Fran's Salt Caramels. Salt caramel photos by Melody Lan.
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KAREN HOCHMAN is Editorial Director of THE NIBBLE and a dévotée of salt caramels.
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May 2006
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The Best Salt Caramels
Sweet + Salty + Caramel = Flavor Sensation
CAPSULE REPORT: We don’t know when, but perhaps by spontaneous combustion, the hot Salt Caramel Movement has taken root. There are sizzling salt caramels from coast to coast—the chewy caramels you remember, accented with sea salt. It’s happening with bars of chocolate too, but here you get a double bang for the buck: chocolate-covered caramels with a dusting of salt. Some are subtly salty, some quite substantial. All are delicious.
Some of our favorite men—people difficult to buy gifts for—tell us they love sweet and salty snack mixes. They could be satisfied with a dish of M&Ms and salted peanuts, but we can do better than that. Quite a few modern chocolatiers are offering chocolate bars accented with sea salt (check out the small, elegant squares from Poco Dolce). An older concept that’s been newly-updated is the salt caramel. Before biting into some of our favorites, let’s take a look at the two main components—sea salt and caramel. (If you’re chomping at the bit, click here to go straight to the caramels.)
Sea Salt
Over the past decade, American chefs have become enamored of the ever-growing variety of sea salts that have become available: Their flavors and visual appeal have encouraged chocolatiers as well. Chocolate and salt, by the way, are a logical pairing and one of nature’s great flavor combinations. As it does with other foods, salt awakens the taste buds, accentuating all of the chocolate’s flavors, but particularly those that are more subtle. It does the same with caramel. When chocolatiers choose to make a salt caramel covered in chocolate instead of a plain, unenrobed salt caramel, they provide this added interplay of flavors.
The most commonly-used salts in salt caramels are:
- Fleur de Sel. The “flower of the salt” is harvested from the salt ponds of Guèrande, Brittany, on the northwest coast of France. For every 80 pounds of Sel Gris (center photo below) produced, only three pounds of fleur de sel is harvested (photo at left). It has a very delicate and somewhat floral (some say earthy) flavor.
- Sel Gris (Gray Salt). An unrefined sea salt found along the coastal areas of France, its light grey color with a purple tinge comes from the clay found in the salt flats. As with fleur de sel, the salt is collected by hand using traditional Celtic methods: after the salt is evaporated from the water, it is gathered with wooden rakes, allowing no metal to touch the salt. Sel Gris has a sharper, bolder flavor than fleur de sel.
- Smoked Salt. Any salt can be naturally smoked over wood fires to infuse the salt crystals with natural smoke flavor (or the flavor can be artificially infused). Smoked salts add a smokehouse flavor as well as an interesting color that creates an attractive garnish.
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| Fleur de sel |
Sel Gris |
Smoked Salt |
See our Salt Glossary for an introduction to these and other fine salts. Salt photos are courtesy of SaltWorks, an excellent resource for gourmet salts.
Caramel
Caramel is made from caramelized sugar, butter and milk or cream; some products add corn syrup. The texture can range from firm and chewy to soft and buttery. By varying proportions, one can get a softer or chewier product—a more buttery-tasting product, a sweeter caramel, etc. (There is a large family of caramel-related foods and additives, including the candy caramel, caramel dessert topping, caramel food coloring, caramel flavoring and caramel syrup.)
Caramels are made with sweet butter, but some French confectioners have traditionally made them with salted butter (caramel au beurre salé) to play off the sweet-salty pairing. But we’ve become salt sophisticates. Take the growing preference of all good chefs to accent foods with sea salts, the use of sea salts to accent fine chocolate, the history of salt caramels, and voilà: salt caramels, enrobed in chocolate, some with additional salt sprinkled on top for added saltiness. Using sea salt in a caramel recipe is different from using salt butter to make caramel au beurre salé: The sea salt doesn’t melt into the caramel, so there are fine grains of salt that add texture and crunch. If it sounds like too much salt, let us allay fears: Even those of us who don’t salt our food love to eat them. |
Classic caramels from Marie Belle. |
Like all confections, recipes vary widely depending on the confectioner. There are the subtle, the salty and everything in-between. Some chocolatiers choose classic fleur de sel or Sel Gris sea salts, others like a touch of the smokehouse and use the newer smoked sea salts. We’re sure there are salt caramels out there that use other salts. If we were making salt caramels (we’ve included a basic recipe below), we would choose the beautiful Peruvian Pink Sea Salt or Maldon, a white salt with unique pyramid-shaped crystals.
