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Troubleshooting Caramels

Elizabeth_11

By Elizabeth_11
in Pastry & Baking

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mrose

mrose

Posted
Posted

If you are just using the caramel to fill molds, you can cook it to ~230. This is what I do for filling molds & store it in a jar. It pipes very well & firms up great in molded chocolates.

Mark

Mark

www.roseconfections.com

markg109

markg109

Posted
Posted

Thanks Everone,

I will definetly try adding more corn syrup. It's confusing though, I know in Sherry Yard's book she calls for 2Tbl spoons per 1c of sugar in her master caramel recipe. Also I'm taking a course online which calls for 4oz of glucose powder per 8oz of sugar and they say to substitute corn syrup for glucose powder at a 10% ratio. For example instead of 4oz of glucose powder they say to use .4 oz of corn syrup.

I agree this seems to be a small amount. I'm also pretty careful not to scrape anything from the pot. I will have to try the silpat though to try to prevent the sticking problem.

Thanks,

Mark

Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
Posted
Thanks Everone,

I will definetly try adding more corn syrup. It's confusing though, I know in Sherry Yard's book she calls for 2Tbl spoons per 1c of sugar in her master caramel recipe.  Also I'm taking a course online which calls for 4oz of glucose powder per 8oz of sugar and they say to substitute corn syrup for glucose powder at a 10% ratio. For example instead of 4oz of glucose powder they say to use .4 oz of corn syrup.

I agree this seems to be a small amount. I'm also pretty careful not to scrape anything from the pot. I will have to try the silpat though to try to prevent the sticking problem.

Thanks,

Mark

Sherry Yard's master caramel recipe - is it for chewy caramel? or is it for caramel sauces etc, ie more for caramel flavouring?

Silpat is great with anything that sticks, but as noted - don't cut on it!

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

alanamoana

alanamoana

Posted
Posted (edited)

also, the fact that you're reheating your caramel in order to pipe it might cause problems with crystallization.

can't it?

edited to add: following mrose's advice regarding cooking to a lower temp would solve this issue

Edited by alanamoana (log)
Desiderio

Desiderio

Posted
Posted

COuld it be that the recipe has too much water compare glucose?

I have notice that caramel that uses water have more the tendecy to crystallies etc.Maybe too much water and not enough glucose.I would reduce the water to the same amount of the glucose or bring them both to the same quantity ,something like that. :raz:

Vanessa

John DePaula

John DePaula

Posted
Posted
Thnaks All,

Just to let you know,I added more glucose and the caramel came out fine.

Mark

Thanks for the update, Mark. Good to get feedback.

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

  • 3 months later...
Anna Skigin

Anna Skigin

Posted
Posted

I tried to make caramelized nuts. Everything went OK but in about an hour my caramel got sticky at room temperature. Nuts were warm and dry.

I have some leftovers of these caramel and now it got so soft that I can't even lift it from the baking sheet. :sad:

Is it the quality of the sugar? Or air humidity?

nduran

nduran

Posted
Posted

Caramel is supposed to be sticky, so I'm a little confused. Are you talking about a praline? If so, what was your recipe, how were they stored, and do you live in Houston?

alanamoana

alanamoana

Posted
Posted
I tried to make caramelized nuts. Everything went OK but in about an hour my caramel got sticky at room temperature. Nuts were warm and dry.

I have some leftovers of these caramel and now it got so soft that I can't even lift it from the baking sheet.  :sad:

Is it the quality of the sugar? Or air humidity?

it is very likely humidity. if you can, work in air conditioning and as soon as the nuts are cool enough put them into an airtight container...preferably with dessicant (drying agent) of some sort.

Anna Skigin

Anna Skigin

Posted
Posted

nduran, Actually I made that cake. Do you see now what I mean ?

And no, I don't live in Huston, I live in Israel.

alanamoana, thanks for your advise. :smile:

gallery_39189_4123_44932.jpg

nduran

nduran

Posted
Posted
nduran, Actually I made that cake. Do you see now what I mean ?

I'm not sure why I'm supposed to be familiar with "that cake" exactly, but if you're attempting to produce a sparse brittle as depicted in "that photo" then yes, moisture is definitely going to be a problem for you. Not sure I'd want a mouthful of gum-slicing, tooth-cracking shrapnel in a cake anyway, so it may actually be beneficial to soften it up a bit.

CanadianBakin'

CanadianBakin'

Posted
Posted
nduran, Actually I made that cake. Do you see now what I mean ?

I'm not sure why I'm supposed to be familiar with "that cake" exactly, but if you're attempting to produce a sparse brittle as depicted in "that photo" then yes, moisture is definitely going to be a problem for you. Not sure I'd want a mouthful of gum-slicing, tooth-cracking shrapnel in a cake anyway, so it may actually be beneficial to soften it up a bit.

