22.02.12
Pay attention!
Making caramel is a relatively easy basic cooking skill, but you have to pay attention to detail, said Stephen Ribustello, co-owner of On the Square restaurant in Tarboro. There is a fine line between transforming sugar into caramel and burning it so it no longer is usable. If you are not watching the pot or monitoring its temperature with a candy thermometer, the sugar can go from a sweet, rich amber liquid to a burnt mess in an instant.
When done correctly, though, caramel has a warm, full flavor perfect for the cool days of fall, Ribustello said. Whether it is used as a sauce, a garnish or the main ingredient, caramel adds something to a dish that simple sugar cannot replace.
“The texture in caramel sauce is creamy, rich and mouth coating. It gives it that toffee-like flavor, and it goes great with certain things. Apples and caramel to me are a perfect match,” Ribustello said.
Because of its sweetness, caramel often is relegated to the back of cookbooks in the dessert sections, and even there, it is not always used imaginatively, said Don Sexauer, director of the culinary program at Nash Community College. Admittedly, caramel does make an excellent addition to apple crisp, cheesecake or a variety of pies, and people can simplify the cooking process by using caramel topping or melting the hard candies instead of making sauce from scratch. But caramel does have other uses.
Source: Rocky Mount Telegram