How Are Dulce de Leche & Caramel Different? (With 3 Recipes!)
- July 2021
- By Kim Caviness
- Recipe from Argentina
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- (10)
Dulce de leche and caramel keep popping up in recipes for our favorite Latino sweet treats, including chocoflan and this flan mixto from Argentina. Or eat it solo—on toast or straight from the jar by the cucharada.
Dulce de leche and caramel are often confused. For so many good reasons: The sauces look alike. They are soft and swirly. They taste similarly toasted-sugary.
But they are different. Dulce de leche is silkier, softer brown, and made with sugar and (like its name says) milk. Dulce de leche is made with cow’s milk. When goat milk is used, it’s called cajeta.
Caramel is usually denser and darker brown, made with just sugar and water (no milk!).
Here’s another slight difference: Dulce de leche usually is spooned on desserts or with bread, while caramel tends to be used in the baking of another traditional dessert. A common use of caramel is in flan—like this classic “flancito” from Panama, Marisa’s family-famous flan from Puerto Rico, and even this traditional Mexican version served by Frida Kahlo in her home, La Casa Azul.
Both dulce and caramel are popular in Latino cuisine, so honestly you can’t go wrong with either. But today, we are spotlighting dulce de leche and how to make it.
3 Ways to Make Dulce de Luche
Let’s look at 3 ways to make dulce de leche for your dessert and snacking needs, ranging from easy to medium to hard-ish, mostly due to the amount of time required to stir and check that the dulce is not burning.
And may we add one more: the super-easiest way of all? Buy a jar of dulce de leche from your local grocery store. Most are (honestly) not bad! Lots of abuela cocineras and excellent Latino cooks we know used premade dulce de leche in their baking. If this is you: feel no guilt—we admire you for using your cocina time wisely, and buen provecho.
That said, it truly is worth the effort: Your dulce de leche will be that much more creamy, lush and delicioso if you make it from scratch. Plus: it keeps for at least three weeks in your fridge.
Ready to whip up a batch of this sauce—but not sure how to start? Below are 3 ways to make traditional dulce de leche. Your family and friends will thank you.
How to Make Dulce de Leche: Easy, Medium & Hard-ish Recipes
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