Hi,
Thanks for all the info. I think you are thinking of another Kerry. I am just getting started and still working on my recipe. I was looking at steam kettles to make my caramel in. Can you tell me the pros and cons of both steam kettle and fire mixer? Thanks for all your help.
I thought sorbitol could possibly extend the shelf life of caramel and prevent it from getting grainy while in storage. With all of my crystallization problems this past summer I was willing to try a lot of things.
I would also love to get Kerry's input. I have learned a lot from her information on the web!
Glucose slows down the crystallization. If you put too much in, you get excessive cold flow. I personally wouldn't use sorbitol because It can cause digestive problems, and I don't want it on my label. It is a sugar that metabolizes slower than sucrose, and binds water in a ganache. Not sure the purpose of it in a caramel. Sebastian???
How is sorbitol bad for caramel?
I use cocoa butter in a different recipe. The cocoa butter helps with high fat caramels from getting to oily or greasy. In addition, it can give the caramel extra structure and make the cutting a little better. I add it at the end of the cooking process.
I cut all of my caramels on the guitar. I've learned that a lot depends on how high the caramel is cooked. I find that 245 farenhite is the best temperature for me. Any higher and it will break the strings. Any lower and the caramel flows too much.
Hi, Ruth ~ Could you elaborate on why you would do this? Thank you so much!
In my experience, your glucose percentage is very low. I would bump up the glucose and cut out the sorbitol (for a lot of reasons).
Daniel ~ I see in a post to me in February - that I just saw. Sorry! - that you were taught to addcocoa butter to your caramels. How much do you add and when? Would you add it to your recipe above? And since I've never added sorbitol to my caramels, what exactly does it do? Does it help with crystallization? Thanks!
This past summer I really struggled with our caramels. I had to throw out several batches of crystallized caramel. I read and researched about every tip. I used clean utensils, pots, lemon juice, added sorbitol (which I am not sure helps?...) and dehumidified my room.
With the recipe that I use, I realized that if I boiled everything together I was more likely to get a crystallized batch. If I boiled the sugar with water and lemon juice(then added the glucose -- followed by the cream) I was more likely to get successful results.
Below is my recipe. I am wondering if I have an oversaturation of sugar or if it was more of an environmental problem considering that my problems were really bad this summer.I stir everything in a copper pot and multiply this recipe 7 times for my typical batch.
I would love to get some insight from you
750 grams cream
700 grams sugar (boiled with water (20% of weight of sugar) and a few tablespoons of lemon juice
200 grams glucose
30 grams sorbitol
200 grams butter
vanilla beans
sea salt
Cook to 245 degrees Farenhite
I agree. The Savage Firemixer works great. We have one, and just dump the ingredients in, turn on the cooking cycle and forget about it until the alarm goes off. Free's up LOTS of time in our shop.
Kerry;
I can provide you a recipe for an amazing cream caramel that is soft at room temp, but can be cooked longer and made more firm. My recipe doesn't need lecithin.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You need to adjust for altitude. Water boils 1.25 degrees C less for every thousand feet of altitude you climb from sea level, and this makes a HUGE difference in cooking caramel.
4L Whipping Cream (35% MF)
3.6kg unsalted butter
3.6kg granulated sugar
4L Rogers Golden Corn Syrup (helps prevent crystalization)
80ml Good vanilla extract.
4lb butter, 6lbs (8c) corn syrup, 4 lb brown sugar, 5 lb white sugar,2 tsp salt, 1tbs soy lecithin, 3 qts half and half. 2 tbs vanilla.
Melt butter, add cornsyrup, sugars, salt,lecithin,- stir until mixed well- add half and half- 1qt at a time.
Bring to boil and cook to 240F. remove heat, add vanilla and pour out in confined 30"x30" or +square to cool.
I don't cut or wrap but extrude later to portion for "turtles"
Cooking: A Firemixer-14, a single batch of about 15lbs takes 1-1.5 hours to cook.
Cutting: Savage Bros. large roller cutters. (I also have a Tomric caramel cutter but in my experience it won't work for anything more than .25" or so thick.)
Recipe Scaling: We found that no changes were necessary to the ratios used in our recipe.
Dan,
I am also looking for a larger batch recipe. Could you please share it with me also?
Thanks,
Kerry
I would also like to know the process you guys are using if wrapping caramels (unenrobed) into parchment squares. I cannot visualize how to reduce the time commitment for individually wrapped pieces. Not sure if anyone can describe it in words. Folded, envelope-style? Rectangles with twisted ends? Maybe this is one of those processes that goes very slowly at first, then you get a rhythym and it moves quickly?
