Easy Salted Chewy Caramels Recipe – Must Love Home (2024)

FAQs

What is chewy caramel made of? ›

Ingredients for homemade caramels - brown sugar, butter, golden syrup, condensed milk. Salt and vanilla go in after the caramel is cooked.

Homemade caramel typically lasts about 2 weeks when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Refrigerating homemade caramel can extend its shelf life to about a month, and freezing it can further prolong its usability up to a year. However, the texture may change slightly upon thawing.

This is usually caused by sugar crystals stuck to the side of the pan that didn't get fully dissolved. It only takes one to set off a chain reaction, and before you know it you have crunchy caramel.

To make a perfect easy caramel every-time, simply add one or two drops of vinegar and just enough water to wet the sugar. The idea is to lower the PH. you can also use a small pinch of citric acid or cream of tartar if you have.

Caramel can be produced in so many forms such as, sauce, a chewy candy, or a hard candy because of how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.

Flavour Contrast: Normal caramel is characterised by its sweet, buttery taste, derived from caramelised sugar combined with butter and cream. It has a rich, indulgent flavour profile that is predominantly sweet. In salted caramel, adding salt creates a contrast that enhances the complexity of the caramel's flavour.

Caramel sauce isn't necessarily dangerous if it's been kept for a few days too long, but it certainly won't taste as nice. The absolute exception to that rule is the presence of mold. If you notice mold, toss the sauce immediately. Before you reheat your sauce, be sure to check it for signs that it might have spoiled.

This sweet sauce can be left out at room temperature for a few days, but because of the dairy incorporated into the sauce, it's best kept refrigerated. Plus, popping it in the fridge will keep your caramel sauce fresher for longer.

In terms of appearance, spoiled caramel will appear lumpy or hard. The liquids and solids may have separated, creating a watery film. A significant color change is also a good indicator that your sauce has gone bad. If the sight test checks out, give your caramel sauce a sniff.

Some form of dairy — typically butter and/or heavy cream — is usually added to the mixture at either the beginning or the end of cooking. This addition makes the caramel richer, thicker, and lighter in color, lending more viscosity and rounder flavor.

Why is my salted caramel hard? ›

Temperature is key when making candy. The difference between a soft caramel and one that's hard and overcooked is all in the temperature. Candy thermometers—like this instant-read thermometer—let you know exactly what stage the caramel is in (thread, soft-ball, firm-ball, hard-ball, soft crack or hard crack).

Brown sugar.

I looooove adding brown sugar to caramels because it keeps them incredibly soft and chewy.

The acidic nature of lemon juice prevents the formation of sugar crystals. Just a small squeeze of lemon juice added to the sugar as it melts can make a big difference in the outcome of your caramel.

The water evaporates, leaving sugar crystals behind. If even one sugar crystal falls back into the pan of cooking caramel, it starts a chain reaction of sugar crystals and the entire pan will harden. The result? Gross, grainy caramel that is unusable in most recipes.

Don't stir the pot

It makes sense to stir your pot, but you have to resist the urge. The reason that caramel turns back into sugar crystals and becomes grainy is because too much moisture has been lost in the cooking process.

This overview aims to clarify their differences. While they share a golden-brown colour and a sugary base, toffee and caramel are distinct in ingredients, preparation, and texture. Toffee, known for its hard and brittle nature, contrasts with caramel's soft, chewy consistency.

Dry caramel uses just sugar, while wet caramel features water in the manufacturing process. To make caramel, you'll need to heat the sugar to around 170 degrees Celsius. This temperature is the point at which its molecules break down and form new compounds.

The main ingredient in caramel is sugar. However, depending on the recipe you use, you may have to incorporate butter, heavy cream, water, or corn syrup as additional ingredients. High-quality, real caramel is always made with three basic ingredients and those are sugar, heavy cream, and butter.

If the caramel forms a pliable soft ball, for instance, it's around 240°F. If it forms a hard ball, it's between 250°F to 260°F, etc. Sometimes recipes will even use the descriptors below to specify the stage your caramel should be cooked to.