One of the nicest “side benefits” of salt caramels is that most of them pack quite a tasty punch in a very small piece—generally about one-inch square and half an inch high. For not many calories, you can be very satisfied.
The Salt Caramels
Recchiuti: the caramel that started our love of salt caramels several years ago. |
Subtle
- Recchiuti Confections. Michael Recchiuti’s fleur de sel caramels are masterworks. Covered in dark chocolate, there’s nothing on the outside to indicate salt, just an abstract wave design that seems to say tranquility. Don’t be fooled: The excitement—fleur de sel mixed with Recchiuti’s superb buttery and smokey caramel—are on the inside. After the first bite you may not even realize you’re eating a salt caramel. Then, the flavors slowly build to a gentle crescendo. You feel the tiny grains of salt against your tongue, blending with the smooth, soft caramel. Then—poof–they’re gone. It’s a magic act you want to experience again.
16-Piece Box
$20.00
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Richart’s salt butter caramels are tiny enough to notch and set on the rim of an espresso cup...but are not salty. |
- Richart. Generally, caramels are made with sweet butter; a salt butter caramel should taste of salt. We purchased petite 1/2" dark chocolate caramel cubes from Michel Richart, Coulis de Caramel au Beurre Salé. Since coulis means purée, we were hoping for something like the Pierre Marcolini caramel confit (see Spreadable, below). No, just a very soft caramel center with no discernable taste of salt. Undaunted, we knew there was more to come. But, these wee caramels do fit on the rim of an espresso cup, and should be of interest to those who seek to offer a little something that pairs well with java.
9-Piece Bag
$6.50
Available in
stores only, not online. Click here for boutiques in Boston New York, San Francisco and San Juan).
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Woodhouse Chocolates Salt Caramels are sprinkled with fleur de sel, a sea salt harvested off the coast of Brittany. |
Salty
- Woodhouse Chocolates Caramels. Tracy Anderson’s caramels are salty critters— critters because you can have them in a classic square salt caramel or as a tortoise-shaped salt turtle with nuts (below). The salt caramels are the chewier of the two: you can’t eat too many because it takes so much time to eat just one (and that’s quite a benefit—after taking so long to chew all that goodness, one was actually very satisfying). Neither milk nor dark chocolate is “sweet”: the caramel hinted of honey. These salt caramels will appeal to those who like a more elegant, sophisticated style of candy; and those who generally don’t choose milk chocolate will enjoy the milk chocolate caramel.
10-Piece Box
$10.00
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Sweet Marguerite Caramels are filled with macadamia nuts. Photo by Michael Steele. |
- Sweet Marguerites. These salt caramels add something extra: chopped macadamia nuts for texture amid the creamy caramel. The sea salt is harvested locally off the coast of Maine. These caramels are sweet without being too sweet and salty without being too salty. Choose from dark or milk chocolate.
24-Piece Box
$38.00
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Woodhouse’s Sea Turtles are more than candy: We use them as table place setting decor and see who can resist temptation until dessert and coffee are served. |
- Woodhouse Chocolates Sea Turtles. Inside these charming chocolate amphibians is a mixture of the traditional “turtle” nuts and caramel plus fleur de sel. The milk chocolate sea turtles are filled with caramel and pecan while the dark chocolate contains caramel and cashews. They are pretty irresistible, and also make a clever dining table decor, with a pair set at the top of each place setting. Will anyone hold off until coffee? These clever sea [salt] turtles are a welcome addition to the Salt Caramel Club.
10-Piece Box
$10.00
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Love salt? Love caramel? You’ll love these salty nuggets from Fran’s, with plenty of gray sea salt in the caramel and as a garnish on the enrobing chocolate. |
- Fran’s Chocolates. Fran Bigelow makes salt-lovers’ caramels. The caramel itself is much more pliant, a softer chew than Woodhouse and Recchiuti. Fran’s are perhaps the most lovely of the group to look at. The plump, rectangular caramels are artfully sprinkled with sea salt: gray sea salt (sel gris) for the dark chocolate, Welsh smoked sea salt for the milk chocolate (it’s pretty but the flavor isn’t noticeably smoky). They are sweeter-style than the Woodhouse in both caramel and chocolate (even though Fran’s milk chocolate is 40% cacao), providing more of a sweet-and-salty contrast. Of all caramels, these had the highest salt content in the caramel itself, such that in the “finish,” grains of sea salt were clinging to our teeth and continuing to release their flavor. The 56% cacao dark chocolate provides a better foil for the salt; there’s a nice flavor of chocolate on the palate mixing with the salt grains on the teeth. It’s quite an interesting sensation.
