Cutting caramels

[Chocolot]

Everyone advised me not to cut caramels on my guitar or I would break wires. I just got my Dedy last month and sure didn't want to mess anything up. I made 2 frames of caramel, one plain and one with Marcona almonds in it. I cut and dipped the Marcona caramel the other day. I kept looking at the plain caramel and decided today was the day. I took it to my chocolate room to cut and kept looking at my guitar. The caramel was soft, but holds its shape. My intent was to use the guitar frame to mark each end so I could cut straight. As I pulled the handle to mark, it just kept sliding through the caramel!! I removed the slab and cut it in half so it wouldn't have to work as hard then I just let it cut through the caramel, using its own weight. I did bottom the bottom and top of the slab before marking. I think by coating both sides, the caramel stays a little more square. Anyway, the guitar cut through the caramel without a snag. YIPPEE!!! I hate cutting caramels. I did have to separate the pieces so that they didn't glue themselves back together. They dipped wonderfully and kept a nice square.

[John DePaula]

Hi Ruth,

I tried this, too, a few weeks ago with the Wybauw "rework" caramels. Seemed to work just fine with my Dedy, though I was uber-nervous while actually cutting.

The cuts were very clean and dipping went well. This batch of caramels was a tiny bit firmer than my usual - the tops were slightly rounded but the effect was not unpleasant.