Friday, July 5, 2019

Let's Can Caramel

I love caramel.  It is good on ice cream.  It is good for dipping with apple slices.  It is good spread on cake.  It is good for lots of things.

Making caramel from scratch involves ingredients like heavy cream that I never have on hand.  So when I saw several videos of making caramel by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for three hours, I had to try it.  It worked.  The result was delicious.

Yesterday I opened 4 cans of sweetened condensed milk and filled 6 half pint jars.  I wiped the jar rims really well, added lids and rings and set them into a stock pot.  I poured in enough water to cover the jars by at least two inches, turned on the burner and brought the pot to a boil.  I turned the heat down a bit and let the jars cook at a slow boil for 3 hours, adding more water about half way through to keep the water level over the jars.

When the caramel was done and after it had cooled a little bit, I called Duane and said, "There be caramel." to which he replied. "I'll be right over."  We opened one jar for a taste test.  That jar is in the fridge and I hear it calling my name.  Duane made off with two jars.  Another jar went home with my nurse and two more are on the shelf.

I will be making more of this.  :)

7 comments:

  1. Vicki, you never cease to amaze me!

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    1. I'm afraid it is a fault, Gorges...If it will hold still long enough, chances are pretty good I will try to stuff it in a jar and can it. :)

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  2. I have heard of this, but it seemed risky to boil a can of anything. So, you put it in jars first? That seems less risky. I will have to try this.

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    1. Linda...I first tried the boil in the can method and that worked just fine. But a whole can of caramel is just too much for me, so I poured the sweetened condensed milk into half pint jelly jars and boiled it that way. Basically it is just water bath. The amount is better for one person and I trust storing food in glass jars more than I do in cans. Tastes really good, too. :)

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  3. Vicki, were you by chance a scientist in an earlier life? I see you wearing a lab coat and goggles for protection against those wild and crazy lab experiments. Crackers and caramel this week; what plan have you got up your sleeve for this coming week? Awesome stuff you are canning up! CWfromIA

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    1. I doubt it, CW...my biology grades in high school were pretty dismal. I'm thinking that an earlier life might have found me in a log cabin in the woods somewhere, which is where I really would like to be now. Of course, there would have to be a lake nearby so I could go fishing...

      Truth is, I am always looking for something to add variety to my food storage - hence the silly experiments. There will be a post probably tomorrow about the sausage and hamburger patties I canned today. Next week I'm looking at canning baked beans and BBQ sauce. The baked beans came about when I looked at my grocery delivery receipt and discovered I had paid $1.38 for an 8 oz. can of Bush's Beans. Not gonna do that again!!

      I may have to experiment with chocolate sauce to go with the caramel. :)

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