Caramel – best enjoyed with a pinch of salt
Sweet, sticky and sinful – few treats are as indulgent as gooey caramel enjoyed on its own. Until caramel developed a taste for salt, that is.
The combination of salty and sweet has taken the culinary world by storm, which according to TASTE food editor Abigail Donnelly, “has fast become fashionable and enhances flavours including chocolate, chilli, cheese and chicken”.
Salted caramel, in particular, is one of those odd flavour combinations that came out of nowhere and works surpisingly well. It was once regarded a novelty, but it seems to be on everyone’s lips nowadays. I hope that it’s not just another passing food fad that will soon be forgotten. Anyone who has ever enjoyed the ridiculous deliciousness of a salted caramel anything will understand that it’s worth its salt!
Drizzled generously over popcorn or ice cream, spread over cakes and incorporated into tarts or sandwiched between cookies, salted caramel goes down a treat with just about anything (assuming you’re an adventurous eater).
This is one reason why the August issue of TASTE was dedicated to caramel, where you’ll find Abigail Donnelly experimenting with unexpected salty-sweet pairings and interesting salts. She even puts a twist on decadent Argentinian dulce de leche to which she adds Hawaiain black salt (available online at Woolworths). Her salted caramel and fennel tarte tatin is also made using this black salt.
And with the range of salt available at Woolworths (salt flakes, fleur de sel, Maldon salt, pink salt, blue salt and Italian truffle salt are but a few), you too can conjure up your own interesting salty-sweet pairings.
And the best news of all? Caramel itself is ridiculously easy to make. All you need is a tin of condensed-milk. Follow this salted caramel recipe to get started.
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