Caramel (redirected from Caramels)

caramel [′kar·ə·məl]

(materials)

A dark-brown mass formed by heating sugar in the presence of ammonium salts.

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Caramel 

a confectionery product of sugar. Caramel is a concentrated nutritional food product that contains a complex of sugars (sucrose, maltose, and glucose) and fruits, berries, nut kernels, cocoa, and other ingredients.

There are hard and filled caramels. The hard caramel consists of a caramel mass obtained by boiling down a sugar solution with starch syrup or invert syrup to a dry-matter content of 97–99 percent. In contrast to sugar, from which it is prepared, the cooled caramel mass has an amorphous structure, is transparent, and is light yellow in color. Within a certain temperature range (75°-90°C) the caramel mass has a plastic texture. To impart flavor properties to the hard caramel, food acids (citric and tartaric), essences, and colorings are added and evenly distributed throughout the plastic caramel mass before it is shaped. Transparent caramel is shaped in the form of rectangular bars (such as Teatral’naia and Vzletnaia) or in the form of small figures of various shapes (sour drops). In manufacturing non-transparent caramel (lemon and orange slices), the caramel mass is processed on pulling machines to saturate it with air. After shaping, the caramel is cooled, whereupon it hardens and acquires the brittleness and firmness necessary for subsequent wrapping and packing or finishing. In preparing filled caramel, the caramel mass is used to make only the outer casing, and before shaping a filling is introduced (such as fruit or berry, liqueur, honey, and milk).

Caramel is hygroscopic and to maintain its stability duringstorage it is covered with a protective layer of finely granulatedsugar, cocoa powder, chocolate glaze, or a moisture-resistanthigh-fat mixture and wrapped or packaged in tins or waxedcardboard boxes. Caramel manufacture in the USSR is com-pletely mechanized.