Dulce de Leche Day in Argentina

According to data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Observatory of the Argentine Dairy Chain (OCLA), around 128 thousand tons of dulce de leche (caramelized condensed milk) are produced in Argentina every year and, on average, each Argentine consumes 3.2 kilos per year, which places it as the fourth most chosen dairy product, after milk, cheese and yogurt.

As every October 11, the National Dulce de Leche Day is celebrated, an initiative that proposes to pay tribute to the delicacy that was recognized as "Food and Gastronomic Cultural Heritage of Argentina".

The holiday was created in 1995 to pay tribute to a national delicacy that is part of Argentinian culture, food, and gastronomic heritage.

Since 1998, when the Argentine Center for the Promotion of Dulce de Leche and Related Products established the date to promote its production and consumption and thus position it worldwide as an Argentine product.

Only in 2002, by means of resolution SCN 1327/02, the National Ministry of Culture promoted the program "Argentine Food and Gastronomic Cultural Heritage" to recognize dulce de leche as Argentine Food and Gastronomic Cultural Heritage.

The habit of drinking milk increased in Argentina after European immigrants settled, leading to establishing the first dairy farm in Buenos Aires in 1887. It began producing dulce de leche industrially as early as 1902, following the traditional recipes of the colony. The ingredients are simple: milk, sugar, a little baking soda, and vanilla, cooked at a low temperature for a few hours.