candy

Wandering Star

This should be a straightforward enough question, (although I will admit it's also ridiculous.)

Background: Sometimes I get an intense, lingering craving for good caramel candy. Right now is one of those times. This craving cannot be satisfied by the type of caramel you can buy in a supermarket. Sometimes I've managed to find great caramels in specialty candy or gift stores, and sometimes that stuff is disappointing. I've foolishly never attempted to keep track of which brands I thought were good and bad.

My criteria are as follows- 1) I would prefer that the caramel isn't covered in chocolate, but if the chocolate and caramel are both really good, then that can be ok. 2) I would also prefer the caramel isn't flavored, unless it's a really basic flavor like vanilla. Salted caramels are absolutely fine. 3) I would prefer the caramels be on the softer side. 4) I need to be able to buy these candies either online, or in NYC or northern NJ.

I'm hoping someone with a sweet tooth can throw me out some recommendations. Please help me rot my teeth and expand my stomach in style!

Erios

Fleur de selle. It is the only caramel. Special order it from a confectioner or get some in Midtown Manhattan.

Quid

I can't access their website from here so I can't say for certain if they have caramel, but Max Brenner has some high quality stuff though mainly chocolate. I'd check their website to see if they have anything if I were you. They have a couple shops up in Manhatten.

Improvolone

Erios wrote: »

Fleur de selle. It is the only caramel. Special order it from a confectioner or get some in Midtown Manhattan.

Haggen Daz has a fleur de selle ice cream. It's amazing.

Erios

Improvolone wrote: »

Erios wrote: »

Fleur de selle. It is the only caramel. Special order it from a confectioner or get some in Midtown Manhattan.

Haggen Daz has a fleur de selle ice cream. It's amazing.

OH GOD IT IS SO GOOD.

an_alt

Harlans sells old fashioned kettle cooked caramel and it's stupid good, although pricey. I may be a little biased with my better half making most of the stuff sold at that site, but it really is awesome.

Wandering Star

Thanks so much for the responses. I'm especially glad nobody said "Google is your friend," because I really was looking for personalized recommendations.

I'm gonna be pissed if it turns out Max Brenner's has good caramels, cause I was just in Union Square yesterday and I didn't think to stop by.

One thing I'm confused about- I can't find "fleur de selle" caramels. I know fleur de sel is a type of salt used in a lot of salted caramels, so did you just mean anything with that is good, or is it a specific brand?

Has anyone tried Fran's? I keep seeing that name pop up in all my searches, (apparently Obama is a fan) but it's one of the chocolate-covered ones and man they charge a lot for shipping. If it's worth it, it's worth it though.

Also, Haagan Dazs fleur de sel caramel ice cream, wow.

Wandering Star

I posted my reply before I saw the recommendation for Harlans. Those look really good too!

Elin

Just a thought, have you considered making your own. It's really not difficult, you just have to be careful when working with sugar as it gets HOT. Just lock up any pets while cooking. http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/recipe-review/diy-salt-caramels-ungift-guide-2008-071818

Lindsay Lohan

I think the caramels are fleur de sel. Try that spelling and you should have better luck.

Erios

Elin wrote: »

Just a thought, have you considered making your own. It's really not difficult, you just have to be careful when working with sugar as it gets HOT. Just lock up any pets while cooking. http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/recipe-review/diy-salt-caramels-ungift-guide-2008-071818

Also, don't wait for the mixture to become what we would consider "caramel colored" while under medium to high heat in the pan, else you burn it.

Wandering Star

I did wind up making my own from the linked recipe. It was my first time making candy and I guess I had the heat too high because even though I watched it, the temperature all of a sudden shot up higher than it was supposed to. So now I basically have (very delicious) caramel brittle which is good to eat as a hard candy, and if I pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds I get exactly the texture I wanted.

In the near future, I'm still going to try all the other suggestions, because they all sound really good. Thanks again!

TK-42-1

if you want to make sugar-based candy you really need to pick up a candy thermometer. you can get one for maybe like $10-$15 and it really helps keep your temps where they need to be