National Caramel Day is a special event dedicated to the rich, gooey, tasty substance that is made using the deliciously dark alchemy of the culinary arts. It is known as Caramel, which is in fact born out of the rather exacting process of caramelization.

Now it’s time to learn about and celebrate National Caramel Day!

History of National Caramel Day

Some say that the history of caramel goes back more than a thousand years back to the year 1000 A.D. when the sweet treat was discovered. The name at the time was rather literal, calling it the “kurat al milh”, which means “sweet ball of salt”.

This original version would have been the crunchy type of caramel that was made by crystallizing sugar in boiling water, which is something more like what is known as crunchy toffee today.

Caramel and other treats were enjoyed in the mid-1600s in the Americas, where people were known to have been making hard candies in kettles. Later, caramel developed into a candy that was made not only with sugar, but also included cream or milk, making it a much softer and chewy treat.

By 1886, Lancaster Caramel Company was started by none other than Milton S. Hershey, who would eventually go on to start the Hershey Company, which is one of the most famous American chocolate and candy companies today.

Learning about the history of caramel might also be useful if it involves a bit of understanding about the way that caramel is made. The process for making caramel is deceptively simple, you need merely increase the heat of sugar to a mere 170 °C (340 °F), at which point the sugar breaks down and turns into this much delectable substance with its rich golden color and iconic flavor.

This part is just the start of this process, the beginning of a trek to that which most people think of as ‘Caramel’, that coater of apples and binder of popcorn. Caramel can be used in so many different delightful and delicious treats!

To truly make the type of caramel that most people dearly love, there are a couple of approaches. One is to caramelize the sugar and then add the cream, butter, and vanilla that brings out the flavors that everyone dearly loves. The other process involves adding them all together and then cooking the mixture until the milk caramelizes but not the sugar. This sort of caramel is known as ‘milk caramel’.

Now it’s time to consider how to enjoy and celebrate National Caramel Day!