There is nothing quite like caramel candy for bringing back childhood memories and forcing smiles onto the faces of even the grumpiest individuals. This soft chewy candy has been tempting taste buds since the 1700s when a Scottish mother was trying to make some candy when some sugar fell into a lit candle and was left there. After her nap, as the story goes, this anonymous woman found a sweet brownish substance in the candle that she named after her daughter Caramel. Candy makers and other manufacturers use this gooey substance constantly today, in everything from chocolate bars to ice cream.
Basically, caramel is a soft chewy candy that is made by boiling milk, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, water, and glucose or corn syrup at no more than 248 °F. There is a wide range of different candy in this category though, including caramel apples, caramel with nuts such as praline, nougat or brittle, and caramel in various candy bars and boxed chocolates. Caramel is also often used as a topping on ice cream or an ingredient in baked goods.
There are also hard caramel candy products such as Werthers Original, which have the color and flavor of the softer varieties but a consistency like that of a sucker. This type of candy must be heated to a higher level than 248 °F though, which is also known as the firm ball stage. Unlike the creamier counterparts, caramels such as Werthers Original are intended to be cooled to a rigid and immovable state.
There is really no end to the different things you can do with caramel. Candy makers have been using this sweet and gummy substance for centuries now and there is really no end in sight. There are literally hundreds of candy products on the market today that utilize the sweet power of caramel.