How Not to Make Caramels

January 05 2008 by Kristin at The Kitchen Sink in Dessert,Mishap » 7 comments

I am in the midst of making a package of treats as a thank you gift. It will include the granola I wrote about yesterday, the rosemary roasted cashews that I love too much and perfect squares of decadent peanut butter brownies (a recipe I got from Smitten Kitchen). In case the recipient is reading, I will say no more about the package. Except for this: it was also supposed to contain caramels.

Caramels—ends dipped in melted bittersweet chocolate and wrapped in pretty parchment squares—would be a lovely addition to the package, no? Well I’m sure they would have been … had they come even close to being edible. And the rock-hard mass that my “caramels” became was certainly not edible, unless of course you enjoy losing your teeth while eating.

I’ve never made caramels before. You see, before yesterday, I didn’t own a candy thermometer, which is an essential piece of equipment for caramel-creating. And, let me tell you, those suckers are apparently hard to find. I don’t know if it was a post-Christmas shortage, but I had to go to several stores to find one (a little too potato-ricer-esque for my taste). I’ve also held off on making caramels because I was a little scared. So I was comforted when I read Jacques Pépin’s description of his caramel recipe: foolproof. And I followed his recipe to the letter. Even when my intuition told me that the color had surpassed lightly-golden and descended into a rich brown, I forged on until my thermometer registered 320°, as Pépin instructed. And I trusted that, because I had followed every single one of his instructions, that if I just let the caramels sit for the prescribed four hours they’d transform into the soft, pliable wonders in Pépin’s photo, even though they hardened mere moments after I poured them into their mold.

Upon closer inspection of Pepin’s introduction to the recipe, I see he says it’s almost foolproof. Ha! So, I ask you dear readers: where did I go wrong? Faulty recipe (doubt it, it’s Jacques Pépin)? Faulty thermometer? And, perhaps more importantly, do you have a recipe that is truly foolproof?

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faustianbargain says on January 05 2008 at 4:21 pm:

2 things…temperature must be low or medium. if you cook caramel on high, it will continue cooking for a little while even after you have taken it off heat.

secondly, did you warm your cream/butter mix? it has to be somewhat at the same temperature. if you had boiled it and added boiling cream/butter mix to the caramel, it would have continued cooking. alternately, if you had added cold cream to hot caramel, it would seize..at which point, your caramel would have been ruined and wouldnt be in the state you have photographed anyways..so the cold cream theory is probably moot.

try it again. when its 235 deg F, caramel/cream mixture is done. and it should hit the tray immediately…which shouldnt be too cold(or warm), of course. left in the cooking container, it would have continued to cook somemore in the ambient temp even if you had turned off the heat or taken it off the heat.

dont give up. try again. good luck.
ourkitchensink says on January 05 2008 at 5:48 pm:

FaustianBargain: Thanks so much for your comment. I did warm the cream/butter mix (per the recipe). However, I think that I might have been using too much heat. I don’t think the recipe specified a heat and I must have assumed medium high or thereabouts. I’m wondering if I should give Pepin’s recipe another try with this newfound knowledge or search for a entirely new recipe …
kikibibi says on December 15 2008 at 1:31 pm:

I’ve just discovered you… from Deb at SK maybe? How delightful! I’m having so much fun “getting to know you.” Caramels is (are?) one of the first recipes I courageously tried as a kid, with my dad’s ever-watchful eye. They were such a hit and became a staple for many Christmases. My recipe comes from BH&G’s “Golden Treasury of Cooking,” which my dad passed down to me before he died. It is my favorite cookbook!
kikibibi says on December 15 2008 at 1:34 pm:

p.s., your assessment is correct… and faust gives great advice, which I can’t improve. Except to say don’t give up, try again. If I could do these at age 13 without fail, you certainly can! I ain’t that good a cook!
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink says on December 16 2008 at 8:24 pm:

kikibibi: Welcome! And, you’ll be happy to know that I did try again and had success!
Pam says on December 26 2009 at 11:17 pm:

I just made these caramels tonight. I am not an amateur candy maker, but questioned the 320 temperature the directions gave. First batch burned like crazy. With the second batch (yes I tried a second batch) I cooked it just until it began to carmelize, added the cream & butter mixture and continued the recipe as the directions stated. The second batch turned out perfectly. I am wondering if there is a typo and it should have read 220 degrees as that is about the temperature is began to carmelize. I hope your second attempt was a success!
Glen says on April 10 2010 at 11:27 am:

I don’t think the 320 is a typo. It is the temperature at which sugar carmelizes, the last candy stage, beyond hard crack. I think there is a lot of confusion about making caramels, however, and it stems from the difference between caramel, the carmelized molten sugar, and caramel, the stuff of the confection caramels. There are apparently two methods for making caramel (the molten carmelized sugar) – the wet (start with a sugar/water mix, boil off the water and continue until the sugar carmelizes) and the dry (melt the sugar directly – looks horribly non-foolproof). But what is more important, and to the point, is that there are apparently two methods for making caramel/caramels, the confection): 1. directly heating a mix of butter, cream and sugar until it reaches 220 – 245 F (depending on the recipe), in which the browning that occurs is a result of the Maillard reaction – not actual carmelization of sugar. and 2. making caramel (the molten carmelized sugar) and ‘stopping’ it with (pre-warmed) butter and cream, or butter and then cream, depending on the recipe. I’ve made caramel a few times by the first method, mostly for a middle layer of an incredible brownie (Alton Brown’s Brownie recipe with a middle layer of caramel and nuts), and it’s come out great. But I’ve noticed that after a few days the caramel in my brownie becomes stiff and granular, a bit like fudge. So I’m wondering now if the second way of making caramel might not be better – might not turn to fudge over time, and might have more flavour because the sugar is actually carmelized. I wonder if there is anyone here with a sophisticated knowledge of caramel that can confirm or refute any of this, or offer any additional insight into this mysterious process.