oh cajeta!!

chewie · #1 10/17/12, 08:57 AM

good grief, this is seriously a product I maybe shouldn't have learned!! YUM-O! made it once before, but just kinda forgot about it til alice suggested it when I was saying I had too much milk and plenty of cheese.

I made a gallon of milk into a quart of this sweet gold, and now making almost 2 gallons into cajeta. looking into a few old threads, alice posted a link, how to can it. yes! all ya do is put the super-hot liquid candy into the jar, wipe down and put the flat and ring on tight, wrap in a towel. it seals on its own.

with all my extra milk, I can make several jars (dozens??!) and then give some out for gifts at christmas.

today I am trying to do it in a small roaster type appliance. its like one of those turkey roasters, only half sized. I hope it works, it'd be a easy way to do it. has anyone tried it this way?? I can put it on the stove in my big pot if not.

in any case, this will be a great way to use up milk if you can be inside for the day, today is chilly and very windy, not a good day for outside stuff. but its a great day for cajeta!!! hehe, *any* day is a great day for cajeta!~! this stuff is beyond good!! I love my little goaties!!

Rockytopsis · #2 10/17/12, 08:59 AM

You just had to post this didn't you when I am months away from fresh milk and going through Cajeta withdrawel symptoms for my mornig coffee.
Nancy

April · #3 10/17/12, 10:40 AM

I adore it with a half tsp of cinnamon and 5 shakes out of the red pepper flakes shaker per half gallon of milk! I've been wanting to try larger batches, but haven't worked up the courage yet. Let me know if you find a good way!

chewie · #4 10/17/12, 06:17 PM

today I tried the half-sized roaster. it did pretty good, but was still something I had to watch and stir all day. the flavor is pretty good, but I think the flavor of the one gallon batch was a bit better. so maybe stick to that for now. I canned most of today's, I'm planning to make this every few days to can, and chevre on the other days, which I freeze.

red pepper?? not sure I'm even bold enough to try that!!

LFRJ · #5 10/17/12, 09:39 PM

try adding orange extract. Maybe coconut?

cdehne · #6 10/20/12, 06:14 PM

Try adding coffee beans to the milk while it is cooking down. They give a wonderful subtle coffe flavor to the cajeta!

Chris

mrs.H · #7 10/20/12, 09:33 PM

Is this like Creme Anglaise? I love this stuff! You can make it with milk too! Serve it under key lime pie with chocolate sauce drizzled on top. Or on top of most deserts, or by the spoon out of the fridge!

Creme Anglaise I Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Belfrybat · #8 10/21/12, 08:06 AM

No, cajeta is just milk and sugar plus flavourings and cooked all day to reduce and thicken it. A cheaters way is to take a can of condensed milk and drop it into boiling water and cook for a couple of hours. And no, the can doesn't explode.

CaliannG · #9 10/21/12, 11:27 AM

Mrs. H, it is caramel. Cajeta is just stopping at the "Caramel syrup" stage.

If you want to make true caramel, you can keep cooking it until it reaches the "soft candy" stage.

mrs.H · #10 10/21/12, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

Mrs. H, it is caramel. Cajeta is just stopping at the "Caramel syrup" stage.

If you want to make true caramel, you can keep cooking it until it reaches the "soft candy" stage.

MMM! That sounds goood!