Caramel

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A piece of caramel confectionery.

For other uses, see Caramel (disambiguation).

Caramel (IPA: ['kærəˌmɛl], also ['kɑrˌməl] in some U.S. regions) is a food which has a colour from orange to dark brown and a sweet toasted flavour, derived from the caramelization of sugar. Caramel is used to flavour candy, as well as soft drinks such as Coca-Cola. It is also commonly used as a food colouring (with the E number E150).

Caramel can be made from sugar by heating it slowly to around 170°C/340°F. (The particular temperature depends on the sugar. See caramelization). As the sugar melts and approaches this temperature, the molecules break down into other volatile compounds that give it the characteristic caramel colour and flavours. There are also many other ways of making caramel.

Various candies, confections, and desserts are made with caramel: caramel apples, barley sugar, caramel with nuts (such as praline, nougat, or brittle), and caramel with custard (such as crème caramel or crème brûlée).

[edit] Caramel candy

The word caramel also describes a soft, chewy, caramel-flavored candy made by boiling milk, sugar, butter, oil, syrup, vanilla essence, water, and glucose gum together. Milk is a vital ingredient in caramel candies, giving them a creamy, collapsible texture. The colour and flavour of caramel candy are due not to caramelization, but to the Stecker degradation or the Maillard reaction, which occurs between an amino acid and a reducing sugar.

[edit] Flavoured caramels

The popularity of caramel as a candy has led to new types of flavours of caramel. For instance, a common flavour is vanilla caramel, which as its name describes, is caramel with a hint of vanilla that is usually stronger than the vanilla flavour present in regular caramel. Thus, it is often mistaken as regular caramel by those with undiscriminating taste buds, which is also partially due to the fact that regular and vanilla caramel share the same colour.

Rum butter flavoured caramel squares are a common candy given out for trick-or-treat.

Another common flavour of caramel is rum butter caramel, which is caramel with hints of rum and butter flavours, giving the caramel a seemingly richer flavour and the distinctiveness of rum. Chocolate caramel is often a common flavoured caramel, however it is not used as often as rum butter or vanilla flavours. Chocolate caramel is easily distinguished by its colour, often much darker than other types of caramel, and in most cases even as dark as chocolate itself. This is usually due to artificial colouring in mass production caramel candies, however if there is actual cocoa powder used (as opposed to just artificial flavouring), the cocoa powder will lend some of its brown colour to darkening the caramel. Obviously, the more cocoa powder used, the darker the caramel will be and the more it will taste like chocolate.

These flavours are most often used in chocolate candies, like the Pot of Gold collection of chocolates, or other boxed assortment of chocolate candies. However, they are also used as individual candies as well, such as the rum butter flavoured and chocolate flavoured caramel squares made by Primrose Candy Company, which are very common during Halloween as candy given out for trick-or-treat.