As they say, all ingenious is simple. So caramel, despite its simplicity, is one of those ingenious culinary inventions that have not lost their importance and popularity over time. Probably, many remember those very tempting cockerels on a stick, without which previously there was not a single fair, or all the favorite candies "Montpasier". You can still continue the list of delicacies, which owe their popularity to the inventors of caramel, as over time a lot of desserts have appeared, based on this sweet miracle.
But even today very often caramel is used in its pure form, both liquid soft and hard. It is used to decorate or supplement desserts and other dishes, and also prepare candy.
Below we will tell you in detail how to make caramel correctly at home.
How to make caramel from sugar?
To prepare caramel from sugar, pour the necessary amount in a saucepan or other dishes with a thick bottom, put it on a stove and, continuously stirring, keep it on high heat until the sweet crystals begin to turn into a liquid mass. At this point, we reduce the fire to a minimum and, without stopping to stir intensively, let the sugar completely melt. Once we have achieved a uniform transparent result, we immediately remove the dishes from the fire and pour them on silicone molds or use them for the intended purpose. At the end of the melting of granulated sugar, you can add fragrant spices to obtain additional flavoring qualities of caramel.
It is very important to continuously and intensively interfere with sugar in order to avoid burning, and also try not to over-rest the sweet mass on fire. In this case we will get burnt sugar, and not everyone's favorite caramel.
How to make a salty caramel in a microwave oven
Ingredients:
- granulated sugar - 100 g;
- brown sugar - 100 g;
- butter - 100 g;
- light corn syrup - 100 g;
- condensed milk - 125 g;
- salt sea - 30 g.
Preparation
All the ingredients are combined in a dish that is suitable for preparation in a microwave oven and mixed. We maintain at maximum power for about six minutes, stirring once a minute and watching the process. Perhaps you need a little less or more time, because the devices are different. The result should be a homogeneous, creamy mass without lumps.
When ready, pour the caramel into an oiled container with a diameter of thirty centimeters, let it cool for fifteen minutes at room temperature, sprinkle with sea salt and determine into the refrigerator until it is completely cooled. Then cut into slices, wrap them in waxed paper and put them in convenient ware for storage.
We get original creamy caramels with a contrasting salty-sweet taste.
How to make liquid (soft) caramel at home?
Ingredients:
- granulated sugar - 200 g;
- milk - 100 ml;
- butter - 50 g;
- Vanillin - to taste;
- salt - pinch.
Preparation
To prepare a soft caramel, we need a saucepan, a frying pan or other dishes with a thick bottom. We pour sugar into it and melt it as we described in the recipe above. First we heat on high heat, as soon as it begins to melt, we reduce it to the middle and let the crystals completely melt in the minimum heat.
Remove the dishes from the fire and gently pour in a little warm milk. Beware of splashing, so
Ready homogeneous caramel is removed from the fire, add salt, vanillin and butter and mix until it dissolves.
With this ratio of products, a thick soft caramel is obtained. To obtain a more fluid result, it is necessary to increase the portion of milk by half.