Thank you to everyone who had something to offer last week's FOTW, the Shishas.
As always, the purpose of this thread is to gather the community to explore a flavor and its many uses. And it's also to have FUN!
Post recipes containing this week's Flavor of the Week, as the star or in a supporting role, with or without development notes. Talk about other people's recipes that use it. Compare and contrast different manufacturers' versions of the FOTW. Ask for help using that flavor in general or to achieve something specific, offer advice, brainstorm ideas, consider substitutions, suggest pairings... really anything at all as long as it's on topic.
This week's flavor is: Dulce de Leche. Here's a video discussion about this FOTW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1at2VIATig
Past FOTW posts can be found here
Prepare yourselves, next week's flavor of the week will be: GRAPE
The week after that will be: Slushy (courtesy of /u/Tiptup300: Slushy in general. A thick crushed ice drink. Includes Red Slushy, Blue Slushy as in Blue Raspberry, Coke Slushy, Frappes. Snow Cones.)
The week after that will be: Bubblegum
The week after that will be: Melon
The week after that will be: Florals
The week after that will be: Blue Raspberry
The week after that will be: Soda/Pop/Cola/Coke
The week after that will be: Jackfruit
The week after that will be: Amaretto
The week after that will be: Oats/Grains/Rice
The week after that will be: Frostings/Icings
The week after that will be: Waffles
The week after that will be: Stones
The week after that will be: Marshmallow
The week after that will be: Aromatic Tobaccos
The week after that will be: Non-aromatic Tobaccos
The week after that will be: Tobacco Additives
The week after that will be: Champagne
The week after that will be: Cake
The week after that will be: Maple
The week after that will be: Fig
The week after that will be: Hazelnut
The week after that will be: Persimmon
The week after that will be: Rhubarb
The week after that will be: Pumpkin
The week after that will be: Milk
The week after that will be: Butter
The week after that will be: Banana
The week after that will be: Almond
The week after that will be: Apple
The week after that will be: Avocado
The week after that will be: Plantain
The week after that will be: Gummy Candy
The week after that will be: Pandoro
The week after that will be: Pancakes
The week after that will be: Pie Crust
The week after that will be: ??? You tell me. Please take this opportunity to suggest one that interests you (or send me a PM to do that).
At last, a FoTW post where I actually have used the flavor! However, I've only used it in one recipe, not my own, but it's a very tasty recipe, even if the Dulce De Leche is just an accent note. Birne Helene
I've yet to experiment with it further, but it's an interesting flavor.
I've found this mix to be tasty. The DDL kinda overwhelms the other 2 and is a chocolatey/caramelly overtone to the BC and vanillin creamy base.
TFA - Bavarian Cream : 6%
TFA - Dulce De Leche : 2%
TFA - Vanillin : 3%
Id like to add that I never had luck making TPA Dulce de Leche the star of a recipe..I get a strong burnt sugar like some1 mentioned and i also get a weird almost chocolate like flavor. If i was going for a dulce de leche id probably look forst at FLV Milk ND Honey. It has the right kinda dark sweetness but would still need some cream to help out. FE Oak milk is another solid flavor in that realm. It has a nice milky sweetness but i havent found the right application for it because it does have an "oaky" note to it which is very pleasant just doesnt make the concentrate super versatile.
Yeah TFA DDL is a good start but it's kinda weird. I certainly agree on the FLV Milk & Honey; it's a lot smoother and less off-putting while sharing a very similar flavor to TFA DDL. Oak Milk sounds great and that's one that I believe /u/id10-t will be testing on the next NOTED episode. We've got a few others to work with too so I'm really looking forward to that since there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on the other ones.
How does it work in your Coconut Flan recipe?
I got the TFA version a little while back, did a single flavor test a couple weeks ago. I was hoping for a nice creamy caramel, but instead got a strong burnt brown sugar. I mixed at 4%, which I'm guessing is way too high, but the flavor didn't have enough justifying characteristics to want to mix a .5 or 1% tester. So unless someone can convince me otherwise, I don't see myself reaching for it in the future. I'll just use caramel and cream.
