Interesting Facts About Caramel

If you have been reading my last few articles, you will know that for this year I have elected to use caramel as my baking theme. Why caramel? So wonderful, so yummy. Were you aware that caramel candies and caramel apples are not made from the same substance? No wonder there are two ways people pronounce this enticing and scrumptious treat.

Caramel can be made by boiling sugar slowly (that is the key) to approximately 170C/340F. As the sugar liquefies and and draws near this temperature, the sugar breaks down into composites with the characteristic caramel color and flavor. MMM- melted sugar.

Caramel is also made as a soft chewy candy, obviously caramel flavored, by boiling milk, sugar, butter, vanilla essence, water and glucose syrup. This candy is not heated to more than 120C/248F or it would caramelize. Heating it too much creates the hard caramel candy that simply cannot be good for our teeth, but the soft chewy kind- now that is a treat! Are you not thinking of picking some up the next time you are at the grocery store?

Many candies are made with caramel flavoring- caramel apples, pralines, nougats, and creme caramel custard. Carmelo candy bars are on my top five list of candy bars ever. Caramel coated popcorn is another sweet concoction. Milk Duds or Snickers without caramel? Wrong, just wrong.

But when does caramel become caramel? When the heat on the milk solids combine with the sugar ingredients, a caramel flavor is created, therein creating the caramel.

Caramels can have a variety of textures, not only being the soft chewy kind or the too hard kind. They can come in 'short' textures, implying a caramel that is extra soft and 'long' for a caramel that is wonderfully chewy- (Imagine long lasting flavored gum that just lets you chew and chew, never loosing flavor. I know, too much for a piece of candy, but you get the general idea.)

Most hard candies are malleable at high temperatures though clear and break or chip easily when cooled: caramels are pliable at both temperatures. Because of this (from cooking at a slower rate) caramels can be placed into molds for not only stand alone candy but also as ingredients and toppings for other candies.

Caramel candies can also come in a variety of additional flavors; vanilla, (being the most common) chocolate and maple.

Milton Hershey did not initiate his chocolate empire with chocolate. No, he began it with caramel! He founded a candy making business in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The chocolate took off in his search for new coatings and toppings for his caramel candies. (Bless him, as Hershey's are such a favorite of mine! And yours.)

I am sure that Brach's Confections, Inc. is ever so glad that his chocolate career blossomed as it did, as it still remains the top caramel manufacturer in the country today.

For a new twist on an old favorite, try adding some caramel to it. I will be this season!