N'ap fe dous lèt - Making sweet milk!

Yesterday, I made dous lèt (sweet milk) with one of the teachers at Hope on a String, Pwofese Michele.  He is 28 years old and is one of the English teachers, so his English is very good.  He offered to get all of the ingredients we would need and teach me how to make it.  

Ingredients: 

1 gallon cow's milk (straight from the cow)

6 measures of sugar (a measure seems to be a bit more than a coffee mug's worth)

the zest of a handful of little limes

4 cans of evaporated milk (not sure if it was concentrated?)

cinnamon (powdered is preferred, but if you didn't have powdered cinnamon, like we didn't, then you wrap it up in linen, take it outside, and smash it with a rock until it is powder.)

1 packet of Essence of Vanilla (white vanilla preferred)

One large pot

 

 Method

Boil 1 gallon of milk

Add 6 measures of sugar - Stir constantly

Keep heat medium-high throughout process (make sure milk does not boil over)

Make sure all of the sugar dissolves by scraping the bottom of the pot.

Add 1/3 of the lime zest and cinnamon

Boil for a long time, until the boil of the milk changes - it starts to have a lot of small bubbles, almost like foam.

Keep boiling and stirring - scrape the bottom of the pot and you will begin to see the ingredients accumulating together and sticking together, becoming thicker.

Be patient.

Continue stirring vigourously.

Be patient.

Add another 1/3 of the lime and cinnamon

Stir for a very, very, very long time, making sure nothing burns on the bottom.

The mixture will continue to darken, boil, and thicken

Take a little bit of the mixture and put it on something to see if it will harden.  If it hardens, then it is ready.  If it does not, then continue stirring.

When it is ready, add more of the cinnamon and lime (this is really to taste.)

Add vanilla - continue stirring.

Take off of heat and away from the hot stove (We took ours outside).

Stir vigourously to cool down the mixture.  The goal here is to cool it down - it will become thick.

Then, pour it into a long flat pan (like a brownie sheet, or a tray with sides).  You want it to be a thin layer.  Let it cool for 2-3 minutes, then try to start cutting it.

Cut into small pieces, and then put into a different bowl, so it doesn't stick to the pan.

Enjoy!

 

 Michele and I started making the sweet milk around 3 pm, and we finished around 6:30!  It was definitely a labor of love.  We used the house's oven, which we connected to a propane tank.  (On Tuesday, when we went to Port au Prince, we bought propane.  Michele has a charcoal stove at his house, so when his mother makes this, it takes much longer because you can't control the heat of a charcoal stove.)  Throughout the process, we spoke Kreyol and English, teaching each other many different things about the languages and about ourselves.  I learned that he lives with his sister and mother in a town 6 miles away, and takes care of them. They both work in the house (cooking and cleaning), and he has to work very hard to take care of them.  He owns a used car, which he is very proud of and does not have a girlfriend, but is looking.  He has many siblings, 5 of whom live in the United States.  His father passed away in 1984, when Michele was only 6 months old.  I taught him when to use "a lot" instead of using "very much."  This small change in his English made him sound less formal and more comfortable with the language.  He was saying, "I would like to do that very much," or "Do you like that very much?"  He also asked me the difference between asking for "cold water," "cool water," and, "ice water."  He taught me the correct pronunciation of many words, had me answer all of his questions or respond to his questions in Kreyol and then would correct it, which was very helpful.  He also asked me if it is difficult for Americans and foreigners to find jobs in the United States and asked about American women :).

I also asked him what his goal in life is.  He said that he wants to "be a good Christian." I asked him if he followed a specific religion, and he said, "No.  I have not chosen one yet.  There are so many religions in Haiti.  I want to live a good life and be a good Christian."  I thought that was very profound of him. 

The sweet milk was absolutely delicious and made the house smell so good.  I told him that I would make it for my students at home and make sure to tell him how it goes.  I have to say, it was an absolutely wonderful day!