🍯 Cajeta

Cajeta is a thick Mexican milk caramel made from milk and sugar cooked down until brown. The dictionary of the Real Academia Española describes it as a very thick dulce de leche made from goat's milk. Mexico has protected two names as geographical indications: “Cajeta de Celaya” (2022) from the state of Guanajuato and “Cajeta de Sayula” (2024) from the state of Jalisco.

Cajeta from Celaya is cooked from goat's milk with sugar and baking soda in a copper pot and stirred with a pine paddle about 1.7 m long. It boils for 1.5–4 hours and is reduced to 65–69 °Brix. The top grade, Premium A, is 80% milk and 20% sugar: 4–5 L of milk yields 1 L of cajeta. While still hot, at 50–55 °C, it is poured into glass jars and sterilised for 15 minutes at 120 °C.

Cajeta from Sayula is made from cow's milk, sugar and vanilla and reduced over 2–4 hours to 70–80 °Brix; it has long been packed in small wooden boxes. The specification explains why soda is used: acidity rises during cooking, and without a neutraliser the caseins would settle out, while soda also boosts the Maillard reaction that gives the colour. Adding fats, condensed milk, cream or colourings is prohibited.

Cajeta or dulce de leche? Both are milk cooked down with sugar until brown, so the difference lies in the milk and the place. In Mexico cajeta mostly means the goat's milk version, while dulce de leche is usually made from cow's milk. “Cajeta de Celaya” is boiled in a copper pot with baking soda; “Cajeta de Sayula” is made from cow's milk with vanilla. The brown colour comes from the Maillard reaction, which soda boosts, and the specification forbids condensed milk, cream, extra fats and colourings.

Look for the full name, “Cajeta de Celaya” or “Cajeta de Sayula”, which are Mexican geographical indications, and for the milk type on the label: goat's milk for Celaya, cow's milk for Sayula. The ingredients should be milk, sugar and soda, with no condensed milk or colourings. It is sold in glass jars or small wooden boxes at Latin American food shops, delicatessens and the world-food aisle of larger supermarkets.

Why it matters to you. Cajeta is above all sugar: a similar dulce de leche, according to USDA, has 315 kcal and 55 g of carbohydrates per 100 g. On the label, look for the type of milk and the name of the geographical indication: Premium grades from Celaya are made from goat's milk only. Mexico's consumer protection agency PROFECO has found cajeta sold as “goat's milk” cajeta that was made from cow's milk. Thanks to the sugar and sterilisation, a sealed jar keeps even at room temperature.