# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/41 "2018-02-28T19:22:23Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Name some desserts that this would be added? > > Ice Cream? > > Chocolate cake? > > Banana Bread? I just learned the boiled can method during a cooking class at a local restaurant. They served it underneath French toast and braised pears, and topped it with crema. It was incredible. ---
**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, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/42 "2018-02-28T20:44:10Z")
[Banoffee pie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banoffee_pie) ---
**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, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/43 "2018-02-28T21:26:37Z")
I’ve had it with ice cream, cake, cookies, pie, flan, fresh fruit, and blini, and it was good with all of them. I wouldn’t recommend coffee, though: I tried it in tea once, and instead of dissolving, it just stayed in the cup and turned rubbery. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/44 "2018-02-28T21:28:04Z")
> [@PlumBob](#): > > I’ve done it in a crock pot overnight on the low setting. Works just fine. Edited to add… Put the cans in the Crock-Pot, add water to cover the cans, put the lid on. Then you’re good to go. I’ve done it this way for years. Three cans fit well, or six of the little cans. Place in crockpot, cover with water, put on lid, turn to low and go to bed. Turn it off in the morning and voila! The boiling method sounds like a pain. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/45 "2018-02-28T21:45:15Z")
I’m going to do this soon. How do you store it and how long does it keep? Just keep it in the cans? Pour them into a mason jar? In the fridge? Something like that? ---
**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, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/46 "2018-02-28T22:08:55Z")
The sealed cans will keep indefinitely. I usually refrigerate it after opening, but I don’t know if that’s necessary. In the fridge, it certainly keeps long enough to use it up. ---
**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, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/47 "2018-02-28T22:21:51Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Coffee. Just a glop of the stuff in a hot cup of strong coffee? MMMMMmmmmMMmMMmm This is what I was waiting on. I love caramel coffee. I am gonna do it. I may do it outside on the gas fish fryer. In case of explosions. I just repainted the kitchen last summer. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/48 "2018-02-28T22:38:22Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > This is what I was waiting on. I love caramel coffee. I am gonna do it. I may do it outside on the gas fish fryer. In case of explosions. I just repainted the kitchen last summer. Seriously, crock pot. There’s no need to get all dramatic about it. Once I left one in for a full day just to see what it would be like. Darker brown, richer, nuttier goodness. For golden brown I leave it in on low for about 8 hours. I also tried it with evaporated milk, but that was awful. It was a chalky, disgusting, burned mess. Blech. You need the sweetened condensed milk for this one. Storage: I always remove it from the can because I fear rust after heating them up. I put it into ziplock bags and then freeze them, removing to the fridge as I want them. Sometimes the ice crystals create a grainy texture, but whip it up a bit at room temperature and you’re golden again. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/49 "2018-02-28T23:56:08Z")
You can do it sous vide too, in glass jars. But these days I just buy it from the Mexican food section at the grocery store. And speaking of browning dairy, there’s [this](https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/01/if-you-like-brown-butter-youll-love-toasted-cream.html). ---
**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:** [March 1, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/50 "2018-03-01T01:37:56Z")
I like the idea of using my crock pot to make the treat. I’ve got a huge batch of banana bread that I’d like to try try some dulce on. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/51 "2018-03-01T02:57:56Z")
I astounded some friends a couple years back with this trick I learned decades ago from some friends who were on a Wilderness Rescue team. My hispanic friends invited me to go camping with them at Lake Tahoe and we enjoyed a variety of lodgings from tents to RV’s to the-hotel-across-the-street. On the first night, when people were nicely drunk and the kids (grade schoolers) were asleep and the adults were planning to turn in as well, I pulled out a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk and said, “Watch this!” My friends frowned at me when I tossed it into the fire pit. Then I watched as the label burned off and told one of the guys to douse the flames for the night. The next morning, before breakfast, I told one of the kids, “Hey, what’s that can doing in the fire pit? Go pull it out.” He did, and was surprised to see that it wasn’t a soda or beer can – and that it was still sealed. I told him to leave it on the picnic bench and sent him off to brush his teeth. I polished off the soot with a wet rag and left it there for the morning. Later, after lunch, I dashed over to Richardson’s Ice Cream Parlor to grab a half-gallon of vanilla and kept it hidden in my pack. Then I returned to our campsite and wondered aloud about that funny can that I had the boy pull from the fire pit. “Yeah, what is that?” one of the adults asked, almost spoiling my fun. “Oh, I don’t know…” I replied as I pulled the tab on the can and opened the lid to reveal just under two cups of fresh caramelized goo. My friends went ‘Ooh!’ and ‘Ahh!’ and I said, "Gee, that would go real nice on – this ice cream here! And I served up ice cream topped with ‘caramel sauce’ for an after-lunch dessert. When one of the adults asked where I learned to do that, I told her, “Well, you