5 replies to this topic

[Cassie]

I make a lot of caramels and one of my best sellers is an orange macadamia nut caramel dipped in dark chocolate. They are truly delicious, but they have a very short shelf life because they crystallize after a couple of weeks. So now I only make small batches for selected holidays. Does anyone have an explanation for this? My other caramels last for a couple of months (I tend to make a bit more than I sell so I have experimented with them.) I use UNSALTED macadamia nuts so salt is not the seed. And I would think that the oil from the nut would help, but maybe not. Any comments?

[Kerry Beal]

Does the recipe have enough glucose in it?

[VilleN]

That's what came into my mind as well - is there enough sugar that won't crystalize? Glucose or something else?

[Chocolot]

Are there small pieces of nuts that could be the seed. What about stirring? When do you add the nuts?

[RobertM]

Could it also be that some of the fat from the nuts is mixing in with the caramel and causing a seed? Did you account for the extra fat in the nuts?

[Cassie]

Here is the recipe I use: (It is from Greweling's book)

Sugar 340g
Evaporated milk 360g
Vanilla bean, scraped
Heavy Cream (41%) 150g
Corn Syrup 285g
Butter 20g
Unsalted toasted macadamia nuts, chopped medium fine 125g
orange oil 1/8 t

1. Sugar, evap milk,scraped van bean + seeds, heavy cream, corn syrup-----bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
2. Add the butter at 230*F
3. Cook while stirring to 239*
4. Remove the vanilla pod
5. Add the macadamia nuts and orange oil
6. Pour into pan lined with oiled parchment

I was thinking it might be the nuts. I have made other caramels with nuts and they seem to crystallize faster than those without nuts.