Caramels, Part V: I Am Bewildered With Multiplicity.

O Marvelous! what new configuration will come next? I am bewildered with multiplicity.
- William Carlos Williams, At Dawn, 1914

It takes time to take things in, integrate information, let it blend together with other things, simmer slowly until it reaches the right temperature.

More research.

I went to Whole Foods and stood in the baking section for nearly an hour, reading labels and taking notes. Honey, Agave, Yacon, Fig Syrup, Apple Syrup, Rapadura, Sucanat, Cane Syrup, Barley Malt Syrup... there's a lot to experiment with.

How would these different sugars behave differently in caramels?

So I made another dark batch using Rapadura and added raw Colorado wildflower honey instead of maple syrup in a slightly larger proportion. This time I took them off the stove at 238 degrees. They came out very soft, like taffy, but I figured that was better than too hard (um, this sounds more and more like food p*rn, but how else can I say it?) I could only hope that a little time sitting on a marble slab might firm them up a bit.

So I let them sit awhile, then wrapped some up and mailed some to Richard (along with his Weeds DVD's).

Here is an excerpt from his review:

Wow.... Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. I think the texture / firmness was perfect: firm enough to not be sticky, but not firm enough to make me fear that it might pull off fillings. The flavor was rich and complex. It almost teeters over the line of tasting too dark / burnt, but doesn't actually cross that line at all.
The salt was sublime, both in taste, texture and quantity.

This, from a man whose cooking makes me murderously jealous, whose emails about cooking make me drool, was high praise indeed.

And it made me think I might be onto something.