I'll try it at a much lower % than 4 and let you know.
TFA Dulce de Leche is super tasty at <1%. It gets overwhelming really quickly as percentages increase.
FOTW Suggestions: Maple, Hazlenut, Fig, Rhubarb, Persimmon.
Added all of those. Thank you.
It looks like you have the rest of 2017 already planned out as far as FOTW threads.
Amy's Cronut ( ELR Link) is the best use I've found for Dulce de Leche so far. I've subbed both Catalan Cream (cinnamon notes) and Tres Leches, but find the hint of chocolate in the original to be quite good. I'm going to have to grab some coconuts soon and try /u/deejaymillsnyc flan, though...
I actually managed to get it to sit nicely as a prominent flavour in a caramel cheesecake recipe I made. I'll dig out my recipe book and post it in here shortly
Here it is
Caramel Cheesecake
TFA Dulce de leche 3%
TFA Cheesecake Graham crust 3%
TFA French vanilla deluxe 1%
CAP Vanilla custard V1 0.5%
TFA Bavarian cream 1%
you can add a touch of your chosen sweetener to give it that extra sweetness if that's what you're into, I generally use 1 drop of cap super sweet per 10ml of liquid. I find the finished product has quite a dry flavour without it but it's all down to personal preference.
Steep time - give it a good week or so due to the creams and hint of custard in there.
I haven't bought much juice in the past 2 years but back then I could taste the dulche in many commercial juices. Dulche tfa is great at 1% and the highest I'd go is 2% because it overpowers mixes. If you're a strawberry custard lover..
STRAWBOURCHE CUSTARD
Dulche De Leche (tfa) 1%
Strawberry (tfa) 6%
Vanilla Custard v2 (cap) 5%
Vanilla bourbon (fa) 1%
French vanilla (cap) 1%
Smooth tfa .2% (optional if you have it)
It's good as a shake and vape but in 2 weeks it's a delicious ADV.
One ingredient that I figured might be useful in building a Dulce de Leche sort of base was FA Condensed Milk. This was early in my mixing journey and I made the mistake of testing this WAY too high. I originally was testing it at about 1% and that was super gross. I also tried it at 0.5% and 0.25% in recipes and that was way too much too.
Once I made a dilution and started trying it at 0.125% is when I noticed it being palatable. While it does have a super unctuous creamy tone that I think is unmatchable, the butyric note is very difficult to work with. This could be great for building a Dulce de Leche base of your own, but I've yet to be successful with this flavoring.
I've heard good things about Purilum Condensed Milk but the awfulness of FA Condensed Milk left me afraid to try anything with "condensed milk" in the name. I'll get there, someday, but I'm just not ready yet. Healing takes time.
I've never tried a Dulce de Leche flavor. To rectify that deficiency in my flavor experience, I've got FW, TFA, and JF Dulce de Leche concentrates on their way from ECX and BCF. However, I've been warned that they're all going to disappoint at least a little when it comes to matching the true flavor of this treat (specifically due chocolate notes that don't belong), so I'm wondering whether some Dulce de Leche purist has gotten fed up with that and created their own Dulce de Leche recipe out of other concentrates?
Not sure what do with FW and JF once they arrive aside from mixing single tests, but as for the TFA, this Coconut Flan by /u/deejaymillsnyc is looking very tempting.
I use Dulce de Leche in a lot of flavors. I find that if bavarian cream doesn't fit just right with a certain mix, I will swap bav cream for dulce de leche and the result is almost always better. The same is NOT true if the bav cream is right in the mix. If you try to sub for dulce it turns out all wrong. They are not synonymous flavors but for some reason I use one or the other as my background for anything that needs creaminess.
Ive heard good things about the JF version..never picked it up. TPA is pretty strong stuff and can get weird and kinda chocolatey the higher u take it.
> Dulce de Leche
For what it's worth I have a single flavour tester on the shelf that I've been meaning to get to and I just tried it. I get a moderate amount of sweetness, some low level milky/creaminess and a licorice like finish. Sort of like molasses. Not getting a whole lot of caramel. YMMV.