Foodness Gracious

A Stay-At-Home Dad with a Passion For Food.

Chocolate Honey Caramels With A Variety Of Salt…

by 17 Comments

As I was foraging through my pantry the other day I kept finding salt. Why do I have so much, Isn’t salt bad for you? Well I suppose it is if you take an exuberant amount of the stuff or if you count all of the crappy iodised table salt which gets loaded into so much food these days. On the other hand if you tease your food with a high quality salt it can go from meh to mwahh in a second.

I gained some of my salt collection from gifts and some from my recent caramel making endeavour. Salted caramels and the sweet/salty combo have been around forever just like chocolate with bacon, I remember when I started selling Vosges Chocolatier’s Bacon Bar at work. It was met with lots of curiosity and some customers balked at the thought of having a meat product in their chocolate bar. Truth was when you unwrapped the bar, it looked plain and friendly allowing people to get over that initial fear and letting them experience the taste which is what the bar was all about. We had customers returning for that bar numerous times over.

I didn’t make this recipe to set any new trends or to reinvent the already amazing chocolate and salt marriage. I merely had some left over honey caramels which had been in the “caramel jar” for a while. They were still good but I’ve been making so many caramels lately that I think my wife is just over them. I dipped them in some melted Guittard and sprinkled each one with a different salt. Sure enough as soon as she saw them her interest peaked again and they’ll be gone by tonight.

The salts I used were:
Black Lava Sea Salt. Made from Hawaiian sea salt and mixed with charcoal, it has a smoky flavor to it. Recommended for meats and barbecue. Hawaiian salt has a huge amount of essential minerals in it from the local rocks and can be great for the digestive system.
Maldon Smoked Sea Salt. An English made salt which I have used for a while and like due to it being less of a crystal and more flaky. It comes in regular or smoked. Can be used as an all round salt but especially good on shellfish or meat.
Spanish Sea Salt. Made from the evaporation of sea water from the Mediterranean. This salt is widely used and is crunchy and mild.
Red Gold Sea Salt. Another gem from Hawaii. Made from Hawaiian sea salt mixed with alaea. This salt is produced when the water around Hawaii comes in contact with the rich, red volcanic rock and then evaporates.
Passion Fruit and Chile Pepper Salt. Made on the island of Kauai, Hawaiian sea salt is mixed with Chile peppers, local vinegar flavoring and is great as a rub on steaks or seafood.
So if you have a sea salt in your cupboard get it out and use it. Don’t worry too much about over salting, all it takes is a tiny sprinkle to get the food oooing and ahhing and I guarantee you’ll taste the difference.
 

Comments

  6. JavelinWarrior says

    Gerry, you’re so right about salt and honestly I haven’t sampled too many salts but just switching from the Morton table salt to kosher salt made a HUGE difference in my cooking. At Christmas, a friend of mine actually bought me a set of different salts similar to those you have listed – it’s incredible how different salts taste well…so different ;)

    Reply

  9. laxsupermom says

    It’s a good thing you’re on the other side of the country, because I’d have to spend my entire mornings chained to a treadmill, if we were neighbors. Those look amazing! Your wife is a lucky girl. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  11. Mary says

    I love black lava sea salt. The first time I used it, I couldn’t believe how much smokiness it added to the dish. I now know to use it much more sparingly! I need to try some others now too, you’ve peaked my interest with a couple of these.

    Reply

  13. Jill Colonna says

    Gerry, this is an amazing idea and presentation stunning. You know, you’ve reminded me of a red wine salt I bought in the Loire Valley and it’s lurking in the cupboard somewhere. Smoked salt I love, too. Black lava? I need to try this. What inspiration!

    Reply

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