Dirke,
I used to make caramel on the stove top and 12 lbs was the max size I could make. It took at least 2 hours and I had to stir to keep it from scorching. I bought a Savage table top firemixer and made a few 25lb batches in it but I didn't like it because it stirs too fast and heats only from the bottom. I bought a Groen TDB-7 Steam kettle (much cheaper than Fremixer and easier to find used)and it makes great caramel. I used to use the sweetened condensed milk but now use half & half because the kettle boils it so fast. The kettle doesn't scorch it either. I make about 25 lbs which is the max the kettle can do. I only cook it to 240F. I have found that commercial corn syrup (confectioner's) works a lot better than the store brands and doesn't sugar as easily.If you want I can give you the recipe, its not very complicated
Dan
Susan, My caramels are firm enough to have straight sides and be enrobed well. I would not describe my caramel as overly chewy. I was taught to add cocoa butter to my caramel recipe so that it makes a very clean cut. Other caramel recipes are indeed to sticky or firm to be cut by a guitar.
We're using a caramel cutter & I've found that after cutting in one direction & getting long strips, I need to separate the strips before they stick back together. Thus I can just score the top & cut with a knife to make the dippable pieces. - It is a relatively soft caramel, but does everyone else cut both ways with a caramel cutter?
The cutter is adjusted by putting little spacers in between the blades so you are limited to what spacers you have. The cutting area is 12in and the total length with handles is 24 in. The blade are fixed to the rod so you have to kind of roll it and reposition. The cutter came with about 20 blades, and you could probably cut something up to 1.5 inches thick.
Daniel ~ If you are using a confectionary guitar, does that mean that your caramels a quite soft? I thought that the strings on guitars were too fragile to cut caramels that had some chew to them. And if yours are soft, how do you get them to keep their shape without spreading?
Caramels are tricky. One degree off and you can have a batch that is too soft or too hard to cut properly. My recipe is designed so that I can cut the caramels on the confectionery guitar. I cut and seperate 250 pieces in about 10-15 minutes I find this to be more efficient that working with a caramel cutter. Of course not all recipes are fit for a confectionery guitar.
How about a copper kettel and a paddle? Anyone work with Real butter and Pet milk anymore? I do. Cook quik and high, temp dependes on if you are coating apples or making pieces.
Jenny, thanks for the info. Unfortunately, the website doesn't give any detail. Could you help me with it?
What is the cutting area (length)?
What is the total length (including handles)?
Do the handles rotate independently from the wheels and rod/shaft?
How many wheels the cutter has?
Can you adjust the width of the wheels to any need or are you limited by spacers or combination of spacers?
What is the maximum thickness it can cut (wheel diameter - spacer diameter)?
Thanks a lot 
Omar, here is the link to the cutter that I bought.
http://tomric.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=2960
Hi Jenny, what caramel cutter did you buy? Thanks.
Omar
Thanks for the replies. So from the response I'm in line with time and batch counts. I've been in touch with Savage, we'll see where to go from here....
My batch makes about 350 pieces and takes about an hour. I have the round-bottomed copper pot and a Savage stove. Cooking caramels can be fast or slow. If you want more color and possibly deeper flavor, it takes a longer time. For me, I want a medium dark color and a nice caramel flavor. I can do it with my recipe in the hour. If I need to slow it down because of not having someone around to help pour, I can cook slower and just let it cook for several hours. As Jenny said, cutting takes almost as much time as cooking.
I am not sure what you consider a large batch, but it usually takes me about 45 min from measuring ingredients to pouring the caramel and it makes about a180 pieces. Most people that make huge batches use a rounded copper sugar pot with an open flame, but that is some serious stuff! I dip them and I find the most time consuming part cutting them up. I just bought a caramel cutter so that should help. Hope this helps.
The folks at Savage equipment should be able to help you with both.
Besides loving to eat caramel. yes by the handful, I make it and it's a great seller. only problem is I need some equipment to make it in large batches and faster then what I am doing on a stove top. I need help and suggestions. If you have any great recipes and want to share, I would love it.
I have a great recipe but I think it needs to be tweeked or changed altogether as it takes 2-3 hours sometimes to make a large batch. Maybe I am crazy and it does take that long but I don't know many others that have the patience to make caramel so they don't. I've only just started digging deeper into the world of caramel so any seasoned advice would be greatly appreciated. this stuff is tricky!
Thanks in advance.
I would use black too, and I didn't think either about using sugar. But maybe I should test both, or at least be very clear about the fact that I don't use any sugar.
Hi Lowe,
I'll ask the guy, which is a roaster. He doesn't work at a caf. I'll see what he knows (or doesn't know) about all these methods, maybe he knows a lot anyways. What I explained to Giovanni is that the first thing I'll do is a video only with the guy, for a webtv. So the first time, it won't be a real tatsing with people attinding it. But I want to do these kind of tastings soon.
With what you tell me, I think this first step with the roaster will tell me if I can work with him for real tastings or if I should find a barista or someone who knows more the art of coffee tasting.
I'll try with espresso, just to see and make some tests. I'll let you know what I find and if it really overpowers the chocolate.
