Caramel (/ˈkærəmɛl/ or/ˈkɑːrməl/^[1][2]) is aconfectionery product made by heating a range ofsugars. It is used as a flavoring inpuddings anddesserts, as a filling inbonbons orcandy bars, or as a topping forice cream andcustard.

Caramel

A saucer of liquid caramel
Course	Dessert orsnack
Created by	Various
Main ingredients	Sugar
Variations	Brittles,pralines,crème brûlée, andcrème caramel
Cookbook: Caramel  Media: Caramel

The process ofcaramelization consists of heating sugar slowly to around 170 °C (340 °F). As the sugar heats, the molecules break down and re-form into compounds with a characteristic colour and flavour.

A variety ofcandies,desserts, toppings, and confections are made with caramel:brittles,nougats,pralines,flan,crème brûlée,crème caramel, andcaramel apples. Ice creams sometimes are flavored with or contain swirls of caramel.^[3]

The English word comes from Frenchcaramel, borrowed from Spanishcaramelo (18th century), itself possibly from Portuguesecaramelo.^[4] Most likely that comes from Late Latincalamellus 'sugar cane', a diminutive ofcalamus 'reed, cane', itself from Greekκάλαμος. Less likely, it comes from Medieval Latincannamella, fromcanna 'cane' +mella 'honey'.^[5] Finally, some dictionaries connect it to Arabickora-moħalláh 'ball of sweet'.^[6][7]

Caramel sauce is made by mixing caramelized sugar withcream. Depending on the intended application, additional ingredients such as butter, fruit purees,liquors, orvanilla can be used. Caramel sauce is used in a range of desserts, especially as a topping for ice cream. When it is used forcrème 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]}

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),glucose, butter, and vanilla (or vanilla flavoring). The sugar and glucose are combined and heated to reach 130 °C (270 °F); the cream and butter are then added which cools the mixture. The mixture is then stirred and reheated until it reaches 120 °C (250 °F). 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 ininverting the sugars as they cooked.

Alternatively, all ingredients may be cooked together. In this procedure, the mixture is not heated above thefirm ball stage (120 °C [250 °F]), so that caramelization of the milk occurs. This temperature is not high enough to caramelize sugar and this type of candy is often calledmilk caramel orcream 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.^[8]

Salted caramel was created in 1977 by French pastry chefHenri Le Roux inQuiberon, Brittany, in the form of a salted butter caramel with crushed nuts (caramel au beurre salé), using Bretondemi-sel butter.^[9] It was named the "Best confectionery in France" (Meilleur Bonbon de France) at the ParisSalon International de la Confiserie in 1980. Le Roux registered the trademark "CBS" (caramel au beurre salé) the year after.^[10]

It became a huge hit 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 theirgoûter, a meal eaten around 4 pm in order to restore their energy after school.Goûter usually consists of bread with jam or caramel spread, croissants or pain au chocolat, fruit and hot chocolate.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1990s, Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé introduced his salted butter and caramelmacarons and, by 2000, high-end chefs started adding a bit of salt to caramel and chocolate dishes. In 2008 it entered the mass market, whenHäagen-Dazs andStarbucks started selling it.^[11]

Originally used in desserts, the confection has seen wide use elsewhere, including inhot chocolate and spirits such asvodka. Its popularity may come from its effects on thereward systems of the human brain, resulting in "hedonic escalation".^[12]

Caramel colouring, a dark, bitter liquid, is the highly concentrated product of near total caramelization, used commercially asfood and beverage colouring, e.g., incola.^{[citation needed]}

Caramelization is the removal of water from a sugar, proceeding toisomerization andpolymerization of the sugars into various high-molecular-weight compounds. Compounds such asdifructoseanhydride may be created from themonosaccharides 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.^[13]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.^[8]In modern recipes and in commercial production,glucose (fromcorn syrup orwheat) orinvert 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.^[14]

• "Caramel".Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.