Dulce (2024)

FAQs

What flavor is dulce? ›

But while it looks like caramel, it is, in fact, based on the Maillard browning of dairy rather than the caramelization of sugar. That may sound like a technicality, but it gives dulce de leche a sweet and mellow, toffee or butterscotch-like flavor without the bitterness associated with caramel (i.e., burned sugar).

Don't confuse the Italian word dolce with the Spanish word dulce, which both mean “sweet.” In English, the Italian word is pronounced as DOL-chay, whereas the Spanish word is pronounced as DOOL-say.

Caramel and dulce de leche might look and taste somewhat similar, but they are actually pretty different. While caramel is made from slowly simmering water and sugar until it caramelizes, dulce de leche is made from simmering milk and sugar super slowly until it turns into a creamy, caramelized substance.

Dulce de leche tastes like a sweet, milky caramel with rich, caramelized notes. Sibley describes the texture of dulce de leche as “creamy, silky with a slight chewy stickiness.” She notes that cajeta and dulce de leche taste slightly different due to the different flavor profiles between goat and cow's milk.

In Spanish, dulce literally means “sweet,” but it's commonly used to refer to sugary treats—much like how we use the word sweets in English.

The adjective dolce

Dolce is an adjective meaning "sweet," "mild," and other things, but in terms of food, it means "sweet." Salato literally means "salted" or "salty," but in this case basically means, "not sweet," but rather along "savory" lines.

Its name translates from Spanish as “sweet from milk”, referring to the fact that it is made by heating sweetened milk slowly until it caramelizes.

Pan dulce, literally meaning "sweet bread", is the general name for a variety of Mexican pastries. They are inexpensive treats and are consumed at breakfast, merienda, or dinner.

Dulce de leche, which literally means "candy made from milk," is a thick and sugary caramel-like sauce that's made by slowly heating sweet milk. The Latin American confection is found in desserts like cakes, cookies, and flan. It's also often used as an ice cream topping or spread for toast or crepes.

Dulce is a feminine given name. Dulce, the Spanish form of Dulcie, has been ranked among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in the United States since 1990. The variant Dulce Maria has been among the top 100 names for girls in Mexico since 2020.

What is the difference between caramel and dulce de leche taste? ›

Flavor and Texture: Caramel sauce has a rich, buttery flavor and a smooth, pourable texture. Dulce de leche is thicker, creamier, and has a more complex, slightly tangy flavor.

Habichuelas con dulce is a sweet bean liquid dessert from the Dominican Republic that is especially popular around the Easter holiday. The dessert is part of the cuisine of the Dominican Republic and is traditionally garnished with milk cookies or with casabe, "a flatbread made of yuca flour."

Butterscotch is made from cooking down brown sugar with butter, and its flavor is sweeter and softer than that of caramel. Dulce de leche is made from slowly cooking cow milk and sugar together. Dulce de leche made with goat milk is known as cajeta.