[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]
If you’ve never tasted cajeta, you’re in for a luscious surprise—a thick, gooey sauce reminiscent of dulce de leche, but exponentially more complex. Old-school techniques require the better part of an afternoon, but my method will reduce a quart of goat’s milk down to a half cup in less than an hour, concentrating its flavor and consistency. Drizzle it over your favorite ice cream, use it as a dip for apple slices, spread it over cake, or just lick it off a spoon…
Why It Works
- Compared to cow’s milk, goat’s milk is uniquely stable, able to endure high heat without scorching.
- A pinch of baking soda lowers the temperature at which goat’s milk can brown, helping it develop a rich caramel flavor despite a cooking temperature well below the traditional point of caramelization.
- The robust flavor of a Mexican vanilla bean won’t fade away with extended cooking.
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Ingredients
- 1 Mexican vanilla bean
- 34 ounces (4 cups; 965g) fresh goat’s milk, preferably UHT (see note)
- 6 ounces (3/4 cup; 170g) sugar
- 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Directions
- 1.
Split the vanilla bean with a paring knife and scrape out seeds with the flat of the blade; reserve seeds for another use. Combine split vanilla pod with goat’s milk, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a 5-quart stainless steel pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a heat-resistant spatula, until sugar dissolves and milk turns foamy and light, about 15 minutes.
- 2.
Continue cooking at a gentle simmer, stirring and scraping the sides of the pot frequently if not constantly, until milk is thick, golden, and reduced to no more than a thin, super-jammy layer, about 45 minutes; stir more frequently as the cajeta thickens to prevent scorching. Continue cooking until cajeta forms a “trail” that remains open for 1 second when a spatula is scraped across the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat. Using tongs, remove and discard vanilla pod. Scrape cajeta into a heat-resistant, wide-mouth glass jar. If the total amount is less than 12 1/2 ounces (1 cup; 355g), thin with a touch of milk or water or else the cajeta will be too thick on cooling. Cajeta can be refrigerated for up to 3 months.
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