My mother was born in Cienaga Magdalena, Colombia – simply known as “la costa”. ( “the coast” in Spanish.) Among many of my visits, I remember it to be a small and quaint town, with the walls of the nearby shops and houses painted all colors of the rainbow. The facade of bright white buildings combined with the hot sun beaming down, made it hard to see out in front of you. I’ve only been to Colombia a handful of times as a child, but the memories remain vivid in my mind. Things that stand out to me are the town, the smells walking through the cobble stone streets, Postobon, and Arequipe.
Better known as Dulce de Leche – in South America it is usually served with a large, round and thin wafer cracker called “oblea” When my grandmother, Mamy Lucy would return from her trips – inevitably, I could expect a little surprise. While my mother came to the states very young and became Americanized rather quickly, I always associated myself with a bit of my South American background. I longed for those little bits of Colombia.
The taste of Arequipe will bring me much nostalgia – which is why I wanted to try and make it from scratch. There is no true recipe here – but you do need time. It can be considered a caramel, but it is WAY better!
3 or 4 cans of condensed milk, wrapper peeled off
1 nail
1 hammer
1 sauce pot that will fit the cans in evenly
water
approximately 3 hours
1. Hammer a nail into both sides of the can
2. Next, place all the cans in a sauce pot and fill the bottom with water to come up about half way around the sides of the can. Put it on a low heat and go do things around the house.
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In the picture above you can see what the holes do. First, it ensures that the cans will not explode. Second, it allows you to preview the color of your milk to make sure you do not under or overcook it! |
This is how it looked when I took it out after about 4 hours! I was confused by the color but remembered that I needed to stir the bottom which is where the magic happens.
Take a look and see the amazing transformation.
Try this delicious spread on fruit, cakes, ice cream, bread – you name it!
I’d like you to leave your comments below and tell me about a nostalgic food that you have from your family.
I almost smell that milk caramel hear =), I've tried it before and pour it in banana so delicious.
Raquel – thanks for visiting.
That sounds so..incredibly good to drizzle over bananas! Hey – you just gave me an idea for another blog! Thank you 🙂
Nice, I made the dulce de leche and stuffed sufganiyot with them, and it was awesome, and I've been looking for an "excuse" to make another batch.
as for nostalgic foods – my grandmother always made me "knockedloch" (no idea how to spell that), which is like spaetzle, with chicken, and it was awesome…im debating if I should even give it a try, because I know it won't be as good
Hi Nossi – Thank you so much for stopping by! I think you mean Knaidlach? So cool… would you share a recipe?
Oh Sandy, it's like you read my mind. As you know, I finally went back to Colombia a few months ago with my husband and son. It had been decades since I visited the motherland and it was their first trip there. It was a wonderful experience and Cienaga is just as you describe.
I brought back an arequipe and oblea kit but have run out of the arequipe. I love it. It is my absolute favorite Colombian treat. And now I'll have to try this recipe so I can spread it on the obleas I have left. Thank you!
Hi Viv – thanks so much for sharing your experience on TKT!
Arequipe is just one of those things…
Love you and see you soon 🙂
I'm attempting to make this now. Will let you know how it turns out in 3 hours from now! I'm planning on pouring it into a store-bought graham cracker crust and will throw strawberries on top.
Jess, sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing – let me know how it turns out. 🙂
It tastes amazing but I think I needed to cook it a little longer.
I'm not sure if this is what Nossi was referring to but my grandmother used to make something she called "Nokedli" as well. It was this Hungarian noodle-like dumpling made from egg and flour, I believe. She put in Chicken Paprikash and in her Tomato soup. I remember it being awesome, too.
I can smell it from here. Yum