15-Piece Box
$22.00
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Knipschildt offers a heavenly, liquid caramel center in a thick chocolate shell topped with smoked sea salts. |
Chocolaty
- Knipschildt Chocolatier. Fritz Knipschildt makes the most chocolatey salt caramel. With a bonbon instead of a chocolate-enrobed chewy caramel, he presents a beautiful liquid caramel inside a thick shell of semisweet chocolate. The sweet, rich dark chocolate and the buttery, runny caramel are almost equal partners, with just a few grains of smoked salt to perk up both flavors. We love the contrast of textures. This salt caramel plays to the sweet tooth and to those who love caramel and butterscotch sauces: Mr. Knipschildt makes one of the best butterscotch dessert sauces, and has ported that skill into this salt caramel.
One Pound Box
About 35 to 40 Pieces
$60.00
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We’re addicted to this inspired combination of lavender, caramel and sea salt. |
Sensual
- Lillie Belle Farms. Jeff Shepard’s lavender caramel, enrobed in dark organic chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt, adds another layer of delight. Mr. Shepard’s home-grown lavender infuses his chewy caramel, which comes on as a surprise: First you taste the caramel, then the lavender introduces itself and stays for the rest of the visit. The salt is a light touch. Like the rest of Lillie Belle Farms chocolates, which are based on fruits and herbs grown on the farm, its a wonderful concept of wholesome and sophisticated. We love lavender-flavored foods of all kinds, and this has got to be at the top of the list.
12-Piece Box
$18.00
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Not a candy but a salt caramel spread to enjoy at breakfast or at tea time. Divine! |
Spreadable
- Pierre Marcolini. Everything above is candy. Pierre Marcolini offers us a condiment version of salt caramel, to spread on croissants, toast, pancakes. It is spectacular. Who needs the croissant—just give us a spoon. Give a jar to a food-loving friend and you will be a friend for life—a friend with a reputation for knowing where to find fabulous foods. There’s no need to tell everyone your secret source is THE NIBBLE (but if you were a good friend, you’d invite him or her to sign up for our Top Pick Of The Weekemail). If you want to sign up for it yourself, click here.
7.025-Ounce Jar
$15.00
Not available for online purchase—
telephone the
store:
1.212.755.5150
Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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All prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change.
Most people who try salt caramel become instant fans. There’s enough variety above, from subtly salty to lovely lavender to breakfast spread, that we know they’ll make a fan of you.
Make Your Own Salt Caramels
Ingredients
 1 cup heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized) - 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 teaspoons sea salt†
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
†You can use any sea salt, which is available at fine supermarkets and specialty food stores. If you choose an attractive-grained salt, it will look handsome as a surface decor. Check out our Salt Glossary.
Equipment
- 8" square baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Candy thermometer (or a deep-fat thermometer)
- Wax paper for wrapping or paper candy cups
Yield: About 40 caramels.
Directions
- Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper.
- Bring the cream, butter and sea salt to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat and set aside.
- Boil the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan; then cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 248°F, the firm-ball stage.
- Carefully stir in the cream mixture—the mixture will bubble up. Simmer, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. The temperature should not go higher than 250°F.
- CANDYMAKER TIP: To get the caramel consistency you want, test by dropping a spoonful of caramel into a bowl of cold water. It will form a ball, which you can test with your fingers. Stop cooking when the ball is the consistency that you want.
- Pour the mixture into the baking pan and cool 2 hours.
- OPTIONAL: You can enrobe your caramels in tempered melted chocolate; sprinkle the top with some grains of sea salt (pretty salts make a difference); or press in some culinary lavender buds.
- Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, folding ends or twisting to close like taffy.
- ALTERNATIVE: Pour the caramel into individual candy cups, as shown above.
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© Copyright 2005-
2008 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
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