Homemade Dulce de Leche (Boiled Condensed Milk)

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather the ingredients. Any milk will do — store-bought or homemade. The higher the fat content, the richer (and more caloric) the condensed milk will be. You can add more sugar; I've seen recipes that use half as much sugar as milk, but that turns out very sweet. Add vanillin to taste — it makes the result more fragrant.

2. Step 2:

   

   Take a pot with a thick bottom and high sides. This matters, because the milk will start to boil over. Pour in the milk and add the sugar, soda and vanillin. Stir.

3. Step 3:

   

   Set the pot of milk over medium heat. Bring the milk to a boil; the sugar should dissolve. A foam from the soda will rise to the top — don't step away from the stove, the milk can boil over. After a while the foam settles and the milk simply simmers.

4. Step 4:

   

   Cook the milk, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes over medium heat. It will take on the lovely color of baked milk. Then lower the heat to its minimum and continue reducing the milk for an hour.

5. Step 5:

   

   Stir the milk constantly so it doesn't scorch. This is when you'll understand why you need a thick-bottomed pot — in an ordinary one, the milk would scorch instantly. After twenty minutes of cooking, the milk will darken slightly.

6. Step 6:

   

   After another 20 minutes it takes on a slightly caramel color, and the level noticeably drops.

7. Step 7:

   

   Keep cooking, stirring the milk constantly with a spoon. Toward the end of cooking, the milk gets even darker and tastes like milk toffee.

8. Step 8:

   

   Turn off the heat. Keep stirring the milk off the heat for another 5 minutes — this rids it of foam. Cool it to room temperature. The milk will be runny. Put the pot in the fridge; once chilled, the milk thickens. Pour it into jars and store in the fridge.