Aunt Val's Caramel - the Best Ever Homemade Caramel Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is caramel just sugar and water? ›

Wet caramel is made by combining sugar and a liquid and cooking them together, while dry caramel is made from just sugar, heated in a dry pan until it liquefies and browns.

This can be caused by extended cooking times (especially under acidic conditions) and the use of the enzyme invertase. Increasing reducing sugars will add to the flavor and color of caramel – but too much can cause excessive stickiness.

You can try cooking them a few degrees hotter if they are too soft. If the texture is good but they are too sticky, you an try more invert sugar and/or more butter.

If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough.

To make a perfect easy caramel every-time, simply add one or two drops of vinegar and just enough water to wet the sugar. The idea is to lower the PH. you can also use a small pinch of citric acid or cream of tartar if you have.

Do not stir, but instead swirl and shake the pan to distribute the caramelized sugar in and around the unmelted sugar and to promote even browning. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn. The caramel is done when it's a deep amber color and all sugar lumps have dissolved.

You see, we want the caramel to be smooth and silky. If crystallization occurs, the sauce can be grainy or worse — unusable! Lemon juice is our little failsafe to prevent crystallization. You can make the sauce without it, but we like throwing it in there for good measure.

Overheating the mixture

Follow the recipe carefully, and never melt your caramel on your stove's highest setting—it will cause the caramel to scorch and taste burnt. Once it gets a burnt or bitter flavor, it can't be saved. Luckily, sugar is inexpensive, so you can always start over!

Once the sugar has all dissolved and turned brown, we add butter. The heat of the caramel will melt the butter and create even more wonderful flavors.

Why do my homemade caramels stick to the wax paper? ›

In general the paper sold for home use is too light weight, the grain of the paper isn't made to withstand twisting (it tears), and the wax coating is too light to prevent the moisture from the candy from seaping into the paper and weakening it thus causing it to tear and stick.

Originally Answered: How can I prevent melting sugar (caramel) sticking to pan? If you are using brown sugar, once you put it into your pan, don't touch it. Make sure you have some butter in your pan and keep the temperature low. If you stir the brown sugar it will be a mess, so just leave it alone…it will turn out ok.

Reheat low and slow: If your caramel sauce has seized up with the butter/cream additions or still has crystalized sugar at the end of making it, place it on the saucepan on low heat for a good 15-20 minutes. This usually clears up most of my issues and results in a melted, smooth sauce.

Add more sugar to the sauce.

Most caramel sauces are made by caramelizing sugar and adding milk and a little salt. If you increase the amount of sugar in the recipe you'll end up with a thicker caramel. Try increasing the sugar by about 1/3.

The idea is to lower the PH. you can also use a small pinch of citric acid or cream of tartar if you have. lemon juice won't work as it will turn bitter as the sugar cooks. Alternatively, an invert sugar such as corn syrup or golden syrup will work beautifully.