Composition and useful properties of caramel topping. Are there any contraindications to its use? How to prepare a treat in your kitchen? Recipes for dishes using liquid caramel sauce.
Caramel topping is a mildly liquid syrup made from cream and lots of burnt sugar. The product is rich in carbohydrates and high in calories. It tastes like boiled condensed milk. Topping is used to decorate confectionery and is added to meat or fish dishes. The main consumers of this delicacy are children. At the same time, the caramel delicacy is actively used to create alcoholic cocktails.
Composition and calorie content of caramel topping
Caramel topping is a product that can have several flavors with the same composition. It all depends on the degree of heating of the caramel: if the substance is heated to a yellowish hue, you get a sweet product with a delicate creamy aroma; it is worth holding the caramel on the stove for a longer time, and it will acquire a bitterness, turn brown.
The calorie content of caramel topping per 100 g is 390 kcal, of which:
- Proteins - 5 g;
- Fat - 13 g;
- Carbohydrates - 67 g;
- Dietary fiber - 0 g;
- Water - 0 g.
The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates can be expressed in the following proportion: 1: 2, 6:13, 4. The energy ratio of these elements: 3% / 18% / 72%.
Minerals per 100 g:
- Iron (Fe) - 2, 8 mg;
- Phosphorus (P) - 60 mg;
- Potassium (K) - 90 mg;
- Sodium (Na) - 41 mg;
- Magnesium (Mg) - 37 mg;
- Calcium (Ca) - 31 mg.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Vitamin E (TE) - 0.2 mg;
- Vitamin PP (NE) - 0.2 mg.
According to the classic recipe, the following ingredients are included in the industrial caramel topping:
- Water;
- Salt;
- Glucose syrup;
- Brown sugar;
- Butter;
- Vanillin flavor;
- Condensed milk with a high percentage of fat.
Many manufacturers do not adhere to a standard recipe and produce toppings using their own technologies. At the same time, all industrial syrups are united by a common feature - the presence in the composition of thickeners, flavors, dyes and all kinds of taste stabilizers. Individual intolerance to these substances can lead to serious disturbances in the work of various systems of the human body. However, science knows few cases of intoxication with caramel topping.
Useful properties of caramel topping
The benefits of caramel topping for the human body are undeniable, provided that the product is made from natural, environmentally friendly ingredients. That is why experts recommend that adults and children give preference to homemade syrup. Manufactured topping should be consumed in moderation.
Useful properties of caramel syrup:
- Moderately high calorie content … 100 g of caramel delicacy is 27, 39% of the calories of a person's daily intake. Therefore, a sweet dessert with such a topping can quickly saturate you with fats and carbohydrates when there is no time for long snacks.
- The presence of vitamins and minerals … Such components are indispensable for a growing organism, so sweetness can be safely given to children (in moderate amounts).
- Strong caramel aroma … Any product decorated with this topping is guaranteed to please those with a sweet tooth, because it is able to set off the acidity of fruits in a vitamin salad or compensate for the lack of sweetness in unleavened cakes. That is why syrup is actively used in commercial activities and is a kind of guarantee of demand for the product.
Interesting! Caramel topping, like all other sweets, promotes the production of endorphins in the human body - hormones of happiness. Scientists note that the use of a dessert with caramel syrup has a beneficial effect on the morale of those with a sweet tooth.
Contraindications and harm of caramel topping
Caramel spoils teeth - a simple truth familiar to every adult from a young age. Sugar cream syrup is no exception, like other sweets, it can cause significant damage to tooth enamel.
In addition, the harm of caramel topping is as follows:
- The product contains thickeners that have a negative effect on the digestive tract.
- The presence of artificial colors and flavors in topping leads to clogging of the body with toxins.
- The syrup contains a large percentage of sugar, therefore it can harm the health of a diabetic.
We must not forget about cholesterol, with which modern society fights so zealously: in caramel topping, this fat is enough to develop pathology of blood vessels with regular use of the product. The fat contained in the cream leads to the formation of cholesterol plaques in the body, which are deposited on the blood vessels of the circulatory system. As a result, blood circulation is impaired, and active weight gain occurs.
To avoid the negative consequences of using caramel topping, prepare the syrup yourself, rather than buying the finished product in the store. How to make caramel topping is described later in the article. If you decide to purchase a product in a store, carefully read its composition on the label and give preference to the most natural and less high-calorie syrup.
How to make caramel topping?
Sweet syrup is used in confectionery to add thickness, extra sweetness and a unique flavor to the dish. Such a product can be purchased at almost any grocery store. However, if you do not wish to consume syrup with artificial additives, make your own in your kitchen.
Before preparing caramel topping, make sure that you have all the necessary products for this: 1, 5 glasses of sugar; 1 pack of butter (200 g), cream - 150 ml (choose a fatty product, at least 30%).
Follow a simple procedure to prepare syrup in just 4 steps:
- Melt the sugar in a saucepan. Make sure that the heat is moderate and the sugar does not burn to the bottom of the dish.
- Add the sliced butter to the sugar as soon as it has a caramel color. Do not forget to actively stir the sweet mass all the time.
