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Long before the history of caramel—prehistoric gatherers would seek out natural sugar like honey.
They learned through trial and error that sugar changed when exposed to heat.
However, it took a long time before anyone figured out how to heat sugar to the precise point of caramelization to make candy.
Caramel was probably invented or discovered by the Arabs around 1000 A.D.
They called it kurat al milh, or sweet ball of salt, which is translated into English.
It was a hard candy in its earliest form, that was created by crystallizing sugar in boiling water. This first process created a crunchy like texture which is much different than the soft caramels we enjoy today.
It wouldn’t be till the mid-1600s that candy makers started adding milk and fats to the formula that created the soft, chewy texture that we are used to in the modern day.
The word caramel can trace its roots to the exact French word of caramel which means burnt sugar. But the word goes back even further to the Latin word cannamellis where its components canna and mellis actually mean cane sugar and honey.
In English, the term started being used around 1725, meaning burnt sugar as well.
By 1884, the English were using caramel to describe dark-colored creamy candy, and where the modern-day word for candy is used in the English-speaking world.
Early settlers in America brought their caramel-making process around 1650.
These early pioneers would boil sugar (made from beets) and water over kettle stoves to create hard candy, including caramel.
By the mid-1800s, there were about 400 candy manufacturers in North America making caramel.
Cookbooks also started including recipes for homemade caramel.
The most well-known caramel maker of the 1800s was Milton S. Hershey.
Hershey established the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1886.
His caramel company contributed to caramel growth and popularity in the late 1800s.
He eventually sold his caramel business for one million dollars ($32 million in today’s dollars) and used the techniques he learned to start his milk chocolate empire.
A Kraft Foods employee by the name of Dan Walker invented caramel apples in the 1950s.
He came up with the idea by using leftover caramels from a Halloween party, where he melted them and dipped apples into the melted mixture.
Caramel apples would become a popular fixture in carnivals and street fairs, especially in the fall.
In the 1970s, Kraft Foods took Walker’s invention and created Wrappies, which were sheets of caramel designed to wrap quickly around apples.
Today, caramel apples are made in a variety of ways, including with nuts, sprinkles, or chocolate.
In the late 1970s, French pastry chef Henri le Rou, invented salted caramel, by adding sweet and salt flavors.
He called it salted butter caramel, where he used the region’s famous high-quality salted butter in its mix.
It would later win an award for Best Sweet and France.
Today, salted caramel is a beloved treat enjoyed worldwide and used in everything from ice cream to cocktails.
Today, caramel is used primarily in desserts and candy, where it serves as a flavoring, filling, and topping for items like cakes, candies, and ice cream.
It’s also a popular addition to beverages, particularly coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages.
Caramel’s versatility has expanded into savory cooking, where chefs incorporate it into glazes for meats and seafood dishes.
It’s even used as a coloring agent in foods!
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