Butterscotch vs. Caramel

by Chewy

     I like chocolate. I won’t turn it down if offered and I will advocate for it if I feel it will enhance the item. But the flavor I would endeavor to fit into my diet daily is caramel and butterscotch. They don’t have the medicinal capabilities of chocolate. They can’t raise my serotonin levels. They even have more refined sugar in them which ultimately makes them the pariah of sweets. The only thing they have going for them is that they taste sublime and they can excite my vagus nerve (see Sweet Relief). And really, isn’t that all we 
really ask of our desserts?

     Someone recently posed the question to me, “What’s the difference between the two?” If you know, raise your hand. Put a bowl of each in front of me and I could tell you which is which but I couldn’t  tell you why the difference. Today I can and I am willing to share this new found knowledge with those who didn’t have a clue.

     The one thing they have in common is sugar. From there we digress in different directions. The easier of the two to create without disaster is butterscotch, caramel’s less finicky cousin. Butterscotch is simply made by boiling brown sugar, butter, cream and vanilla and occasionally, lemon acids or vinegar to gently ease out the sweetness. Boil this to the “soft crack “ stage and you have butterscotch. Continue to boil to the “hard crack” stage and you have toffee. You may have noticed, no Scotch in that recipe, and frankly I think this is a huge oversight (maybe something I will toy with in the laboratory). I have found implication that recipes do exist that contain both butter and scotch whiskey that gives a characteristic flavor that was common 50 years ago. Beyond this possibility, “Scotch” may also have been derived from the word “scorch” or based on it’s connection to Scotland (Scotch being an old adjective for Scotland).

     Caramel actually has fewer ingredients, consisting of white granular sugar (rebels have been known to use brown sugar but this is rare), butter and whipping cream, omitting the vanilla and acids found in butterscotch. Once again you are going to heat the sugar slowly but to a much higher temperature. While butterscotch tops out at 239-257 degrees Fahrenheit, caramel is cooked until sugar browns at 338 degrees Fahrenheit. You have now heated to “firm ball” stage, flavorings can be added (bacon!) and then it’s slowly brought back to room temperature. To  make it a sauce merely add water or cream and generously pour, dollop, dribble or dunk whatever caramel transport structure you desire.

     While the differences may seem minor, each has their own distinct features. I think butterscotch has a much more buttery finish then caramel. Then again, caramel seems to have captured the confectioners imagination and the additives seem limitless (bacon, potato chips, pretzels, nuts, sea salt….wait, I’m seeing a sugar/salt connection). Either one offers opportunities to enhance fruit, cakes, pies and ice cream.