Caramel
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| Caramel-2.jpg
A saucer of liquid caramel
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Course served | Dessert |
| Main ingredient(s) | Sugar |
| Variations | brittles, nougats, pralines, crème brûlée, crème caramel, and caramel apple |
Caramel (/ˈkærəmɛl/ or /ˈkɑːrməl/[1][2]) is a beige to dark-brown confectionery product made by heating a variety of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelization consists of heating sugar slowly to around 340 °F (170 °C). As the sugar heats, the molecules break down and re-form into compounds with a characteristic color and flavor.
A variety of candies, desserts, and confections are made with caramel: brittles, nougats, pralines, crème brûlée, crème caramel, and caramel apples. Ice creams sometimes are flavored with or contain swirls of caramel.[3]
Contents
Etymology
The English word comes from French caramel, borrowed from Spanish caramelo (18th century), itself possibly from Portuguese caramel.[4] Most likely that comes from Late Latin calamellus 'sugar cane', a diminutive of calamus 'reed, cane', itself from Greek κάλαμος. Less likely, it comes from a Medieval Latin cannamella, from canna 'cane' + mella 'honey'.[5] Finally, some dictionaries connect it to an Arabic kora-mochalla 'ball of sweet'.[6][7]
Caramel sauce
Caramel sauce is made by mixing hot caramel with some combination of cream, milk, and water; butterscotch sauce uses brown sugar and adds butter.[8] Caramel sauce is used for a variety of desserts, the most notable being flan (see picture).
Caramel candy
Caramel candy is a soft, dense, chewy candy made by boiling a mixture of milk or cream, sugar(s), butter, and vanilla (or vanilla flavoring). The sugar(s) are heated separately to reach 170 °C (340 °F), caramelizing them before the other ingredients are added.[9] Alternatively, all ingredients may be cooked together; in this procedure, the mixture is not heated above the firm ball stage (120 °C [250 °F]), so that caramelization of the milk occurs but not caramelization of the sugars. This type of candy is often called milk caramel or cream caramel.
Caramel coloring
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Caramel coloring, a dark, bitter-tasting liquid, is the highly concentrated product of near total caramelization, bottled for commercial use. It is used as food coloring and in beverages, such as cola.
Chemistry
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Caramelization is the removal of water from a sugar, proceeding to isomerization and polymerization of the sugars into various high-molecular-weight compounds. Compounds such as difructose anhydride may be created from the monosaccharides after water loss. Fragmentation reactions result in low-molecular-weight compounds that may be volatile and may contribute to flavor. Polymerization reactions lead to larger-molecular-weight compounds that contribute to the dark-brown color.[10]
In modern recipes and in commercial production, glucose (from corn syrup or wheat) or invert sugar is added to prevent crystallization, making up 10%–50% of the sugars by mass. "Wet caramels" made by heating sucrose and water instead of sucrose alone produce their own invert sugar due to thermal reaction, but not necessarily enough to prevent crystallization in traditional recipes.[11]
Nutritional information
Two tablespoons (i.e., 41 grams) of commercially prepared butterscotch or caramel topping contain:[12]
- Calories (kcal): 103
- Protein (g): 0.62
- Total lipids (fat): 0.04
- Carbohydrates, by difference (g): 27.02
- Fiber, total dietary (g): 0.4
- Cholesterol (mg): 0.0
See also
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- Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel, a British brand of caramel chocolate bar
- Caramac, a British brand of caramel candy bar
- Carambar, a French brand of caramel candy bar
- Caramel corn, popcorn coated in caramel
- Caramilk, a Canadian brand of caramel chocolate bar
- Confiture de lait, caramelized, sweetened milk
- Dodol, a caramelized confection made with coconut milk
- Dulce de leche, caramelized, sweetened milk
- Maillard reaction
- Tablet (confectionery), Scottish candy made with condensed milk
- Toffee, a type of candy
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ American Heritage Dictionary, 5th edition, 2011, s.v.
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, 1st edition, 1888, s.v.
- ↑ Littré, Dictionnaire de la langue française, s.v.
- ↑ The arguments are summarized in Paget Toynbee, "Cennamella"--"Caramel"--"Canamell", The Academy, 34:864:338, November 24, 1888.
- ↑ Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, ISBN 1118254368, p. 227
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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