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Dulce de Leche and Alfajores

Specialised

Milk and sugar cooked down slowly to a thick caramel — on toast, in cakes, in pastries, in ice cream, and above all between two biscuits in an ALFAJOR, of which Argentina eats an extraordinary quantity: Cordobés with fruit jam and a sugar glaze, Santafesino with three layers, Marplatense coated in chocolate, plus the industrial brands that are a national institution. ⚠ THE ORIGIN IS DISPUTED. The Argentine story of a maid leaving milk on the fire during the 1829 Cañuelas meeting is charming and undocumented; Uruguay, Chile and France all have claims, and cooked-milk sweets are much older and widespread. NO ORIGIN IS RESOLVED HERE. The alfajor itself is Andalusí and Arabic in name and ancestry.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: Spanish

What is recorded

  • The Argentine account attributing dulce de leche to an accident at the 1829 Cañuelas meeting is undocumented. Uruguayan, Chilean and French claims also exist, and cooked-milk sweets are older and more widespread than any of them. No origin is resolved. The alfajor is Andalusí in name and ancestry. disputed

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • related to Latin American Foodways disputed

    Argentine, Uruguayan, Chilean and French origin claims all exist for dulce de leche and none is settled.

Recorded as relating to this foodway

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.