Who invented the Dulce de Leche? From Marco Polo to a chambermaid by Juan Manuel de Rosas, legends about his origin

They say it was in a stay in Cañuelas, in the kitchen of a big house in Buenos Aires or a Chilean recipe that was disseminated by Cuyo and Tucumán. That it all started in India and Indonesia. Or in the Philippines when they were called the Poniente and San Lázaro Islands. In Brazil or Russia.

The legends of Lasa are numerous about this creation which associates personalities of the caliber of Marco Polo, Juan Manuel de Rosas and Juan Lavalle, Cristóbal Colón, José de San Martín and Santiago de Liniers.

Dulce de Leche has its international day, decreed by the Argentinian Center for the Promotion of Dulce de Leche and related products in 1998, and a story with diffuse origins, branched out across the world and through the ages.

When he General Saint-Martin crossed to Chile in 1817, someone offered him dulce de leche, which they called “delicacy”. The Liberator loved him so much that he brought a good supply to his countryside in Peru. They assure that in the viceroyal era, when the neighboring country was the captaincy general, this product had already crossed the mountain range and used in the region of Cuyo and Tucumán, and that there are archives of the Jesuits in regards to.

But maybe, Dulce de leche comes before the winds of independence. In 1806, the Buenos Aires scandal broke out in Ana Perichon, spouse Thomas o’gorman, and his romance with Santiago de Liniers. It is said that at the beginning of the century, the “Madama O’Gorman” which was born in 1775, He had dulce de leche among his favorite recipes.

Or maybe years later: there is a great history repeating itself in Argentina with some vestiges of veracity. And this is it.

After the shoot Manuel Dorrego, the general Juan Lavalle had been caught in a complicated web between his Unitarian allies and Juan Manuel de Rosas, the federal leader was already an adversary to be feared. When in February 1829 José de San Martin Arrived at the port of Buenos Aires, learned of the revolution and the fate of Dorrego, he refused to disembark and also refused to take charge of the governorate of Buenos Aires. Lavalle then felt that he had no other way out than to come to terms with Rosas.

On July 16, accompanied by his assistant, Captain Estrada, he went to the enemy camp of Cañuelas. Night came late and his presence surprised everyone. Rosas was not there, he had gone out to inspect his strength. Lavalle ordered a companion, stretched out on Rosas’s bed, and fell asleep soundly.

One of the housekeepers couldn’t believe what he saw and ran to comment on the news, forget the milk with sugar that boiled to make coulis, which has become what today we call dulce de leche.

The same story, unverifiable, that we also find with Napoleon Bonaparte as the protagonist, which would have happened in 1804. It is said that this is how the dulce de leche was born.

But the fact that its base is milk and sugar, and the characteristic color of which is obtained through the Maillard reaction, suggests that many cultures, at different times in history, made it.

Who was born centuries ago in India and Indonesia and that when the Spanish conquerors seized the Poniente and San Lázaro Islands and renamed them PhilippinesThey discovered it and took it to America, and there it spread across the continent.

There is no shortage of those who argue that This candy was brought to America by slaves, who managed to keep various food edible. They would have discovered it by boiling milk with sugar.

The Brazilians also enter the auction. They claim that in the middle of the 18th century it was already made in minas Gerais. And in Russia it is recommended to ignore the claim that this is an Argentine invention. For them it is the “varione sgushonka” and the Tartars have already done it, at the time of Marco Polo.

In the name of “delicacy” given in Chile, Dulce de leche is known as “white manjar” in Peru, “Doux de cajeta” in Mexico, “Urrao cheese” in Bolivia, “Fanguito” fr Cuba, “Bienmesabe” in Panama, “Arequipe” in Colombia, Venezuela and Guatemala. And the names follow.

Waging war on Uruguay?

In 2003 there was an attempt by our country for the World Trade Organization Dulce de leche, asado and empanadas should be declared cultural heritage of the country.

Uruguayans put the cry in the sky and immediately the twists and turns of diplomacy between the two countries began. Across the pond for they threatened to include the caption “Uruguayan product like La Cumparsita” on the label of products made in that country. And they recalled that Cayetano Silva, author of San Lorenzo Walk he was born in Maldonado.

The solomonic solution was to declare this delight “Cultural heritage of the Río de la Plata” and we kept him from getting old.

How did the story between Lavalle and Rosas end? On his return, he ordered that Lavalle be left to sleep and when he woke up, between mate and mate they arranged things and would sign a pact on June 24. There would still be a lot of water flowing under the bridge, as it continues to flow with the dulce de leche that even a tango would have had, when it was instrumental.

Perhaps the only real Argentinian certainty is this popular phrase where it is ensured that for decades those born on this earth We paddle in dulce de leche.

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