oughta know that one. It’s not real caramel; it’s _dulce de leche_!” The cooling embers heat the sugary milk inside, producing a Maillard reaction. Since the can is sealed while the milk is heating, I suspect there’s some kind of Boyle’s Law (increasing pressure increases the temperature?) thing going on, as well\*. However, since the embers are cooling, the risk of explosion decreases over time – and leaving it over night (roughly 8 hours?) while everyone sleeps gives it plenty of time to toast. Just don’t forget to pull it out before starting the morning campfire. And even if it does explode, it’s outdoors in a fire pit; the sugary goo will just burn away when the next fire is going. –G! - I dunno. I never even took chemistry. :smack: Camping and cooking as performance art. Gotta love 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:** [March 1, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/52 "2018-03-01T03:27:09Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I myself wouldn’t take a chance, boiling a can in water. I think there is a chance of explosion. Even if the ‘If you do it this way, properly’ crowd weighs in. I once had a cookbook from the library, and this recipe was in the pages, and a square of paper was glued over that recipe referring the reader to the front of the book. In the front of the book was yet ANOTHER square of paper glued on advising to NOT boil an unopened can in water. If the writer or publisher of that cookbook went to all that trouble of correcting the dangerous recipe, I would be leery of attempting it. Unless the can was opened a bit, even a 1/4 inch hole in the top. It should never be a problem to boil an unopened can. They will have to sustain greater temperatures and pressures in the canning process. If your pan runs dry it could be a problem, you shouldn’t put unopened cans in an oven or on a grill or in a campfire because they could explode, and it takes longer than you think before they explode in a campfire so you’re likely to get bored and miss the explosion anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/53 "2018-03-01T04:02:35Z")
Or just look for [this](https://www.target.com/p/nestle-dulce-nstl-la-lechera-13-4oz/-/A-16781880?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Grocery+Essentials+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Grocery&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=s&device=c&location=9031472&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw9nUBRCTARIsAG11eicRV1OUnKAOC94U8PkGyI4kYR3zps8-e1Y3XU-ueuIOni12kprFxRkaArj5EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) in your market. Might be in the Mexican food section. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/54 "2018-03-01T06:50:14Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > The can doesn’t explode? What happens to the pressure buildup? The vapor pressure of the liquid inside the can won’t be nearly high enough to cause it to explode at 212 F/100 C. As long as the can is submerged in boiling water it won’t get hotter than that. If you want to be really safe you can put the can on a rack so it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot. ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/55 "2018-03-01T14:37:52Z")
In my brother’s Boy Scout group this recipe was called “Danger Pudding”. Due to the presumed risk of the van exploding. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/56 "2018-03-01T14:48:31Z")
> [@pendgwen](#): > > In my brother’s Boy Scout group this recipe was called “Danger Pudding”. Due to the presumed risk of the van exploding. Fantastic typo. I’m now envisioning a TV show with “Danger Pudding” delivery vans driving around town - they have to deliver all their cans dulce de leche before the van explodes. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/57 "2018-03-01T16:09:32Z")
Regarding exploding cans of condensed milk, consider this from the Wikipedia page on _Dulce de Leche_: > [@](#): > > A homemade form of dulce de leche is sometimes made by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for two to three hours (or 30 to 45 minutes in a pressure cooker), particularly by those living in countries where it cannot be bought ready-made. This results in a product that is much sweeter than the slow-boiled kind. It is dangerous to do this on a stove: if the pot is allowed to boil dry, the can will overheat and explode.[4] So, as I believe was stated above, you’re safe as long as you keep the water level high enough to cover the cans. But you’re in trouble if you don’t. The footnote is to this book: Kijac, Maria Baez (2003). **The South American Table: The Flavour and Soul of Authentic Home Cooking from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro, with 450 Recipes.** Boston, MA: Harvard Common Press. p. 391. ISBN 1-55832-249-3. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/58 "2018-03-01T17:15:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So, as I believe was stated above, you’re safe as long as you keep the water level high enough to cover the cans. But you’re in trouble if you don’t. As I pointed out earlier, it’s also safe if you put the cans on a rack. Even if the pot boils dry, the cans won’t overheat if they’re not touching the bottom of the pot. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/59 "2018-03-01T17:57:55Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Fantastic typo. I’m now envisioning a TV show with “Danger Pudding” delivery vans driving around town - they have to deliver all their cans dulce de leche before the van explodes. Gee, all I imagined was a van full of boy scouts exploding,. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710/60 "2018-03-01T18:12:45Z")
I am gonna do this. I am a pot peeper, so if it explodes it will happen while I’m peeping. If I die from this, y’all say nice things at my funeral. Maybe they could serve Mexican foods at the after funeral meal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-easiest-recipe-ever-dulce-de-leche/809710.md?page=4)