I had some reservations from the get-go about making Ina Garten’s Fleur de Sel Caramels.
Making the caramels requires using a candy thermometer, which is a totally baseless and unreasonable fear of mine. The recipe also calls for boiling a sugar syrup–and, as in fudge, if you don’t get it to the right temperature for the right amount of time, the texture will be wicked wrong. And on top of all that, I just haven’t made much candy, aside from fudge, which has always been hit or miss with me.
Sadly my fears were proven right, and holy jeez, the caramels were a mess. None of this reflects on the recipe, just on my ability to produce it. So here’s a list of do’s and (mostly) don’t’s for the next time I make caramels.
TIPS & RECIPE ADJUSTMENTS
1. Dear god, don’t use dark corn syrup. Dark corn syrup contains molasses, so it has a much stronger flavor than light corn syrup–and makes the finished product even sweeter than most caramels. Plus, on a purely practical level, if you don’t actually see the sugar caramelizing, it makes it really difficult to tell whether to increase the heat, add the next ingredient, or abort the operation altogether. Yikes!
2. Dear god, also don’t use actual fleur de sel in the caramel mixture. In addition to being toothache sweet, the fleur de sel made their flavor even stronger–to the point that it was tough to finish even one candy without being totally overwhelmed by the flavor. Kosher salt has a milder flavor and dissolves more easily, so I’ll likely use that next time. And I’ll save the fleur de sel for the lovely garnish up top.
3. Stir, stir, stir! It was mostly just me misreading the recipe, so I didn’t stir the mixture after adding the cream. (As it turns out, I’m pretty sure you’re just not supposed to stir it while the sugar–the candy roux, if you will–is caramelizing. After that, it’s open season on stirring.) As a result, the caramel cooked unevenly, and some of it became toffee. Oops. Consistency fail.
4. Slice ‘em thin. I know they look really good. And I know you’re sure that you could eat a two-inch-long caramel. But trust me, you can’t. And even if you can, it’s just not a good idea.
It might not have been my finest product, but it was certainly a learning experience. And look! I tried something new!
Next up: planning the menu for a volunteer appreciation party this week. I’m thinking a plum galette, hummus and veggies, and pesto-chevre palmiers. I’ll keep you posted!
