Salted Caramel

Ah. Salted Caramel. The condiment you love to eat by itself, yet is made for adding to desserts. Sweet and salty, happily married for eternity. There’s nothing like it. Ever tasted it in an ice cream flavor or drizzled over a warm cake? I’m almost speechless just dreaming of this decadent sauce.

I know it may sound funny to use unsalted butter in a salted caramel sauce, but there is some rhyme to the reason. Using unsalted butter puts you in control of exactly how salty you want your caramel to be. If you start with an amount that you don’t even like, you’ll have to start over. That may even warrant an extra visit to the store to pick up unsalted butter, just to redo the sauce. Not cool.

Does it matter which type of salt you use? Yes and no. I would not use a flavored salt unless it is desirable, like a smoke-enhanced salt, or vanilla scented salt. Do not use a seasoned salt, such as Lawry’s. A simple sea salt, fleur de sel, or kosher salt are all nice salts to use. You could use Maldon sea salt, but it is more of a “finishing salt” that I would save for other uses and dishes. Table salt is okay to use, but add this type of salt little by little. Table salt has a much more “salty” flavor. I know, it sounds kind of crazy that salt is not just salt.

There are a couple of reasons I love this recipe. You don’t need a candy thermometer, for one. Also, this recipe can be used to make plain caramel. You don’t “have to” add salt. Nice, huh?

There are two methods to make caramel, “dry” and “wet.” Dry caramel is made by melting only sugar at the beginning. “Wet” caramel, which is the type of recipe I have, starts by adding sugar and water to the pot. Either method results in a great caramel

Can I burst your bubble? Caramel is made with white, granulated sugar, not brown sugar. Do you know what you are making if you use brown sugar? Butterscotch! Yes, people use brown sugar because it’s “easier” and less likely to burn, but it’s not really caramel. Stick with the white sugar and you’ll have a wonderful true caramel flavor that brown sugar will not give you.

Use a medium-sized saucepot because the caramel will “bubble up” when you add the heavy cream. A medium pot will keep it from spilling over. (Imagine cleaning that up. Ugh.)

If you’ve never made caramel, the first try can be filled with uncertainty. How long do I let it boil? What color should I be watching for? “Oops, I cannot believe I took my eyes off the pot and now I have to start over.” It can take some practice to find that sweet spot, no pun intended, where you have trained your eyes and nose to make a perfect caramel. I will give some pointers, and wish you the best!