Brazil’s Great Addiction
There is a substance that is incredibly popular in South America and especially in Brazil. For some people it seems to take over their life – when they talk about it their eyes light up with pleasure. “It’s amazing”, they tell you, “there’s nothing like it”. I hadn’t tried it in its pure form before I got to Brazil, but decided I had to try this white stuff that elicits such enthusiasm.
“Is this any good?” I asked the tough looking teenager as I handed over my cash. “Oh yeah”, he replied with an appreciative grin, “this is the good stuff. You’re going to love it!”. I stuffed it into my backpack and hurried home to find out if he was right. I’ll just dip my finger in and have a little taste, I told myself, just a little taste…
I expect you’ve already guessed what I’m talking about:
The Moça brand has been giving Brazilians their leite condensado (condensed milk) fix since 1921.
When I finally got home and opened the can for a taste, I realised the kid from the supermarket was right – if you can stand the intense sweetness, this is good stuff! And what do you do when you’ve got something good? You add it to everything!
Food
Pudim de Leite Condensado – North Americans call it flan, the British call it Crème Caramel (or Caramel Custard) and the Brazilians call it Pudim de Leite Condensado. As the name suggests, the Brazilian recipe calls for plenty of condensed milk.
Equal quantities of milk and condensed milk, some egg yolks and caramelised sugar. Simple, sweet and delicious.
Popcorn – there are several standard popcorn options in Brazil. I like the salty version (especially when it comes with chunks of crispy bacon!), but if you choose the sweet option you may also be offered a generous drizzle of leite condensado.
-“Leite Condensado?” -“Oh, OK, just a little. Oh…”
Tapioca – the classic topping for a tapioca is grated coconut and lashings of leite condensado. Personally I prefer my tapioca with a savoury topping but even that doesn’t stop some people – I once saw a guy order a tapioca topped with cheese, carne seca and, you guessed it, leite condensado! To be fair, this is unusual – the woman serving the guy looked at him like he was mildly insane…
Brigadeiro – Every Brazilian’s favourite sweet thing – condensed milk, butter and chocolate, covered in chocolate sprinkles.
So. Intensely. Sweet.
Paçoca – Paçoca is that sweet, sweet, peanut treat. But how is it made? Crushed peanuts, a little salt and sugar what else? Many recipes call for the addition of leite condensado, claro!
Cuscuz doce – This is nothing to do with the homophonous Moroccan semolina dish. It is a sweet snack of tapioca, sugar, grated coconut and leite condensado. The completed dish has a thick, cakey consistency and is cut into cubes and sold on the street. And how is it served? With a generous covering of leite condensado.
Tapioca, sugar, coconut and condensed milk. Topped off with more condensed milk!
Drinks
With something this good, why restrict it to food? Here are a couple of seriously classy cocktails using my new favourite ingredient:
Pau na coxa – Hmmm, how best to translate this one? “Coxa” means thigh. “Pau” has several translations, I’ll stick with the polite one – “stick in thigh”. Strange name, but what a drink! Dust off that bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild that you’ve been saving and take it over to the blender. Open the wine (no need to let it breathe) and pour it into the blender. Now add ice cubes and a full can of condensed milk. Blend until thoroughly mixed. Enjoy with friends!
Pau na Coxa – what else were you saving that fancy wine for?
Leite de Onça – Who wouldn’t want a glass of jaguar milk? Another cocktail that I expect is mostly enjoyed by kids under the age of 18 and again, a blender is required. The traditional recipe calls for you to blend cachaça, coconut milk and chocolate liqueur.
Leite de Onça – stay classy Brazil!
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One thing that I noticed when looking at these recipes is how simple they all are – many of them are simply condensed milk and one or two other ingredients. This had led me to suspect that when no one else is looking, some leite condensado lovers bypass all the niceties and find themselves standing alone in the kitchen with an open can in one hand, a spoon in the other and an indulgent look of bliss on their faces. So come on Brazilians, who is going to confess?
Spoon? My husband pours it straight out of the container (you can buy it in tetra packs too) into his mouth! You don´t want to risk any wasted on the spoon!
Try adding it to coffee – I´m addicted :) No need to add milk and sugar separately! TRUST ME, it´s good!
I have to add though… it´s not just a Brazilian thing. I´m Australian, and lots of our desserts use condensed milk too – and Nestle is the main brand! My mum used to make the caramel for chocolate caramel slice by heating condensed milk with butter (I think…). Delicious!
Ha ha ha! I like your husband’s style! My wife caught me in the kitchen recently with a teaspoon in one hand and an open jar of peanut butter in the other. “Can you even do that?” she asked in awe. I was like “It’s been my snack of choice since I was about 6!” :D
Ah, I hadn’t realised that this thing was so international. Of course I had heard of condensed milk before, but it just seems to be added so many things here!
p.s. Looking forward to trying out the café com leite condensado for breakfast tomorrow! Thanks for the dica!
Hi. Tom !
Leite Condensado is incridibly delicious ! I totally agree. It´s one of the best taste of Brazil. Actually I usually do all efforts for not eat it frequently otherwise I´m in trouble with my weight ! =)
Hi Bárbara! I understand your predicament – I have many weaknesses: parma ham (in fact any kind of good presunto cru), cheese, butter, chocolate, roast potatoes, roast lamb, cheese, picanha, wine. Did I mention cheese? ;)
Actually I’m a bit worried about adding a new item to my list – maybe I could run to Barra everyday to avoid turning into Jabba the Hutt…
I´m sure the winery of origin will be delighted to know that you are using their beloved Château Lafite Rothschild to make a drink called cock rubbing against thigh.
Oh, unlike marmite condensed milk is not on the Gritty Frowned Upon List, in fact it is held in high regard as is Nestle.
I’m sure the centuries old estate would be absolutely honoured to know that their hard work hasn’t gone to waste ;-)
Meu deus with the double entendre.
ahaha! the biggest irony of this post is that i was eating spoonfuls of condensed milk when i started reading. another really great post! i like your blog a lot, it’s so interesting how you see things from a different perspective.. i think i read almost all the posts! and as i’m not from rio, i don’t think i’m going to check out the restaurants on your guide so soon, but my carioca friend already checked out some of them. thanks for writing this!
Hi Aline – aha! We caught you eating pure leite condensado with a spoon?! :D
I’m so pleased you’re enjoying my perspective on Rio and Brazil in general – it’s fun to be immersed in a different culture! Never a dull moment ;)
Jajaja I loved your post. Leite condensado is in almost all Brazilian desserts I’ve tried; my favorites are “Pudim de Leite Condensado” and “Pipoca Doce” with condensed milk of course. I’m glad you came up with this post because it is a very interesting feature from Brazilian culture.
Thanks Ester – I must admit I am always a little sentimental about Pudim de Leite Condensado – my (English) grandmother used to make it when I was a kid so it reminds me of her :)
Actually, pudim and flan are reallynot the same thing. Flan is usually lighter and less sweet. I can make flan and pudim with leite condensado, but they’re not the same type of food. You should try icecream with leite condensado…. or sliced bananas with leite condensado… or strawberries…
Thanks Marina! You can see that I am still an amateur when it comes to Leite condensado (and Brazilian sweets in general). :)