"You can rework them even when too firm. You just cooked out too much water, so add water and recook. It takes a while to get the caramel back in solution. I found the easiest way is to put in the oven. In a few hours, it is in solution and ready to…"
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Walt Moody
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After action report on my first attempt at Caramels
Started this discussion. Last reply by Ruth Atkinson Kendrick Jan 1. 18 Replies 1 Like
I finally took a shot at caramels yesterday. For staters, I like to cook as a hobby, I like chocolate but I haven't done much by way of candy making. I bake with chocolate frequently bu don't have…Continue
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Ruth Atkinson Kendrick replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels
Amy T replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"I'm all with you on not wasting, believe me - I live off-grid and milk the goats on cold winter mornings to get the dairy for my candies so I treasure every ingredient and every watt! But my caramels have never come out too soft - three times…"
Clay Gordon replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Christopher -
A great observation. "Rework" is an overlooked skill."
Christopher M Koshak replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"This is just my opinion & I don't know about everyone else, but I've never thrown out a batch of caramel, if it's too soft try cooking it again, it works. Mix some nuts in it to make it firmer, then dip it, give it out as samples,…"
Clay Gordon replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Andrea:
Temperatures are relative. You want the center at about the temperature of the work room. If the center is very soft at this temp it may need to be colder so that it will hold its shape. Will that affect the temper of the chocolate? It…"
Andrea Bauer replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Won't cooling the caramels before dipping throw the chocolate out of temper? I dipped my last batch at room temp and they turned out very well.
I 2nd Brad regarding altitude. I had been having issues with my caramels…"
Clay Gordon replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Walt:
ChocolateLife sponsor Truffly Made molds can be used for caramel - the square may work for you. Right now they are offering a "buy five get one free" offer plus they are offering free shipping on orders of three or more.
If you…"
Walt Moody replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Hmmmmmm . . . Where would one obtain such molds? "
Clay Gordon replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"You can also pour the hot caramel into silicon molds. There are a number of people who do this - saw it in mass production when I was in Seattle in October - and while it's expensive in terms of up-front investment, the labor savings is…"
Walt Moody replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Thanks for the replies. I don't think altitude is a problem here (I'm around 250 ft above sea level). The weather is supposed to be more suitable so I'll hopefully try a batch late Wednesday or early Thursday. My plan right now, based…"
Brad Churchill replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"ALTITUDE.
It's important to note that the boiling point of water changes with alititude, which is why most caramel recipes totally suck. They don't account for the altitude change which effectively causes the boiling point of…"
Ryan replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"contact Hilliards for caramel knife....basically it's a rolling pin with knife blades. you can place ice packs on your slab surrounding the caramel to help cool it before cutting & dipping. and caramel that is cooked too fast will have more…"
Walt Moody replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"I calibrated my thermometer and it boils around 214.5 so it looks like I need to add a few degrees to reach my target temp. I like the texture of my last batch so it seems my problem now is getting the cooled frame of caramel cut into even pieces…"
Amy T replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Are you sure your thermometer is accurate? Test it in boiling water. I can never find reliable therms, even fresh out of the package. I use them as guidelines only, I rely on the cold water test - have a bowl of cold water in the fridge, drop a…"
Walt Moody replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"Thanks for the replies. I've made another batch since I first posted. I cooked it to 245 and the results were similar (maybe even a little bit softer) which makes me think the problem is more environmental since it was warm and humid both days.…"
Steve Whitman replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"I find I need to cook caramel to 250 F to get a firm but still chewy texture. 248 F and its to soft to hold its shape when dipping, 252 F and its getting pretty hard. I'm working at 5000 ft. elevation with (usually) low humidity, which may have…"
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- Licking the coating off of Storck Riesens when I was a kid!
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