View source for Caramel

{{Short description|Confectionery product made by heating sugars}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Caramel
| image = Caramel-2.jpg
| caption = A saucer of liquid caramel
| alternate_name = 
| creator = Various
| course = Dessert or [[snack]]
| type = 
| served = 
| main_ingredient = Sugar
| variations = [[Brittle (food)|Brittle]]s, [[praline (nut confection)|praline]]s, [[crème brûlée]], and [[crème caramel]]
| calories = 
| other = 
| commons = Category:Caramel
}}

'''Caramel''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ær|ə|ˌ|m|ɛ|l}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑːr|m|əl}})<ref>{{Cite book |title=New Oxford American Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |edition=3rd |location=New York |page=260}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=2011 |edition=5th |location=Boston |page=278}}</ref> is a range of food ingredients made by heating sugars to high temperatures. It is used as a flavoring in [[pudding]]s and desserts, as a filling in [[bonbon]]s or [[candy bars]], as a topping for [[ice cream]] and [[custard]], and as a colorant commonly used in drinks.

The process of [[caramelization]] primarily consists of heating sugars slowly to around {{convert|170|C|sigfig=2}}. As the sugar heats, the [[molecule]]s break down and re-form into compounds with a characteristic colour and flavour.

A variety of [[Candy|sweets]], desserts, toppings, and confections are made with caramel, including [[tres leches cake]], [[Brittle (food)|brittles]], [[nougat]]s, [[praline (nut confection)|praline]]s, [[Flan (pie)|flan]], [[crème brûlée]], [[crème caramel]], and [[caramel apple]]s. Ice creams are sometimes flavored with or contain swirls of caramel.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 July 2009 |title=Salted Caramel Ice Cream |url=http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salted-Caramel-Ice-Cream-354517 |website=Epicurious.com |access-date=21 June 2013 |archive-date=23 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823121059/https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salted-Caramel-Ice-Cream-354517 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Etymology==

The English word comes from French ''{{Lang|fr|caramel}}'', borrowed from Spanish {{Lang|es|caramelo}} (18th century), itself possibly from Portuguese ''{{Lang|pt|caramelo}}''.<ref>''[[American Heritage Dictionary]]'', 5th edition, 2011, ''s.v.''</ref> Most likely that comes from Late Latin ''{{Lang|la|calamellus}}'' 'sugar cane', a diminutive of {{Lang|la|calamus}} 'reed, cane', itself from Greek {{Lang|grc|κάλαμος}}. Less likely, it comes from Medieval Latin ''{{Lang|la|cannamella}}'', from {{Lang|la|canna}} 'cane' + {{Lang|la|mella}} 'honey'.<ref name="OED">''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 1st edition, 1888, [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/27703 ''s.v.'']</ref> Finally, some dictionaries connect it to Arabic {{Lang|ar-latn|kora-moħalláh}} 'ball of sweet'.<ref>Littré, ''[[Dictionnaire de la langue française]]'', ''s.v.''</ref><ref>The arguments are summarized in Paget Toynbee, "Cennamella"—"Caramel"—"Canamell", ''The Academy'', '''34''':864:[https://books.google.com/books?id=pjUZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA338 338], November 24, 1888.</ref>

