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2
out of 5
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not really a caramel...,
August 25, 2009
By englishvoodoo
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"Caramels are called caramels because the sugar used to make them is caramelized, cooked until it turns reddish-brown. This gives it a nicely complex flavor, slightly bitter. This recipe doesn't caramelize the sugar at all, maybe these should be called toffees instead...
I did try this recipe anyway, and had serious problems with the temperatures given. This isn't the first time I've cooked toffee but it was the first time i used a candy thermometer. Previously I've relied on dripping a little into cold water to determine consistency, which works just fine. I followed the instructions exactly, waiting until 230 to add the cream and butter, then heating to 245 before adding the orange peel and pouring into the tin to set.
The problem came when I tried to cut it into pieces the next morning - it was way too soft, and oozed out of shape immediately. Checking a few other caramel recipes, I found that everyone else gives a temperature of 260 for a soft caramel, and 265 for a firm caramel. I eventually resorted to re-melting and heating my overly gooey 'caramel' to 265 (not easy) and it set perfectly.
The taste isn't fantastic, nicely orangey but since the sugar isn't caramelized, it just tastes sweet with not much character. In future if I made this again, I would caramelize the sugar before adding the syrup and OJ concentrate, probably substitute molasses for about half the corn syrup anyway, and heat to the correct temperature!"
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