Nevertheless, I decided to be brave and put a little of the thick, golden-brown spread on my toast at breakfast. Real dulce de leche turned out to be so much better than the fake flavor that I had tried in the United States, and I loved it.
Argentines put dulce de leche in ice cream, cookies, muffins, churros, croissants, and candy -- or just eat it straight out of the jar by spreading it on bread or sometimes fruit. It seems that Chileans do the same thing, and I am excited to realize that manjar, which I have seen all over Chile, is dulce de leche!
Dulce de leche in English means "candy of milk" because it is made by slowly heating milk, sugar, and sometimes vanilla. Over time, most of the water in the milk evaporates because of the heat, creating a thick, sweet sauce or spread that is similar to caramel.
Regions in Central and South America have their own versions of dulce de leche, with different names and sometimes different textures, flavors, and ingredients. For example, here in Chile, dulce de leche is called manjar, which means "delicacy" in Spanish.
Manjar is used as an ingredient in many different desserts and baked goods here and, of course, in many ice cream flavors. It is also common as a breakfast spread for toast (like butter or jelly), and my host family actually has a tub of manjar in our fridge right now.
