Making Caramel Really Isn't That Hard

I tried to make caramel today, and I think I did okay. There are two different types: wet and dry. Wet caramel starts with a sugar and water base, while dry caramel is simply sugar. I didn't have the ingredients to make caramel apples, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try just having some apples dipped in caramel.

I did some experimentation with it today. I started by making dry caramel and then added water to it. What I got was a thinner caramel base and then some neat-looking crystallized caramel that I could form into hardened shapes. I am NOT responsible for your safety if you try this. Adding water after the sugar is melted is DANGEROUS! It sputters and was probably a very stupid thing for me to do without protective gloves.

Still, it was pretty delicious and I can't wait until I can make my own caramel candies using the base I created!

In case you were wondering, I'll post how to make dry caramel:

Ingredients:
8 tbsp granulated white sugar

Directions:
Heat a saucepan to medium heat. Add the sugar and shift the pan around a bit so it is evenly covering the bottom of the pan. Let the sugar melt. It should take about 5 minutes. It will start around the edges. WATCH IT CAREFULLY! Once it starts melting, stir it a bit. Once it is liquid and is a dark honey color, remove it from the heat and put it into a glass bowl. (If you keep it in the pot, it will keep cooking and may burn.) This was the point where I added 4 tbsp of cold water to the mixture for my experiment. I then put it back on the heat to try to get it to mix better. I poured out the liquid into a glass bowl and ate the hardened part! Nom nom nom.

These are just my directions and this is in no way the best way to make caramel. It is just what I did.