The History of Latin America’s Favorite Sweet Treat.
Dulce de leche is an irresistible treat that makes any dessert extra amazing. Learn the dulce de leche history and the many origin stories that have come with it.
Dulce de Leche History & A Timeline of Possible Origins
What is Dulce de Leche?
Dulce de leche translates to “sweet from milk” referring to how it is made by slowly heating sweetened milk until caramelized.
Origins of Dulce de Leche
The exact origins of dulce de leche remain disputed as to who and where it was first created. As it is made in most of Latin America, countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, and Peru assert their origins while Argentina and Uruguay declare ownership of its name.
All these claims date back to the first half of the 19th century with recipes for milk sweets appearing in Latin American recipe books around the same time.
However, there are deeper roots to dulce de leche from all around the globe.
8th century
While not dulce de leche itself, it is known that Arabs brought sugar cane to Spain as well as sugar processing techniques which they learned from India.
16th century
A version of dulce de leche was said to have been made in Indonesia which was taken to the Philippines. In the 16th century, Spanish explorers learned about the sweet spread, brought it back to the Philippines, and soon after to the Americas.
At the same time, Spanish and Portuguese colonizers took sugar cane and milk-producing livestock to Latin America.
1804
It has been told that the cook of Napoleon first made dulce de leche when milk and sugar was heated for too long.
1829
Similarly, and more often told as the origin, a maid of an Argentinian general allegedly and accidentally created the beloved dulce de leche. In a town within Buenos Aires, two generals from opposing armies came together to form a treaty.
The maid of the hosting general prepared a small pot of lechada, or hot milk with sugar. In the middle of heating it up, she was called away and forgot about the pot. When she came back, she discovered the lechada turned from hot liquid milk into a dark brown gooey sweet spread.
She asked a soldier to try it, and it was so delicious. Dulce de leche was born. And, it appeared in a historical reference from a record of the peace meeting between the two generals.
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