Caramel is a beige to dark brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream and custard.The process of caramelization consists of heating sugar slowly to around 170 °C (340 °F). As the sugar heats, 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: caramel apples, pralines, nougats, brittles, crème caramel, and crème brûlée.
Caramel candy is a soft, dense, chewy candy made by boiling a mixture of milk or cream, sugar, butter, vanilla essence, and (more common in commercial production) 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 an ingredient. For example, a chocolate bar with a caramel candy filling may be called a "caramel".
Most linguists trace the origin of the word to medieval Latin "cannamellis," or "honey cane" (that is, sugar cane), or from Latin "callamellus" (little reed, also presumably referring to sugar cane). Some have suggested its origin in the Arabic phrase "kurat al milh" which means "ball of sweet salt.
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. 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.
There are literally hundreds of different caramel recipes, each producing a different variation on the same theme depending upon how to what stage the sugar and water are boiled to and extra ingredients used. For example, soft caramels are a candy made with caramelized sugar, butter and cream. They can be easily formed into lengths and cut into desired shapes. Caramel apples, gooey candy bars and caramel popcorn (with chocolate) or peanuts often come to mind when adults remember first encounters with caramelized sugar. When it is cooked to a high heat, boiled sugar becomes the base for nut brittles or can be crushed and used a topping for ice cream and other desserts. Many custard desserts use caramel as a sauce. Caramel can also be found in numerous desserts as well as a component in entrees and side dishes.