Toffee vs Caramel
Toffee and caramel are words that work like magic in the ears of small children. Confectionary items, or the sugary food items made for people, especially kids, are also known as lollies and candies in different parts of the world. Toffees and caramel look very similar as candies, and it is often hard to tell the difference, even after one has tasted both of them. This article attempts to delineate the subtle differences in taste and making processes of toffees and caramels.
Toffee
Promise a toffee to a weeping child and you get an immediate response in the form of a smile; such is the power of this sweet little candy. However, before being turned into a candy for kids, the concoction made by heating different kinds of sugar varieties and adding butter and sometimes flour is termed as toffee. The temperature range to make toffee is around 150 degree Centigrade.
To make toffee, more wholesome nuts are also added during the process of heating to a hard crack stage. There are also raisins used in the preparation of toffee mixture at times. At such a high temperature, the mixture is allowed to boil till it becomes hard and can be stretched to be given any shape while the outer surface remains glossy. Once toffee mixture has been prepared, a confectionary manufacturer can add different flavors like rum, butter, butterscotch, vanilla, chocolate, and so on to make different varieties of candies.
Caramel
Caramel is a product made by confectioners to be used as a filling in many bakery products such as cakes and biscuits. It is a syrupy liquid that is dark brown in color (hence the name). It is poured hot over ice-creams and puddings to add flavors and to make the final product more attractive and tasty. Caramel has long been used as a topping over coffee.
When different sugars are slowly heated to a temperature of around 170 degree Centigrade, the molecules of sugar break up and re-arrange to make compounds that have a distinct flavor and the characteristics.
Caramel is used to make many products but the candies made using caramel are very popular among kids. To make caramel candies, sugars are heated in the presence of milk, cream, butter, and vanilla flavor. Candies are cut in desired shape after solidification of the mixture.
What is the difference between Toffee and Caramel?
• The differences in toffee and caramel candy pertain to taste and the contents. While toffee is mainly butter and sugar, caramel contains more of cream and milk though there is also butter occasionally in the mixture
• Toffee is crunchier of the two while caramel is soft and smooth in appearance as well as in one’s mouth
• The heating temperature while making toffee is around 150 degrees while it is kept around 170 degrees when making caramel
• Caramel candy is more chewy, and this requires making use of more milk, cream and condensed milk than in toffee