Milk with Sugar (dulce de leche?)

[honeybee]

On a test in Spanish class I remember a sentence about putting sugar in milk. (I filled in "coffee" for milk as I put sugar in coffee and I got it marked wrong.) My instructor said in Spanish speaking countries people put sugar in milk.

My question(s) - Do people add sugar to milk in the same way we add chocolate syrup to make it sweet and then drink it as a beverage with a meal as we drink a glass of milk? Or is sugar added to milk and then cooked with something else such as rice to make rice pudding and eaten as a dessert? Or is sugar added to milk and then used as we would use condensed milk? And, another thing, I don't think this sentence was on the test to indicate "dulce de leche".

Okay, people who are familiar with Spanish culture, I want to hear from you. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Magia]

Oooh, Oooh! one of my favourite topics!!! I LOVE dulce de leche!

OK, the basics:
Dulce de leche is a typical sweet in Latin American countries, specially Argentina, I think they are the dulce de leche masters.
Dulce de leche is made out of milk with TONS of white sugar, basically. It is like 3 lbs of sugar per 1 Lt. milk. Heated and steered for hours and hours, until it gets a caramel like consistency. Dulce de leche is good for ice-cream topping, cake icing and filling, spread on toasts, coulis for fruit dessert, etc.
There is another sort of dulce de leche, which is the one I am most familiar with, as I grew up on it. It is the same principal with milk and tons of sugar, but it is cooked until it gets a marmalade like consistency, almost like cheese, pretty much like marzipan. Then it is shaped into figures. From balls or strings, to animal and fruit shapes. It is absolutely delicious!. Some recipes include coconut and cinnamon into the mixture, Mmmm... This kind of dulce de leche is sold like candy bars, in Central America and Mexico and it is also tradition to see it as a treat in holy communion celebrations, christening celebrations, even in weddings.

And last but not least, there is another sort of dulce de leche called Cajeta, which is the Mexican version of caramel like dulce de leche. Except cajeta is made with goat's milk, it kind of looks and tasted like toffee. Some recipes require adding wine to it... it is absolutely delicious and very, very sweet...

OK I will stop drooling now
If I didn't answer your questions, let me know, I'll try again

 

[eric]

Oooh, Oooh! one of my favourite topics!!! I LOVE dulce de leche!

OK, the basics:
Dulce de leche is a typical sweet in Latin American

I think this is common in Spanish influenced countries. I'm originally from the Philippines and I remember my mom giving me milk+sugar. But you know, that condensed milk is pretty popular too (poured onto white bread)

 

[Magia]

The recipe!

Encanelados de leche y coco (Guatemalan style)
(cinnamon-coconut milk and sugar sweets)

Ingredients:

1 Ltr (4 cups) of milk (leche)
2 lbs brown sugar (azucar morena)
1 cup shredded, dry coconut (coco rayado)
1 cinnamon stick (raja de canela)
1 pinch All Spice (pimienta gorda)
1 pinch salt (sal)

** 5 tbs powdered cinnamon for topping , at the end (canela molida)

Procedure:

In large pot mix milk, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, coconut, all spice and salt. Set on mid/low heat and steer, constantly, until it reaches a thick, marmalade consistency (it might take as long as 5 hours). -- It is important that you don't let the sugar and coconut, sit in the bottom of pot, or it will burn instead of melting and blending into the mixture. --
Then, remove from heat and let it cool off (or you will burn your hands). Set it over a slightly wet (more like humid) cookie sheet or surface before shaping it into the shape of your choice (squares, balls, cut with cookie cutter if you like, etc) Make them bite-size. Sprinkle cinnamon powder over the final product and enjoy!