# The Easiest Recipe Ever: Dulce de Leche **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710 "2018-02-28T00:24:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/1 "2018-02-28T00:24:15Z")
Dulce de leche, for those unfamiliar with it, is a sort of caramel made from milk, and popular in South America. It goes well with absolutely any sort of dessert-like food imaginable. And as I was just reminded by the fact that I made some today, it’s the simplest recipe ever. Ingredients: Some cans of sweetened condensed milk Directions: Boil a big pot of water. Put the cans in (the whole unopened cans). Boil for a few hours, topping off every so often so it doesn’t boil dry. Take a can out and open it: It’s now full of delicious dulce de leche. That’s it. That’s the entire recipe. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/2 "2018-02-28T00:29:36Z")
The can doesn’t explode? What happens to the pressure buildup? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/3 "2018-02-28T00:58:56Z")
You know, this would be a wonderful way to make children drink their milk! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/4 "2018-02-28T01:17:57Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > The can doesn’t explode? What happens to the pressure buildup? I’ve never heard of a can exploding making dulce de leche and it’s an incredibly common way to make it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/5 "2018-02-28T01:39:42Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > The can doesn’t explode? What happens to the pressure buildup? Shouldn’t be any greater pressure than when the can was pasteurized, likely less. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/6 "2018-02-28T01:44:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Shouldn’t be any greater pressure than when the can was pasteurized, likely less. Plus, condensed milk is incredibly thick. It’s not likely to produce steam that would pop the can at 100 C. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/7 "2018-02-28T01:50:16Z")
I read about it and tried it when my daughter had to make an authentic Mexican food for school. Works perfectly. When the teacher found out he said she cheated (the traditional way is very time consuming). I also remember that she made a lot more than was required so she fed it to the primary schoolers on the bus on the way home. Parents were not pleased. She was unrepentant. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/8 "2018-02-28T01:55:04Z")
Good for her. Making a time consuming recipe with 60 ingredients does not make one a great cook. Cooking simple ingredients properly and that taste good are all that’s needed. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/9 "2018-02-28T02:10:49Z")
What, no one boils cans of condensed milk in Mexico? :dubious: 😕 In Russia, you can buy cans of Dulce de Leche in any supermarket. It’s very popular. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/10 "2018-02-28T03:06:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Ulfreida** : > > When the teacher found out he said she cheated (the traditional way is very time consuming). I learned the can method from an Argentinian classmate. My Colombian classmate used a different method, but his used a microwave, which must be even less traditional. I’ve sort of wondered, sometimes, what the actual traditional method is: It probably involves a double boiler and a lot of patience. **NotherYinzer** , impure water (e.g., milk) has a higher boiling point than pure water, so as long as the cans stay immersed in the water bath, they’ll never get hot enough to boil inside. And there’s only a very small air space in the sealed can, so very little expansion from that heating up, not enough to break open the cans. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/11 "2018-02-28T03:25:29Z")
I learned this method first in 1996, when I was working at a restaurant in Scotland. They didn’t call it dulce de leche, though. It was just caramelized milk or something like that. We would use it to fill tiny little pie shells (like about a quarter in diameter) for a sweet to go along with tea. I, too, was a little weirded out by boiling an item in its can, but then I realized that the water doesn’t get higher than 100C, and the boiling point of a highly sweetened milk product is going to be a few degrees higher than that, so no problem. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/12 "2018-02-28T03:48:29Z")
You can also do it in a pressure cooker such as the instant pot electric units. It’s somewhat faster, at least according to the Facebook posts. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/13 "2018-02-28T03:55:03Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > You know, this would be a wonderful way to make children drink their milk! For kids, I think you might want to leave out that special preservative. You know–Bacardi. That was my first thought when I read the thread title: that somebody tried the alcoholic drink recipe from _Guys and Dolls_. It sounds easy enough, the way Brando described it. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/14 "2018-02-28T03:59:14Z")
How long? I’ve just popped a can into a pot of water! 😃 Have only just discovered condensed milk since a recent trip to Vietnam…so we came home with VN coffee, little filters and needed the sweetened cans to make ca phe sua. Alas, we’re going to run out of coffee before our next trip in May. And I refuse to pay Aussie prices for something that is so damned cheap in VN. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/15 "2018-02-28T04:04:41Z")
Me too! This is crazy time. I just posted in the thread game about a song from ‘Guys and Dolls’…we think alike Spoons. I am convinced it’s psychic, of course I am full of crazy ideas and woo. It could be just a common coincidence. Nah, I am going with the woo. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/16 "2018-02-28T04:12:23Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > How long? I’ve just popped a can into a pot of water! 😃 About three hours is what I remember (and, checking, that seems to be right.) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/17 "2018-02-28T05:37:37Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/18 "2018-02-28T06:01:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I learned the can method from an Argentinian classmate. My Colombian classmate used a different method, but his used a microwave, which must be even less traditional. I’ve sort of wondered, sometimes, what the actual traditional method is: It probably involves a double boiler and a lot of patience. My grandmother made it by adding sugar to milk. Over a low flame, you stir it constantly until it thickens up (or until your arm fell off). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/19 "2018-02-28T07:33:54Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Me too! This is crazy time. I just posted in the thread game about a song from ‘Guys and Dolls’…we think alike Spoons. I am convinced it’s psychic, of course I am full of crazy ideas and woo. It could be just a common coincidence. Nah, I am going with the woo. I noticed that. I’m going to ignore the woo, and simply state that great minds think alike. 😉 [end hijack] ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/20 "2018-02-28T08:01:11Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > The can doesn’t explode? What happens to the pressure buildup? The key part of the OP is topping off the water. Forget or take a nap, and it’s supposed to be an explosion risk. You can poke holes in the top and then scrape it off as necessary but that wastes a lot. I’ve done it. Pretty interesting. Maybe I should again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710.md?page=2)