How caramel is prepared. How to make homemade caramel? Recipes for making creamy, coffee and classic candy caramel
Milk caramel is a dessert that resembles condensed milk in taste and consistency. Depending on the cooking time, it can turn out soft and chewy, or dense, like toffee. Enjoy the benefits of homemade treats!
The ship was carrying caramel, the ship ran aground,
And the sailors ate caramel aground for two weeks.
(children's tongue twister)
Once you learn how to make caramel from milk and sugar at home, you will probably stop buying store-bought condensed milk. What’s remarkable about the recipe I propose is that depending on how long the caramel is cooked, the result will be different. If you need caramel as a sauce for pancakes, or as an addition to a fruit dessert or ice cream, then you need to cook the caramel for about half an hour. If you need caramel as a filling for croissants, then you will have to cook it for about an hour. And if you need milk toffee, which can be cut into portions instead of sweets, then you will have to cook it for almost two hours.
Caramel requires only three ingredients: milk, sugar, butter. Making caramel is so simple that there’s nothing to say about it. However, a few words must be said. I've come across other recipes for cooking caramel, where the ingredients seem to be the same, but the procedure is slightly different. In these recipes, sugar is usually melted first, then milk is poured in, and lastly, butter is added to the almost finished caramel. The peculiarity of this recipe is that without a certain skill, it is very difficult to guess the temperature of the milk that needs to be poured into the melted sugar. As a result, with a high degree of probability, the milk may curdle, form flakes and caramel can be safely thrown away.
Recipe Information
Cuisine: European.
Cooking method: on the stove .
Total cooking time: 40 min.
Number of servings: 20 .
Ingredients:
- milk – 0.5 l
- sugar – 715 g
- butter – 100 g.
Recipe:
Note to the owner:
- If you get tired of the classic milky taste of caramel, you can diversify it by adding a little cocoa or instant coffee to the mixture during the preparation process. Caramel with cocoa or coffee flavor can also be used to serve pancakes, ice cream, and puddings.
How to make caramel from sugar?
Delicious and aromatic sugar caramels - are there people who have never tried them in their lives or tried to make them themselves? If you don’t know how to make caramel at home without ruining all the dishes, then we will teach you. To prepare this treat, you don't need anything other than sugar, vinegar or lemon juice and water.
Making caramel from sugar
Required products and equipment:
- 15 tablespoons of sugar;
- 5 tablespoons of water (the amount of ingredients can be changed as desired, but the main thing is that the ratio of water and sugar is 1 to 3);
- half a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar;
- a plate with cold water;
- clean tablespoons or molds;
- saucepan.
First, prepare a plate of cold water and place it somewhere not far from the stove and pan. Pour 5 tablespoons of boiled water into a saucepan and add sugar (15 tablespoons, or your proportions). Set the heat to medium power, and wait until the sugar dissolves in the water, add half a teaspoon of lemon juice or table vinegar so that the sugar mass does not roll into lumps, but becomes plastic. Stir constantly until most of the sugar has melted to prevent the caramel from burning.
When all the sugar has dissolved in the water, turn the heat down to the lowest setting just to maintain the temperature. Dip the spoon into the caramel and wait until it is filled with mixture. If you have molds, fill them with caramel. As soon as the spoon becomes full, immediately place it in a plate of cold water for a few seconds so that the mass “sets.” Place the filled spoon aside for a while to allow the candy to completely harden. Repeat the same with other spoons or molds. Sugar caramel is ready!
To make it easy to remove lollipops from spoons or molds, first grease the inside of these containers with vegetable oil. Do not use too much oil so as not to spoil the taste of the candies. To make lollipops, stick regular toothpicks into the still-unset caramel molds.
Do not let the sugar mixture completely harden in the pan, otherwise it will be difficult to clean later. While making the candies, keep the pan on low heat. Then, when everything is done, immediately pour hot water into it and bring to a boil and boil for 5-10 minutes so that the remaining sugar from the bottom melts. Then all you have to do is pour boiling water and clean the bottom of the pan a little.
To make the caramel more tender and tasty, you can use milk instead of water. Many people are interested in how to make caramel from cough sugar. To do this, pour sugar not with ordinary water, but with a decoction of licorice or sage. You will get lollipops with antitussive and anti-inflammatory effects. To get an interesting taste and smell, you can add a few drops of mint oil or a little vanilla to the caramel.