Giovanni,
You make a good point about people using sugar in their coffee. (Thank you google translate.) I was assuming that all of the coffee would be black because that is the only way to get the true coffee flavor. But many people won't drink black coffee because they aren't used to it.
When I do this pairing I will still use only black, though. That is the best way for people to truly taste the single origin and not to adulterate the coffee.
Infatti, cercher di parlare della degustazione in modo generale, e non so neanche se parleremo dei caff: la gente sapr che sono quelli del barista che sar l con me. Ma io cercher di parlare dei cioccolati che porter.
Mi sa che dovr sedermi col tizio prima e vedere insieme a lui di quanto tempo dispongo e anche cosa importante per lui e per me (cose da dire assolutamente).
Non conosco i caff di Gianni Frasi: da provare quando torner in Italia!
Grazie Giovanni per i consigli! 
Karine,
Is your coffee person just a roaster or a barista at a cafe? You need to partner with someone who knows about coffee. You should ask your coffee partner about pour overs or French Press (not to mention Clever Coffee dripper or the aeropress or other brewing methods...) If they can't tell you what these are and the advantages and disadvantages to a cup of coffee then you need to find someone else.
IMO pure espresso is much too concentrated to pair with chocolate. It is one popular brewing method, so it might work, though. I haven't gotten into espresso all that much because it is so concentrated and powerful. I think it would totally overpower any chocolate.
Se cos allora cambia tutto, potrai raccontare le origini e l'evoluzione dei due coloniali pi diffusi al mondo e come si sono incrociate le loro storie e credo che saprai consigliare come prestare attenzione negli assaggi.
Io uso solo i caff arabica mono origine di Torrefazione Giamaica di Gianni Frasi.
Oggi ho preso il Chickamagalur Karnatka che indiano e ho abbinato un cioccolato 70% Paupasia
Ciao Giovanni,
S, far un bel po' di prove prima per vedere cosa succede in una degustazione del genere. Per non sar una degustazione con gente: star da sola con il barista e saremo filmati per una webtv: cafebarista.tv Magari avrei dovuto spiegarlo, anche se il mio obiettivo di organizzare degustazioni con gente eventualmente. Quindi tutti i consigli mi saranno uitli.
Quindi per il momento l'obbiettivo soltanto di spiegare come abbinare il cioccolato e il caff, cos la gente potr provare a casa e vedere cosa esce fuori. Quindi mi organizzer con i caff del barista, anche se non sono single origin. Ma chiaro che preferirei che entrambi i prodotti siano mono-origine.
Quale cioccolato e quale caff hai abbianato oggi?
Karine
Ciao Karine
Interessante quesito. Ho sempre ritenuto la degustazione cioccolato/caff pi uno scontro che un abbinamento, entrambi molto complessi e ricchi di aromi che tendono l'un l'altro a sovrapporsi. Amo sia il cioccolato che il caff di cui faccio grande uso. Proprio adesso mentre leggevo il tuo post stavo prendendorilassatoil mio caff della domenica pomeriggio e cos ho pensato di abbinarlo ad un cioccolato ed proprio cos gli aromi in bocca si moltiplicano e non facile fare pi di un assaggio.
Credo che dovrai fare molte prove prima di abbinare le due cose, cio dovrai scegliere bene sia il caff che il cioccolato da mettere assieme in base a quello che hai a disposizione. Ho capito che il caff sar servito espresso. E' molto importate come hai detto che il caff giunga caldo all'assaggiatore e valuta anche se devi essere tu a somministrare e dosare lo zucchero nel caff o servirlo amaro e che ognuno faccia da se perch una cosa molto legata al gusto personale, almeno in Italia cos.
Sarebbe ottimo abbinare sia cioccolato che caff single origin.
Giovanni
Hi Lowe,
Thank you for the tip, but why is a French press coffee or pour over better than espresso for a tasting? I know chocolate, but I'm new to the coffee world, and these are the things I want to know and understand for a tasting. I want to understand the basics, at least, and a little bit more.
I'll ask the roasters if they have something else, not only espresso machines, but if I'll do so, I'll have to explain them why.
Karine
The Simonelli website says that it makes Espresso machines. Are you really going to use espresso for these pairings? I hope not.
If I do a coffee and chocolate pairing, the coffee will be made by pour over or French press.
I hope the guy is used to do coffee cupping, because I'm not used to it... The Simonelli equiment is italian: http://www.nuovasimonelli.com/ . They have coffee machines for coffee shops and restaurants.
I would prefer too single origin coffees. I know that this coffee roaste make his own blends with beans from all over the world. It's a choice, I asked him.
I'm curious... why is a roaster only using blends and not single origins? The roasters that I've seen use mostly single origin beans. I think this would work better for a tasting.
And what kind of equipment isSimonelli? Have you or he done any pour over cups? Does he know how to do a coffee cupping?
