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Caramel

Article index
 Production process caramel
 Mixing and boiling
 Cooling
 Mixing
 Blowing air
 Formation
 Cooling down
 Cutting
 Packaging
Caramel is very concentrated sugar produced by means of heating of the sugars. There is soft and hard caramel. Soft caramel, like toffee, has higher moisture content, contains fat and usually some milk substances. Below you will find the composition of both caramel species:

Hard caramel
Soft caramel
with milk substances without milk substances
40-70% saccharose 30-60% saccharose 30-60% saccharose
30-60% glucose syrup 20-50% glucose syrup 20-50% glucose syrup
1-8% invert sugar 3-15% fat
3-15% fat
1-3% water 4-8% water 4-8% water
0.5-2% citric- or tartaric acid 4-6% lactose (milk sugar) -
0.1-0.2% ash 1-10% invert sugar 1-10% invert sugar
3-5% milk protein -
1-1.5% ash 1-1.5% ash
0.05-0.5% gelatine 0.05-0.5% gelatine


The production process is very similar. The difference in character between both caramel types is mainly due to their composition.

Production process caramel

Mixing and boiling

The first step is mixing and boiling of the sugar to remove water. All sugars are mixed and heated till 120-150ºC. Several sugars are used for a better control of the heating process and to make the process more stable. As water is removed during boiling, the concentrated sugar solution obtains more and more the properties of the sugars. Sugars have a higher boiling point than water. During evaporation, the boiling point increases. From 121°C onwards, saccharose can crystallize. To realize this, several sugars with different boiling point are used.
By boiling under vacuum, the boiling point is decreased. Less heat destruction of the sugars occurs. Crystallization occurs more quickly.
During boiling, the sugar mass is stirred to distribute the heat.
Thanks to the high temperature of the process brown coloration of the sugars occurs. Moreover specific taste and flavour are formed. The discolouration and aroma formation at high temperatures is caramelisation.

Cooling

To slow down the caramelisation process and to make further addition of substances possible, the caramelised sugar mass is cooled down to 70-90ºC for hard caramel and 40-50ºC for soft caramel. The hard caramel cannot be cooled down futher as its consistency is higher. At lower temperatures this mixture cannot be stirred sufficiently. At too high temperatures, the additions can be destroyed or evaporate.

Mixing

For hard caramel, citric or tartaric acid is supplied. For soft caramel, flavours, milk substances, fat and emulsifiers are supplied. Milk substances and fat give a creamy taste and a soft consistency. The consistency is determined by the moisture content. The emulsifier stimulates the distribution of the fat throughout the hydrophilic mass.

Blowing air

After mixing, depending on the desired final product, air can be ventilated throughout the mass. For this purpose, air or CO2 is supplied and mixed intensively throughout the mass. Ventilation changes the appearance, the structure and the density of the caramel. The temperature of the product increases slightly because of the intensive mixing.

Formation

To give caramel the desired characteristics, the caramel can be poured or formed by co-extrusion. The process chosen depends on the desired form and the process costs.

Cooling down

After formation, the caramel is cooled down to 20ºC. Through lowering the temperature, the product obtains its consistency and hardness.

Cutting

After cooling down, the form of the caramel can only be changed by cutting. The caramel is cut and can be packaged. Cutting is not always necessary. It depends on the formation process.

Packaging

The most frequently used packaging of caramel is plastic dish or sack. The packaging does not need to protect the caramel for light, but a cool storage room is necessary, especially for soft caramel. The shelf life of caramel is some months till a year. Microbiologically, the product causes no problems. The shelf life is obstructed through changes in taste after oxidation of the fat.

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