==Sauce==
Caramel sauce is made by mixing caramelized sugar with [[cream]].  Depending on the intended application, additional ingredients such as butter, fruit purees, [[liquor]]s, or [[vanilla]] can be used. Caramel sauce is used in a range of desserts, especially as a topping for ice cream. When it is used for [[crème caramel]] or flan, it is known as clear caramel and only contains caramelized sugar and water. Butterscotch sauce is made with brown sugar, butter, and cream. Traditionally, [[butterscotch]] is a hard candy more in line with a toffee.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==Candy==
<!-- Redirect "Caramels" links here -->
[[File:Caramels.jpg|thumb|right|Milk caramel manufactured as square candies, either for eating or for melting down]]
[[File:Omar-kaare ja klontti web.jpg|thumb|right|[[Omar (candy)|Omar]] caramel candies]]
Caramel candy, or "caramels", and sometimes called "[[toffee]]" (though this also refers to other types of candy), is a soft, dense, chewy candy made by boiling a mixture of milk or cream, sugar(s), [[corn syrup|glucose]], butter, and vanilla (or vanilla flavoring). The sugar and glucose are combined and heated to reach {{convert|130|C|-1}}; the cream and butter are then added which cools the mixture.  The mixture is then stirred and reheated until it reaches {{convert|120|C|-1}}.  Upon completion of cooking, vanilla or any additional flavorings and salt are added.  Adding the vanilla or flavorings earlier would result in them burning off at the high temperatures.  Adding salt earlier in the process would result in [[Inverted sugar syrup|inverting the sugars]] as they cooked.

Alternatively, all ingredients may be cooked together.  In this procedure, the mixture is not heated above the [[firm ball]] stage ({{convert|120|C|-1|disp=sqbr}}), so that caramelization of the milk occurs. This temperature is not high enough to caramelize sugar and this type of candy is often called '''milk caramel''' or '''cream caramel'''. Even though caramel candy is sometimes called "toffee" and is also compared with butterscotch, there is a difference. While toffee and butterscotch are more closely related than caramel, they do have most of the same ingredients. However, toffee and butterscotch use molasses or brown sugar while caramel uses white sugar. They are also cooked at different temperatures and they each have their own cooking techniques that make them unique in taste and shape.<ref name="Moncel">{{cite web |last1=Moncel |first1=Bethany |title=How Caramel Is Made and Used |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-caramel-1328641 |website=The Spruce Eats |access-date=16 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==Salting==
As early as the 19th century, baked products with caramelized sugar and salted dough appeared in certain regional cuisines, notably the [[kouign-amann]] in the [[Brittany]] region of France where this pairing is strongly apparent. During the early 20th century and following [[World War II]], this pairing was expanded into other types of pastries and cakes.<ref name="b131">{{cite book | last=Hardy | first=Anne | title=Where to eat in Canada | publisher=Oberon Press | publication-place=Ottawa | year=1971 | issn=0315-3088 | oclc=1151791775}}</ref>

Salted caramel sweets with milk or butter were sold in Brittany as early as 1946, reviving recipes already used before World War II. The [[Quiberon]] {{ill|Niniche (sweet)|fr|Niniche|lt=niniche}}<ref name="d999">{{cite web | title=Envie d'une confiserie traditionnelle ? La niniche de Quiberon, une aventure familiale depuis 70 ans | website=Ouest-France.fr | date=2017-07-12 | url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/bretagne/auray-56400/la-niniche-de-quiberon-une-aventure-familiale-depuis-70-ans-5134126 | language=fr | access-date=2025-04-25 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20250425210458/https://www.ouest-france.fr/bretagne/auray-56400/la-niniche-de-quiberon-une-aventure-familiale-depuis-70-ans-5134126 | archive-date=2025-04-25}}</ref> and {{ill|Salidou|fr|Salidou|italic=yes}} [[Spread (food)|spread]] are examples of such products which gained popularity in the late 1940s and 1950s in Brittany. Recipes almost always contained milk or butter which made these products [[perishable]] and limited their commercialization.

