Caramel is a type of candy created when sugar is heated to approximately 320 to 340 degrees Fahrenheit. As the sugar heats up, the molecules start to break down and form different compounds, a process known as caramelization. The resulting mixture features a rich flavor and golden brown color. The rich and delicious flavor of caramel adds silky smooth sweetness to dozens of our favorite treats. It’s a classic dessert that has countless applications.
Toffee is a hard candy that combines the classic cooked sugar sweetness of caramel with the richness of butter. Technically, toffee is butterscotch—a combination of butter and sugar—cooked to what’s known as the hard-crack stage in confectionery: over 300 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.
What Is Caramel and What Isn’t?
Caramel can be mixed with cream and other ingredients to turn it into different consistencies, such as caramel sauce or chewy caramel candies. It can also be heated more or less, depending on the color and flavor you’re looking for. Light caramel has a light golden brown hue, while dark caramel features a dark amber color with a slightly more bitter taste than light caramel.
Various candies, confections, desserts, and beverages are made with caramel. Desserts such as flan and creme brûlée even contain a topping of caramel. It also acts as a binding agent in candies such as pralines and peanut brittle. Surprisingly, toffee and butterscotch are considered different types of candy altogether. Butterscotch contains too high of a percentage of butter, while toffee is made with brown sugar.
If you want to indulge in a delicious caramel treat, consider our Salted Caramel Cheesecake Platter made with TWIX® Cookie Bars. It comes with a variety of caramel treats, including caramel-covered cheesecakes topped with TWIX® Cookie Bars, strawberries topped with TWIX® Cookie Bar crumbles and white chocolate, apple wedges covered in TWIX® Cookie Bars, and banana bites covered in TWIX® Cookie Bars. Or, check out our Sea Salt Caramels, featuring a variety of milk and dark chocolate sea salt caramels topped with chardonnay and Mediterranean sea salt.
How to Make Caramel (Troubleshooting Guide)
FAQ
What are the three types of caramel?
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Texture
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Target temperature
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Cook time (approx.)
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Caramel sauce
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215 – 235 degrees Fahrenheit
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5-10 minutes
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Chewy caramels
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245 degrees Fahrenheit
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10-15 minutes
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Hard caramels
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300 – 310 degrees Fahrenheit
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15-20 minutes
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Is toffee hardened caramel?
What’s the difference between hard caramel and butterscotch?
How do you get caramel to harden?
What does hard caramel taste like?
Hard caramels melt smoothly in your mouth, leaving a buttery sweet taste that will satisfy your cravings. Some other types of hard caramels contain other sweet treats in the middle, such as creamy caramel, chocolate liquor, and so much more. Sweet, chewy, and delicious, chewy caramel candies feature a rich and buttery taste.
What is caramel & how is it made?
Caramel is a type of candy created when sugar is heated to approximately 320 to 340 degrees Fahrenheit. As the sugar heats up, the molecules start to break down and form different compounds, a process known as caramelization. The resulting mixture features a rich flavor and golden brown color.
What is a caramel granulated sugar?
What is caramel? Caramel is essentially just sugar that is heated on a stovetop until it melts through a method called caramelization. According to Fine Cooking, the process begins at a temperature of about 320 degrees Fahrenheit, when granulated sugar starts melting.
What is caramel & how does it work?
First, let’s start with caramel. As smart chefs might already have intuited, this sweet, amber-hued substance gets its name from the process of caramelization. In essence, sugar (or sugars) gets heated over time to somewhere above 300ºF. When that happens, sucrose (a fancy word for common sugar) breaks down into glucose and fructose.