A Year in Uruguay

Dulce de leche is the most popular sweet in Uruguay. It's a creamy milk caramel used in many ways. It can be spread on bread, like peanut butter. Many pastries are filled with dulce de leche. A popular snack, the yo-yo, is a thick layer of dulce de leche sandwiched between two cookies, then given a chocolate coating. Sweet, gooey, and sticky

Dulce de leche fills an aisle at every supermarket. Even the smallest corner shop will carry a dozen varieties. We don't have a jar in our kitchen which, no doubt, marks us as foreigners. A Montevideo native says, "As a kid I thought all the world had dulce de leche, and that all the world eated it as much as we do."[see from Uruguay]

Dulce de leche is becoming more popular in the US. The current Wikipedia page is illustrated with a photo of Smucker's brand dulce de leche. I tried dulce de leche m&ms in Kalamazoo. (Very good, but I don't think they caught on.) I don't think the US will ever match Uruguay's love for it.

Labels: customs, food and drink, Uruguay