- Turn off the heat as soon as the oil has dissolved in the syrup.
- Add cream to the resulting mass and mix thoroughly the finished topping. Leave it to cool for a couple of hours. The dish is ready!
Please note that the ready-made syrup should be stored exclusively in a cool place, at a temperature of no more than + 23 ° C and no longer than 6 months. To extend the shelf life of the product up to 1 year, place it in the refrigerator.
Note to the hostess! 1 teaspoon of topping contains 7 g of product, 1 tablespoon - 20 g.
Caramel Topping Recipes
Topping is used not only to decorate ready-made meals, but also as a full-fledged ingredient in baking pastries. For example, thick syrup is used as a filling for cakes or an interlayer in many types of cakes.
Homemade caramel topping recipes:
- A cake that does not require baking … Cut half a kilo of shortbread cookies (with chocolate) into equal pieces. Place the blank on the bottom of the cake pan, previously covered with cling film. Melt a little 600 g ice cream (any kind). Spread half over the cookies, pour 100 g of caramel syrup here. Spread the rest of the ice cream on top of the resulting mass. Refrigerate the ice cream and cookie dough for 6 hours. The cake can be served as soon as the ice cream has hardened. The dish with the dessert is turned upside down on the dish, the biscuit cake is poured abundantly with caramel topping.
- Rice pudding … 0, 5 cups of rice, fry in a saucepan with a little butter. This procedure should take you no more than 2 minutes. Pour 3 tablespoons of fried rice. milk, add 0.5 tsp. cinnamon. Cook the resulting mass over low heat for half an hour. Stir the mixture periodically to avoid burning. Then add 1 tsp to the saucepan. vanilla sugar and 100 g of caramel topping. Cook the pudding for another 2 minutes. Distribute the finished mass on 4 plates and pour over with topping.
- Cheesecake in the oven … In 700 g of cottage cheese, put 5 yolks and 100 g of butter. Whisk the resulting mass. Add 1 tbsp to it. l. semolina, vanillin (to taste) and 100 g of raisins, previously soaked in warm water and dried with a towel. Mix the dough thoroughly. Add 5 whites, whipped with a pinch of salt, into it, and mix again (whisk the whites until stable peaks form). As a result, you should get an airy, creamy mass, which must then be baked in a preheated oven. Baking time - 1 hour. After the specified time has elapsed, turn off the oven, but do not take out the cheesecake. Let it brew for another 2 hours. Decorate the already cooled syrnik with caramel topping.
Caramel Topping Drink Recipes
Drinks with caramel topping are distinguished by vanilla aroma and pronounced sweetness. Such a delicacy is being prepared in just a few minutes! TOP-3 recipes for drinks with caramel syrup:
- Absinthe and caramel … Pour 20 ml into a glass in layers of caramel topping, expresso and absinthe. It is recommended to drink the resulting drink in one gulp.
- Frappuccino … Whisk with a blender 2 tsp. brown sugar, 5 ice cubes, 200 g milk and 80 ml chilled expresso. Add coffee syrup, 1 cookie and 100 g chocolate chips to the mixture. Whisk again. Pour the mixture into a glass, garnish with a topping of whipped cream and caramel syrup.
- Salted drinking chocolate … In warmed milk (180 ml), add 5 tbsp. l. cocoa powder and mix thoroughly. Pour 3 tbsp into a separate glass. l. caramel topping and spread it over the sides of the vessel. Pour the prepared mixture of milk and cocoa into a glass. Top with whipped cream and decorate with liquid caramel. The drink is ready!
Interesting facts about caramel topping
Professional masters call caramel topping a light sauce; they use it not only for sweet dishes, but also for pickling or decorating meat and fish delicacies.
For the first time, caramel topping was invented in the homeland of Exupery, Dumas and Moliere - in France. According to legend, not far from Paris, in a medieval village, topping made of viscous caramel was invented by an ordinary peasant. No one would have known about the delicacy if suddenly two tired travelers, who later turned out to be dukes, had not come to his apartment. Noble people helped topping to gain national recognition.
Modern French pastry chefs continue to invent new recipes for caramel topping to this day. They add syrup to almost all types of desserts. Experts are sure that the sugary syrup not only makes the dish sweeter, but also helps to emphasize the taste of the simpler ingredients of the product.
Also in the world there are a lot of competitions based on the ability of chefs and bartenders to use caramel topping as a tool for creating drawings and other decorations.
To create exclusive designs on products, in particular on cakes, topping purchased in a store is optimal. This cream is sold in a compact jar with a convenient dispenser. Thanks to this, it flows in a slow, thin stream and obediently sinks in the form of complex patterns onto the surface of the dishes.
Topping can be served both cold and heated - the temperature of the finished product does not affect its taste.
How to make caramel topping - watch the video:
Homemade caramel topping is a source of vitamins, minerals, energy and positive mood for the whole family. It can be added to a wide variety of dishes, and not necessarily to sweets. At the same time, to create drawings from syrup, preference should be given to store-bought topping in a convenient jar with a dispenser. Due to the high sugar content, the caramel product is contraindicated for diabetics and people who are struggling with excess weight.
