I had a stroke of good luck this week: I found an unused gift card for Bed, Bath & Beyond and I remembered to take it with the store with me for once. We finally have a real candy thermometer, so I am no longer obligated to use our meat thermometer at temperatures it was never built to withstand. It's nice to have good tools.

That means that I can finally make caramel candies and be sure that I won't end up with something that will pull my fillings out. Caramels are my favorite candies and it's wonderful to get a batch with the perfect buttery, chewy texture.

I used this sea salt caramel recipe from epicurious.com once again, although with my shiny new candy thermometer managed to turn out caramels instead of a big batch of toffee (again).



I really like the trend towards mixing sweet with salty for candies. The above recipe, despite its name, isn't really salty at all, so I added a pinch of salt on top to get it to that next level. Just that little bit really adds another dimension to the taste of these candies. There's something about that briny flavor that makes my mouth water in ways that sweetness alone does not. Still, I love to make batches that are half-salted and half-traditional caramel and alternate between the two tastes when I'm having a treat.

Labels: food, projects

posted by Alison 9/24/2009 07:04:00 PM : (0) comments : splink