CARAMEL*****Dulce de Leche - Alton Brown

By Unblond1

22/12/11 - I made this expressly for Dulce de Leche glazed ham - which is super but this on its own is yummy, yummy. Would be great on ice cream or cake or etc.

This makes about two cups, not one.

2 Points per Tablespoon

Ingredients

• 32 servings - 2 cups
• 1 quart whole milk
• 12 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation

Step 1

* Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a large, 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soda and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer. Stir occasionally, but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture. Continue to cook for 1 hour.

* Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (It took just under 1 hour longer - you can tell when it starts to turn to caramel because it behaves differently)

* Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean glas jar.

* Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.