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Caramel (pronounced /ˈkærəˌmɛl/ or /ˈkɑrməl/) is a beige to dark brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavor in puddings and desserts, a filling in candies and chocolates, and a topping for ice cream and custards.

The process of caramelization consists of heating sugar slowly to around 170 °C (340 °F). As the sugar melts, the molecules break down and re-form into compounds with a characteristic color and flavor. A variety of candies, confections, and desserts are made with caramel and its products: caramel apples, caramel with nuts (such as praline, nougat, or brittle), and caramel with custard (such as crème caramel or crème brûlée).

Contents 1 Chemistry 2 Caramel candy 3 Caramel color 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Chemistry

Caramelization is the removal of water from a sugar, proceeding to isomerization and polymerization of the sugars into various high-weight compounds. Compounds such as difructose-anhydride may be created from the monosaccharides after water loss. Fragmentation reactions result in low-molecular-weight compounds which may be volatile and may contribute to flavor. Polymerization reactions lead to larger molecular weight compounds, which contribute to the dark brown color.^[1]

[edit] Caramel candy

Caramel candy is a soft, dense, chewy, caramel-flavored candy made by boiling some combination of milk, sugar, butter, vanilla essence, water, and glucose or corn syrup. It can also be made with chocolate. It is not heated above the firm ball stage (120 °C (250 °F)), so there is almost no caramelization. This type of candy is often called milk caramel.

By extension, a candy may be called a "caramel" if it contains such a substance. For example, a chocolate bar with a caramel candy filling may simply be called a "caramel".

[edit] Caramel color

Caramel color (150/E150) is a dark, rather bitter-tasting liquid, the highly concentrated product of near total caramelization that is bottled for commercial and industrial use. Beverages such as cola use caramel coloring, and it is also used as a food coloring.

[edit] See also

• Advanced glycation endproducts, physiological effects
• Butterscotch, a type of candy
• Caramel apple, an apple coated in caramel, a taffy apple
• Caramel corn, popcorn coated in caramel
• Caramel sauce, a sauce made with caramel
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel, a British brand of caramel chocolate bar
• Caramac, a British brand of caramel candy bar
• Carambar, a French brand of caramel candy bar
• Caramilk, a Canadian brand of caramel candy bar
• Confection
• Dodol, a caramelized confection made with coconut milk
• Dulce de leche, caramelized, sweetened, condensed milk
• Goetze's Candy Company, a Baltimore, MD based caramel company (manufactures Caramel Creams and Cow Tales)
• Tablet (confectionery)
• Toffee, a type of candy

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Caramel recipe