In 1977, French pastry chef {{ill|Henri Le Roux|fr|Henri Le Roux}} developed a significantly more stable salted caramel sweet in Quiberon, Brittany, in the form of a salted butter caramel with crushed nuts (''caramel au beurre salé''), using Breton ''demi-sel'' butter.<ref>Brian Edwards, [https://www.mirror.co.uk/usvsth3m/salted-caramel---ubiquitous-flavour-5223158 "Salted Caramel—that ubiquitous flavour which is actually only as old as Star Wars"], ''[[Daily Mirror]]'', Feb 25, 2015 <!-- Source appears erroneous in stating this invention, see for example 'Where to eat in Canada' pub. Oberon Press ed. 1971 which mentions "pan-fried foie gras with salted caramel and dried fruit" on page 93 https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Where_to_Eat_in_Canada/1kAsAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22salted+caramel%22&dq=%22salted+caramel%22&printsec=frontcover --></ref> It was named the "Best confectionery in France" (''{{Lang|fr|Meilleur Bonbon de France}}'') at the Paris ''{{Lang|fr|Salon International de la Confiserie}}'' in 1980. Le Roux registered the trademark "CBS" (''caramel au beurre salé'') the year after.<ref>"Henri Le Roux: L'histoire d'un Maître Chocolatier-Caramélier", [https://www.chocolatleroux.com/content/8-henri-le-roux-chocolatier-et-caramelier web site of Maison Le Roux] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419215448/https://www.chocolatleroux.com/content/8-henri-le-roux-chocolatier-et-caramelier |date=2021-04-19 }}</ref>

Salted caramel sweets became widely popular throughout France and other French-speaking European countries (notably Belgium and Switzerland, which already had a tradition for fine chocolate and confectionery), and for years French, Belgian and Swiss children added it to their {{Lang|fr|[[goûter]]}}, a meal eaten around 4&nbsp;pm to restore their energy after school. {{Lang|fr|Goûter}} usually consists of bread with jam or caramel spread, croissants or pain au chocolat, fruit and hot chocolate.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In the late 1990s, Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé introduced his salted butter and caramel [[macaron]]s, and by 2000, high-end chefs started adding a bit of salt to caramel and chocolate dishes. In 2008 it entered the mass market, when [[Häagen-Dazs]] and [[Starbucks]] started selling it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Severson |first=Kim |date=December 30, 2008 |title=How Caramel Developed a Taste for Salt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/dining/31cara.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Originally used in desserts, the confection has seen wide use elsewhere, including in [[hot chocolate]] and spirits such as [[vodka]]. Its popularity may come from its effects on the [[reward system]]s of the human brain, resulting in "hedonic escalation".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Sarah |date=27 November 2017 |title=Why you can't stop eating salted caramel, according to science |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/salted-caramel-not-stop-eating-science-university-florida-hedonic-sugar-fat-a8078296.html |access-date=1 March 2018 |website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref>

==Colouring==
{{main|Caramel colour}}
Caramel colouring, a dark, bitter liquid, is the highly concentrated product of near total caramelization, used commercially as [[food colouring|food and beverage colouring]], e.g., in [[cola]].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==Chemistry==
{{main|Caramelization}}
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 [[fructose|difructose]] [[Acid anhydride|anhydride]] may be created from the [[monosaccharide]]s 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caramelization |url=http://www.food-info.net/uk/colour/caramel.htm |access-date=2009-05-07}}</ref>
Caramel can be produced in many forms such as sauce, chewy candy, or hard candy depending on how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.<ref name="Moncel"/>
In modern recipes and in commercial production, [[glucose]] (from [[corn syrup]] or wheat) or [[Inverted sugar syrup|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=6. Sugar confectionery |url=http://www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5434e/x5434e0a.htm |access-date=2013-01-01 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |archive-date=2012-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227142646/http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/X5434E/x5434e0a.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Food}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Caramel apple]], a whole apple covered in a layer of caramel or chocolate
* [[Caramel corn]], popcorn coated in caramel
* [[Dodol]], a caramelized confection made with coconut milk
* [[Dulce de leche]], caramelized sweetened milk
* [[Fudge]]
* [[Maillard reaction]]
* [[Nougat]], using egg white rather than milk products
* [[Tablet (confectionery)|Tablet]], Scottish candy made with condensed milk
* [[Toffee]], a type of confection

{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Merriam-Webster|Caramel}}

{{Sugar}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Toppings]]
[[Category:Candy]]
[[Category:Amorphous solids]]
[[Category:Food colorings]]
[[Category:Glassforming liquids and melts]]

[[sv:Kola]]