After my mother passed away, my brother-in-law created a flipped-page collection of some of mom’s best/favorite recipes that she often made. I noticed a mistake in the recipe for caramels (Mom’s mistake, not Ron’s). I realized that instead of 325º the recipe should have read between 244ᵒ and 248ᵒ. I had watched mom make the caramels before, so I thought I would make a batch.
The recipe makes about 100 individual caramels, and I didn’t know what to do with all of them. “Why not bring them to the Iowa Capitol?” Lobbyists, legislators, and the media always like something free and sweet.
A fellow lobbyist approached me and said she heard I made the caramels in the lobbyist lounge. “Yes, I did; what is wrong with them.” “Nothing,” she said: “I have tasted the blue-ribbon winner for caramels at the Iowa State Fair and yours are far better.”
Well, the following summer I entered my mom’s caramels in a candy contest at the State Fair. The first of three contests was sponsored by Suzette’s Candies. My entry was set aside on a table with several other entries, while three were brought behind a blue curtain. I asked the lobbyist who encouraged me to enter why this procedure was happening. She told me that the entries behind the curtain were going to be awarded ribbons, while the ones on the table were rejected. She moved close to the table and reached over, peering at the comments on my entry form. “Too soft! Not uniformly cut.” Hell, I didn’t know everything was supposed to be the same size. I can easily fix that.
I learned a little about marketing that week. Land O’ Lakes was having another contest in a few days. I made another batch, got out a ruler (I have no calipers) and measured each one carefully. Then, I gave them the name of “Mom’s Old-Fashioned Too Soft Caramels.” Bingo! I won first place. I received a blue-ribbon, of course, a cookie cutter that I have never used, and a one-year supply of Land O’ Lakes butter. Evidently, a one-year supply of butter is supposed to be one pound per month. They don’t know me. I went through all twelve coupons in less than six months.
It was a few years before I discovered that mom got her recipe out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (BH&G), almost word-for-word. I do remember, however, that mom didn’t have a candy thermometer; she used the cold-water test. I’ve tried it. That never worked for me, but I can tell when stirring when the time is right, but I do back it up with a thermometer. I have included the recipe below. The ingredients are the same as in BH&G, but I have included a few tips, such as – stir continuously, don’t try to go too fast and turn the heat up, and if you can, use a copper-bottomed pan and wooden spoon.
I still make caramels and send a few to family members at Christmas time. I also have some loyal customers who purchase a batch from me during the winter months. Like every other commodity or food staple, the price of a batch is going up, and so is the postage to mail them. You can make them yourself with the recipe below. Let me know how they turned out. Or you can order a batch or a half batch from me.
CARAMELS
2 Sticks ‘salted’ (sweet cream) butter + 2 teaspoons
2 ¼ Cups brown sugar
1 Cup white corn syrup
1 Can (14 oz.) Eagle Brand only sweetened condensed milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla
Mise en place – this is a French phrase that means you should get all your ingredients ready before beginning the cooking process. Also, you will need:
- Parchment paper
- A good 3 qt. saucepan – I use a copper-bottomed pot for even distribution of heat.
- 1 wooden spoon (and use this spoon only for candy making. You don’t want the hint of Stroganoff mixed in with your sweet stuff.)
- Cooling rack
- 8x8x2 in. Pyrex cooking dish
- Candy thermometer
- Rubber spatula
- Grease some parchment paper with 2 teaspoons butter and line the 8x8x2 in. pan with the buttered paper. You may butter the pan and not use parchment paper, but the caramels will be easier to remove from the pan using parchment paper. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack.
- Place the 2 sticks of butter in the saucepan and turn the burner to medium heat (keep the temperature at medium throughout the entire process). After the butter melts, slowly add the brown sugar and white corn syrup.
- Slowly add the sweetened condensed milk, stirring the entire time.
- Cook to form a firm ball in cold water, or cook until the candy thermometer reads between 244ᵒ and 248ᵒ. It may take some time (probably 15-20 minutes), but be sure to stir constantly.
- When the firm ball temperature has been reached (I go all the way to 248ᵒ for a firm version), remove the pan from the stovetop and add the 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir until the vanilla has been thoroughly mixed and the caramel is smooth.
- Immediately pour the caramel mixture into the parchment paper-lined dish or buttered dish, using the spatula to get every last drop.
- Cover it and leave it alone. The following day you may lift the slab of caramel from the pan, along with the paper, and tip it upside-down on a clean cutting board.
- Cut the caramels into uniform pieces and wrap in waxed paper.
- You may freeze these for up to 6 months. But why would you do that?
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