Another basic ingredient in the confectioner’s arsenal, which has a special place in the classification of sweets, is caramel. This product can be found in different forms in different recipes, however, their preparation is based on the process of melting sugar.
Invented several centuries ago, the dessert component has a rich history. The Latin word “cannamella”, which is familiar to our ears, literally translates as “sugar cane”.
A caramel-like product in ancient India was obtained from fire-roasted cane stalks. The main ingredient - sugar - was highly valued in the Middle Ages and was available only to wealthy people.
Large-scale production of the product in a number of countries - France, Great Britain, America, which consider themselves the founders of caramel practice, started in the 14th - 16th centuries. Lollipop figures were considered the favorite caramel sweet of the French and Russians.
In the XVIII century. The era of sugar caramel began in England. Based on candies and medicinal herbs, a German pharmacist created medicinal sweets that replaced bitter mixtures.
At the dawn of the caramel industry, sugar dissolved in water was melted over open fires in copper cauldrons. Manual temperature measurements served as an indicator of the readiness of the caramel mass for pouring into molds.
Types of caramel
The presence of a sugar substance in the composition determines the type of caramel, which can be made from sucrose, glucose, or maltose.
Based on taste, the delicacy can be liqueur, chocolate, berry or fruit. They make medicinal caramels and lollipops with added vitamins.
Based on consistency, there is a distinction between hard and soft caramel and sauce based on the ingredient. Below is a little more detail about each of the conditions.
Hard caramel
This type, also called pouring, is used for making sweets and lollipops, montpensiers. You can’t do without this ingredient when creating grilled meats.
When hardened, the candy caramel becomes like glass in its finished state. Working with caramel requires extraordinary skill: if the composition hardens (and this happens very quickly), refinement is no longer possible.
It is not difficult to make “cockerels” and “bunnies” on sticks from pouring caramel at home, having the appropriate shapes. You can delight your guests by coating pieces of fruit and berries with caramel.
By adding nuts to the mixture and passing it through a blender, you get praline, which is appropriate in recipes for cakes or creams. The pouring composition is applicable in the manufacture of caramel decor for decorating confectionery products.
And this is how caramel candies with a pattern on the cut are made:
By changing the proportions of the components that make up the mass, a plastic caramel is obtained, from which you can sculpt various figures without burning your fingers when the composition cools.
Multi-colored soft satin caramel is made using food coloring. The ingredient is added to cakes and pastries; it can serve as a food additive. If cream is present in the recipe, toffee caramels are obtained.
Preparation of this type of caramel on an industrial scale involves the use of a filling with a moisture content of 32-35%. The softness of the consistency is maintained due to the penetration of moisture into the caramel mass during storage of sweets.
Soft caramel is an excellent layering option for a cake. In terms of fluidity, the French season croissants, toast, and pancakes with a composition close to honey.
An amber product with a rich sweet caramel taste belongs to the group of dessert sauces. Freshly prepared liquid caramel is similar in fluidity to condensed milk, and when in the refrigerator, it acquires the consistency of boiled condensed milk.
It is an excellent addition to ice cream desserts, pies and buns. A couple of spoons of caramel sauce can turn yogurt into an extraordinary treat. Oatmeal seasoned with it becomes a dish that is both tasty and healthy.
How to make caramel?
Hard caramel recipe
Making caramel at home is not that difficult, and even a child can make the simplest candies.
We bring to your attention a recipe for homemade caramel, according to which you should stock up on 250 g of sugar, vanilla sugar or powder in the amount of 1 tablespoon, and a third glass of brandy or cognac. You will need a few drops of mint oil and lemon juice.
Melt granulated sugar in a saucepan over moderate heat, add vanilla sugar, and add cognac. Stirring continuously, keep on the stove for about a minute. After removing from heat, add mint oil and lemon juice to the mixture and stir.
Pour the hot syrup into molds, having previously greased them with oil for better extraction of the finished caramels, provide each portion with a stick (you can use toothpicks) and send it to the cold to harden. Homemade sugar caramel is ready!
Soft caramel recipe
How to make soft caramel from sugar? Please be patient and have a set of ingredients:
- 200 g sugar;
- 1 g vanillin;
- a pinch of salt;
- 50 g butter;
- 100 g milk.
Over medium heat, melt the sugar in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Be sure to stir constantly to prevent the mixture from burning. Set the container with melted granulated sugar aside and add milk in small portions, without stopping stirring.
Cook the mixture over medium heat, without bringing it to a boil. During cooking, add vanilla and salt, stir.
