{"id":390640,"date":"2019-01-25T07:30:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-25T13:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/origin-www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=390640"},"modified":"2023-03-15T07:31:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T12:31:36","slug":"the-difference-between-caramel-butterscotch-and-toffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/the-difference-between-caramel-butterscotch-and-toffee\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between Caramel, Butterscotch and Toffee"},"content":{"rendered":"[dam-video dam-id=\"32863\"]\r\n
You've probably eaten something drizzled with\u00a0caramel<\/a>\u00a0or made with bits of\u00a0butterscotch<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0toffee<\/a>\u00a0before. But can you point out the differences between these light-brown sweets? At their core, all three are made using sugar and butter. But small tweaks make each dessert delightfully unique. Let's dive in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Plain caramel is typically made with white granulated sugar. Water, sugar and corn syrup are heated until the sugar dissolves. Then the mix is left to boil until the syrup turns golden brown. Butter, cream and vanilla syrup are added and the ooey-gooey sauce is heated again. \"Caramel can be a sauce, a candy or a topping,\" says Helen Fletcher, professional baker and author of\u00a0European Tarts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>\"It all depends upon the temperature of the caramel you are making. The higher the temperature, the more set the caramel [will be].\" Try out caramel of all kinds with our\u00a010 best homemade caramel recipes<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n Like caramel, butterscotch is a cooked sugar. The main distinction is that butterscotch is made with brown sugar instead of white sugar. The\u00a0traditional butterscotch recipe<\/a>\u00a0calls for butter to be melted with brown sugar to start. Once the mixture becomes more of a liquid (appearing less grainy), cream is added and the ingredients are boiled again until it reaches the optimal temperature. Drooling already? Check out\u00a0our favorite butterscotch recipes<\/a> and butterscotch chip recipes<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Toffee is made from sugar and butter. Chefs cook toffee longer than caramel so it reaches a hardened, brittle state. (Check out\u00a0Aunt Rose's Fantastic Butter Toffee<\/a> for a tasty example.) The candy is usually topped with chocolate, nuts or coconut\u2014and gobbled up instantly.<\/p>\r\n All three are extremely versatile and can be incorporated into other desserts. \"I use caramel in brownies, cookies and tarts as well as salted caramel and plain caramel sauce,\" Fletcher says. \"I use toffee pieces in the bottom of a brown butter tart.\" As for substituting one for the other, here's Fletcher's expert advice: \"As long as the consistency is maintained in the switch, I suppose they can be substituted for each other.\"<\/p>\r\n \t\t\tWhat Is Caramel?<\/h3>\r\n
What Is Butterscotch?<\/h3>\r\n
What Is Toffee?<\/h3>\r\n