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Sunday 22 December 2013

Caramel

Caramel is a confectionery product made by heating a variety of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.

The process of caramelization consists of heating sugar slowly to around 170 °C (340 °F). As the sugar heats, the molecules break down and re-form into compounds with a characteristic color and flavor.

The Arabs invented caramel, which they used as a depilatory (hair removal) for women in a harem.

Mr. Milton Hershey, the owner of a candy company became fascinated with German chocolate-making machinery on exhibit at the 1893 Chicago International Exposition. He bought the equipment for his Lancaster, Philadelphia plant and soon began producing his own chocolate coatings for caramels. The following year the Hershey Chocolate Company was created as a subsidiary of his Lancaster caramel business.

In modern recipes and in commercial production of caramel, glucose (from corn syrup or wheat) or invert sugar is added to prevent crystallization, making up 10%–50% of the sugars by mass.

The difference between caramel and butterscotch is butterscotch contains brown sugar instead of white. Toffee is butterscotch cooked longer.

Source Wikipedia

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