After removing the pan from the heat, add the oil and make the mass homogeneous. Soft caramel is ready to eat. Be careful because the product is hot.
Caramel Sauce Recipe
You already know how to make caramel. Now we present to your attention the recipe for caramel sauce.
To prepare the delicacy you will need 250 g of granulated sugar, 70 g of water. Combine the ingredients and cook over low heat until the mass acquires an amber hue.
Bring 220 g to a boil and add to the sugar-water mixture. After stirring until smooth, remove from heat and season with butter (50 g).
It is appropriate to serve cupcakes, strudels, and biscuits with warm caramel sauce, and after cooling it, add a refined taste to ice cream desserts.
And the following video will tell you how to make delicious salted caramel:
Caramel lamp: features and benefits
The device is a tool that allows you to maintain the temperature required to maintain the elasticity of confectionery caramel for the required period of time, heating the composition evenly throughout the entire volume.
The lamp allows you to work with artistic caramel mass to realize the most intricate ideas in the form of decor for cakes and other baked goods.
One of the commercially available accessories that can be retrofitted with the unit is a confectionery alcohol lamp. A protective screen allows you to avoid light scattering.
As a rule, devices have several levels of power adjustment. Latex gloves are a necessary accessory to protect the hands of a pastry chef working with caramel from burns.
High-quality infrared emitter lamps are designed to heat caramel and work surfaces. A caramel lamp is an indispensable thing for increasing the convenience and efficiency of a professional pastry chef. Purchasing tools is advisable when there are significant volumes of processed products.
Caramel is melted and toasted sugar. Learning how to make caramel will take practice, but don't worry - sugar is inexpensive. Liquid caramel is made from sugar and water and used as sauces. Dry caramel is harder and is made only from sugar. It is often used to make pralines, nut candies and berry and fruit pies. Once you decide on the purpose of cooking, you can start!
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
- Cooking time: 30 minutes
- Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
Liquid caramel
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (you can also use white sugar)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
Dry caramel
- 1 cup granulated sugar (you can also use white sugar)
Steps
Liquid caramel
- Keep a deep bowl of cold water nearby to soak your hands if the caramel gets on them.
-
Mix sugar and water. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the bottom of a pot or pan. Pour water over the sugar slowly and evenly to completely cover it. Do not leave dry areas.
- Use only granulated sugar. Brown sugar and powdered sugar have too many impurities - they won't make caramel. Raw sugar is also not recommended.
-
Heat the sugar. Cook sugar and water over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Monitor the process carefully and stir the pan if you notice any clumps forming. Most curds will melt during the heating process.
- To prevent recrystallization, you can cover the pan until the sugar has completely melted. Any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan will fall to the bottom due to the condensation created.
- Another way to prevent recrystallization is to add a small amount (two drops) of lemon juice or cream of tartar to the water and sugar mixture just as it begins to dissolve. These recrystallization agents prevent the formation of large clumps by coating small crystals.
- Some people also use a pastry brush dipped in water to break up any crystals on the sides of the pan. This is effective, but the bristles may come off the brush and remain in the caramel.
-
Fry the sugar. Observe the process of sugar darkening. When it almost reaches the burning point and starts to foam and smoke slightly, remove it from the heat immediately.
Refrigerate. Add cream and butter to the caramel to stop the cooking process and cool the pan. Stir with a whisk over low heat. You can remove any remaining clots. Cool the caramel and store in an airtight container.
- To make the salted caramel sauce, add 1/4 teaspoon salt once the caramel has cooled to room temperature.
- To make vanilla caramel sauce, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract after removing caramel from heat.
-
Clean up. Cleaning a sticky pan may seem complicated, but it is quite simple. Soak the pan in warm water or fill it with water and bring to a boil. During the boiling process, all the caramel will dissolve.
Dry caramel
-
Place sugar in a saucepan. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the bottom of a pot or pan. The pan must be large enough, since the volume of caramel will be greater than the volume of sugar.
Heat the sugar. Cook sugar over medium heat. You will notice that the sugar will begin to cook and brown at the edges first. Using a clean heatproof utensil, move the liquid sugar to the center of the pan.
Fry the sugar. The process will begin to speed up, so do not leave the pan unattended. Watch as the sugar turns a deeper amber color. If a recipe calls for adding liquid, such as cream, add it now to cool the pan and slow down the cooking process.