No, no, when it softens up a bit you can't get your teeth apart. :blink: I made caramelized pecans with the expectation that they would crunch when you bit them. A few of them did but the rest would have taken out your fillings. They looked pretty but that's about it.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

Anna Skigin

Anna Skigin

Posted
Posted
nduran, Actually I made that cake. Do you see now what I mean ?

I'm not sure why I'm supposed to be familiar with "that cake" exactly, but if you're attempting to produce a sparse brittle as depicted in "that photo" then yes, moisture is definitely going to be a problem for you. Not sure I'd want a mouthful of gum-slicing, tooth-cracking shrapnel in a cake anyway, so it may actually be beneficial to soften it up a bit.

Your post sounds as if I offended you. I'm so sorry. But the problem is that English is not my native language and I didn't practice for a long time. Please excuse me. I posted the picture just to show the nuts in order to explane what I tried to make. I'm really sorry if I didn't sound polite.

What I wanted in that cake are nuts in caramel. Before you eat the cake you take a piece of crunchy caramel and after that there's soft muss. I thought the contrast would be interesting.

prasantrin

prasantrin

Posted
Posted
Your post sounds as if I offended you. I'm so sorry. But the problem is that English is not my native language and I didn't practice for a long time. Please excuse me. I posted the picture just to show the nuts in order to explane what I tried to make. I'm really sorry if I didn't sound polite.

Don't worry, Anna. I thought it was pretty clear that English wasn't your native language, and I'm sure most people didn't think your reply was offensive.

What I wanted in that cake are nuts in  caramel. Before you eat the cake you take a piece of crunchy caramel and  after that there's soft muss. I thought the contrast would be interesting.

It is not only interesting, but delicious! I love cake topped with caramel! One of my favourite cakes is Dobosh Torte with crunchy caramelized sugar on top. Unfortunately, if you live in a humid area, there's no way you can prevent the caramel from softening unless you eat it within a very short period of time. So if you want to make a cake like that again, finish making it within 20 minutes or so before you eat it. You might be able to make it earlier than that, but really no more than a couple of hours.

Your cake looks beautiful, by the way. I'd certainly eat it, even with "gum-slicing, tooth-cracking shrapnel" on it!

Anna Skigin

Anna Skigin

Posted
Posted

Thanks, Rona, you're very supportive. :) And helpful. I had to give up making merengue because of humidity and now I see that caramel is also out of my list . At least while we live here.

Desiderio

Desiderio

Posted
Posted

I am wondering if making a dry caramel ,would help with humidity issues.Probably not much ,but I was thinking that might be something you can use to keep the caramel from sticking.

Vanessa

nduran

nduran

Posted
Posted
No, no, when it softens up a bit you can't get your teeth apart. :blink:  I made caramelized pecans with the expectation that they would crunch when you bit them. A few of them did but the rest would have taken out your fillings. They looked pretty but that's about it.

True. That cake'd be dangerous any way you slice it. I believe it was Apu who said "A Jolly Rancher is not a sprinkle, sir."

gfron1

gfron1

Posted
Posted

Anna,

I also wanted to congratulate you on a beautiful dessert. Its funny because I made a saffron mousse and wanted to decorate it with a pine nut brittle (very similarly to what you did), and had the exact same problem.

gallery_41282_4652_21466.jpg

I wanted the texture contrast, but it ended up being painful in the mouth. I've leaned toward tuile/cookies or other items for that reason.

Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

BBC Write-up

Smithsonian magazine story

alanamoana

alanamoana

Posted
Posted
A dry caramel is one made without any sugar added. So you just dump the sugar in the pot and heat.

pretty sure you meant "without any water added"... :raz:

miladyinsanity

miladyinsanity

Posted
Posted
A dry caramel is one made without any sugar added. So you just dump the sugar in the pot and heat.

pretty sure you meant "without any water added"... :raz:

:blush::blush: Oops!

Gawd, I hope I didn't make a similar mistake in the chemistry exams I had today... :wacko:

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

aguynamedrobert

aguynamedrobert

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hello,

First off, the reason why your caramel is getting sticky is because sugar is "hygroscopic". Meaning it attracks sugar from the atmosphere around it to itself. This will happen when you have a candy that primarily sugar. Since a caramalized sugar piece is almost all sugar this is why it gets sticky quick...there is no way around it unless you use different types of sugar(which are not as good or as good for you).

I would just suggest making the caramel pieces close to when serving...Just be in the least humid place you can be and store them air tight if you ever need to store them.

Hope this helps....

Edited by aguynamedrobert (log)

Some Chocolate Guy

Chocolate Guild - Home Base for Everything Chocolate

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