Maker It is for industrial use, dark, with more color, brightness and flavor. It allows to perfume an ice cream base without losing the balance of the recipes already obtained, because it will be necessary to apply less quantity than if a traditional preparation was applied.

Alfajorero. It is used in the industry for loads of alfajores. It is a product with a structure and a cut that prevents the displacement of the lids during the process of typing or threshing, if any

Smoke It is obtained by smoking milk, it is used in ice cream and various desserts.

Tips for everyone:

• Rogel: just spread the right amount and use dough.
• Alfajores: best pastry chef for its good structure
• Pancakes: use the traditional but not too much to feel the taste of the dough.
• Cakes: To cover the cakes, you must use the traditional if you want to get a thicker layer, use the pastry chef.

Combinations

We love bedding alone or with anything, we do not have a lot of favoritism when it comes to tasting it, but those who know it recommend certain combinations to make their harmony in the mouth more attractive. The baker and confectioner Luciano García proposes this list:

Yes

Good chocolate, dairy products like yogurt or cheese, citrus fruits, nuts, spices like cinnamon, cardamom, herbs like mint; Coconut, rice, pasta, pasta with sponge cake, bananas, plums, sweets and chocolates.

No

Apple, pineapple, red fruits, except strawberry (we like Argentineans), ginger, salty preparations, very sweet preparations.

Let's go

Alfajor from Luciano García (20 portions):

• San Ignacio sweet pastry milk, 500 g
• Mantaca, 135 g
• Sugar, 135 g
• Honey 25 g
• Vanilla extract, 1 tbsp.
• Small egg, 1
• ½ zest of orange
• .Harina 0000, 180 g
• Cornstarch, 60 g
• Bitter cocoa powder, 35 g
• .Almond powder, 60 g
• Baking soda, 2 g
• Yeast powder, 3 g

Blanket:

• Medium chocolate, 400 g
• Cocoa butter, 40 g

1.Place the soft butter (ointment) with the sugar, honey and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat until you get a cream. Add the egg and keep beating. Flavor with the orange zest 2. Tamizar on a butter paper butter the flour with starch, cocoa, almond powder, baking soda and baking powder. Mix all the dry ingredients. Add them gradually to the butter mixture and mix until the ingredients are perfectly integrated. 3. Divide the dough into 20 portions and place each between a film or polyethylene paper. Stretch the portions with a rolling pin until you reach 4 millimeters thick. Reserve the stretched portions in the refrigerator for 20 minutes 4. Cut the circles of the drawn dough with a pasta cutter 4 cm in diameter. Arrange the lids on plates covered with silicone paper or enmantecados. Refrigerate or freeze 5. Preheat the oven to 170 ° and cook the lids for 6 to 8 minutes. They should be opaque and slightly detach their sides. Let them cool to unmould 6. Place the San Ignacio milk candy in a pastry bag. Draw a spiral of dulce de leche on the base of half of the eyelids and close with the others by exerting a slight pressure. 7. To bathe the alfajores: melt the chocolate and cocoa butter in a bain-marie, temper them to bathe the alfajores one by one.

Ice Dulce de Leche easy. 6 servings

• 500 g cooked milk Repostero Dulce de Leche
• 100 cc milk Milkaut
• 400 cc milk cream Milkaut

1. Mix Milk Milkaut Repostero Dulce with the hot Milkaut Milk to lighten it. Beat the Milkaut Milk Cream until it starts to form firm picks. Slowly add the beaten Milkaut milk cream to the preparation of step 1 by mixing with wraparound movements. Place in a bowl and take the frezzer to freeze.

IN ADDITION