Refrigerate. If you did not add liquid to the caramel, you can cool the mixture and stop the cooking process by placing the bottom of the pan in a large bowl of cold water. Clean the pan by soaking or boiling water until all remaining caramel has dissolved.
Now you have caramel sauce! Enjoy ;)
- Once the caramel has cooled, place it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. Use the caramel within two weeks.
- If you are preparing liquid caramel, it is better to tilt the pan rather than stir the contents, otherwise there is a high chance of recrystallization.
- Important criteria for properly prepared caramel are color and aroma. The caramel should be amber brown, like an old coin. You want to cook the caramel until it's lightly burnt but still has a sweet aroma (it's a fine line, but you'll get the hang of it with practice).
- If you did not manage to clean the pan in time and there are caramel residues frozen on it, soak it in warm water for 30 minutes and then clean it.
- If you need to quickly cool the caramel, always keep a pan of cold water on hand.
- If you don't want to make caramel from scratch, you can melt caramel candies and use them for their intended purpose. The candies should be soft.
Warnings
- At high temperatures, the non-stick coating may become damaged and mix with the caramel.
- The tin trim may melt while making the caramel.
- Caramel splashes can damage glass cooking surfaces. Be careful not to place stirring spoons, etc. on such surfaces.
- When preparing caramel, be sure to take precautions - hot sugar can cause burns if it comes into contact with your skin.
-
Prepare the pan. Although no special equipment is required to make caramel, the pot or pan you use must be completely clean. Choose a pan that is heavy, strong, and light-colored so you can monitor the caramelization process. If you plan to add cream to the caramel, keep in mind that the amount of caramel will increase.
Take precautions. Hot sugar may splash and cause severe burns. Wear long sleeves, an apron and oven mitts. If you have glasses, wear them too.
Surely you have an idea of how to make caramel at home: what could be simpler - take sugar and heat it in a saucepan! However, there are small but very significant tricks in making homemade caramel. They will help avoid “sticking” of the substance to the dishes, burning and crystallization of sugar. So…
To complete this you will need:
- Sugar 1 cup
- Water 1/3 cup
- Vinegar or lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon
- Pot
- Plate
- Molds (if you don’t have them, regular tablespoons will do)
Method for making caramel:
- Fill a deep plate with cold water and place the molds next to it - everything should be at hand.
- Place the pan over medium heat, add sugar and heat it until liquid. Do not stir the substance until most of the sugar has dissolved.
- When the sugar has completely melted, switch the switch to the lowest heat and lower a spoon or mold into the solution. As soon as it is full, place it in a plate of water for 10 seconds, then place it on a damp towel and move on to the next form.
- Fill the pan with water to scrape up any remaining caramel and remove the finished treats from the molds. Making your own caramel from sugar turned out to be easy, didn’t it?
And now - little tricks that will help make your sweet treat even more attractive and tasty.
Trick 1.
To prevent the sugar from rolling into pieces, add a drop of vinegar or lemon juice to the pan during heating, then the caramel will turn out homogeneous.
Trick 2.
To get transparent and voluminous caramel, pour 4-5 tablespoons of hot water into dissolved sugar. During the simmering process, a ball will swell from this water, after which you need to catch it and just wait until it cools down.
Trick 3.
To give the caramel a piquant taste, after removing from heat, add cognac or any citrus juice into it; if you add herbs, you will get homemade cough drops.
Are you wondering how to make caramel from sugar to make lollipops? This is also quite simple - you will need wooden sticks, for example, from ice cream, or, as a last resort, toothpicks (for mini caramels). When the pan is on low heat, simply wrap the thick mixture around these sticks and wait for the excess to drip off.
So we learned how to make caramel from sugar, spending a minimum of time and available materials. Now you can please both your little guests and your friends with a delicious dessert - who said adults don’t like lollipops? In the future, after good practice, you will be able to cook cockerels and other complex figures at home.
Master class on making shaped lollipops
Figured sugar caramel lollipops can be a wonderful gift for both adults and kids. You can make caramel figures, package them individually and decorate them with ribbons.
Ingredients for 9 lollipops:
- 1 tbsp. Sahara
- 2 tbsp. vinegar
- 2 tbsp. water
- Red food coloring
- Vanillin
- Barbecue sticks.
- Vegetable oil
Method for preparing figured caramel on sticks:
1 Combine sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan. Mix everything well and put on low heat. While the mixture is on the fire, it must be stirred continuously so that the sugar does not burn to the pan.
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