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Caramel vs. Carmel

post #1 of 45
11/1/02 at 9:55am
Thread Starter 
I remember hearing on food network sometime ago that there was a difference between "carmel" (melted sugar) and "caramel" (melted sugar and butter). Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Nakolo
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post #2 of 45
11/1/02 at 11:36am
I always thought "carmel" was a town in California of which Clint Eastwood was once mayor. Drives me nuts when people interchange these words. Don't do it in my bake shop.
It's not Dairy Queen.
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post #3 of 45
11/1/02 at 3:08pm
Personally I dont think there is anything different! They are both melted sugar products. I am a future chef & I watch the Food Network all the time! I have learned that Its just how people adapt language, just like people say pecan differently or tomato, even potato. Either way they are all delicious things, and its all just how you are brought up to say things.
LiL Chef
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post #4 of 45
11/2/02 at 5:47am
I've never heard of there being two types of caramel.


But if I want my caramelized sugar to become a caramel syrup I add heavy cream (or you could use h20). I don't know of anyone who uses butter alone to make a syrup out of their caramelized sugar.

Also isn't there a place at www.foodtv where you can ask them questions? Maybe they can confirm or deny your question.....?
"Bakers are born, not made. We are exacting people who delight in submitting ourselves to rules and formulas if it means achieving repeatable perfection", Rose Levy Beranbaum
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post #5 of 45
11/2/02 at 7:07am
Absolutely! My sister lives there. :D

"Carmel" is nothing but a mispronunciation, when it comes to food. Part of the problem is that people say "carmelization" instead "carAmelization" -- I'm guilty of that, too. But cooked sugar is caramel is cooked sugar.
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
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post #6 of 45
11/2/02 at 11:26am
American Heritage Dictionary details that it can be pronounced with either three or two syllables. Jacques just pronounced it with three, not 30 seconds ago on PBS. He seems to be using the terms interchangeably as well....

For what it's worth.
-Andrew
Il faut toujours faire l'amour avant, parce qu'apres, c'est pendant
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post #7 of 45
11/2/02 at 12:27pm
Read my lips--there is no word "carmel", spelled with a small letter "c", used to describe a cooked sugar syrup. It does not exist in the English language. We also have the American Heritage dictionary and it does indeed allow the previously mentioned two-syllable pronunciation, but the word is always "caramel".
It's not Dairy Queen.
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post #8 of 45
11/2/02 at 12:33pm
I'm sorry, I thought the original post was discussing alternate pronounciation of the same word rather than two separately spelled words. Kinda like "learned" and "learnED".

Didn't mean to perpetuate that "carmel" was its own word. I've never seen any such spelling, nor has my wife (post-graduate english work) nor my bros-in-law (professional restauranteurs). Freaky!

-Andrew
Il faut toujours faire l'amour avant, parce qu'apres, c'est pendant
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post #9 of 45
11/8/02 at 4:33am

Where did the A go

Bit late to this because I was visiting, among other places, Carmel. The incorrect spelling of this word drives me nuts (along with recipie - strange pie indeed!). Carmelization is the process of filling a small town with art and antique shops and nothing to do with cooking AT ALL. Pronounce it how you will but caramel always has two 'a's.
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post #10 of 45
11/17/02 at 5:22pm

We are here to help "el caramelo"

Hola!!!

Maybe you have doubts between:

Caramel; sugar & water

Sauce Caramel: the caramel when at room temperature, cream is incorporated in the "melange" to form a caramel sauce


Caramelo
Salsa de caramelo


PS That stuff about Caramel in English doesn't sound to Kosher to me.

Well, OLe!!!
"Cooking is like love...enter it with abandon or not at all"
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post #11 of 45
11/17/02 at 5:25pm

...too Kosher to me.... Sorry

OOOOOHHHHHH!!!
"Cooking is like love...enter it with abandon or not at all"
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post #12 of 45
10/19/10 at 5:50pm

I know this is a very old post and that you may have gotten your answer.

 

To the best of my knowledge carmel is a mis-pronunciation/spelling of caramel, melted sugar with butter is called butterscotch.

 

I may be wrong but that is what I have heard from a few different sources.

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post #13 of 45
6/4/11 at 3:54pm

Britcook!

You are hilarious!

Thank you for your response.

Cheers!

 

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post #14 of 45
10/22/11 at 8:26am

I understand the frustration with spelling the word - the English language is falling apart, i get laughed at when i use proper grammar. My Mom has a theory about it that i think applies here. People just don't read anymore. When they spell, they spell phonetically, it is seen all over the internet (My newest pet peeve? Adults writing "dat" in a serious conversation instead of "that". Yikes!). But the original post asked if there were two different products. Absolutely not. The spelling is, of course, caramel, and i think the pronunciation is probably more like carIB-ee-uhn/ car-a-BEE-un. Sort of hard to solve ;-) When in doubt, Dictionary dot com has a button you can push and a voice will read the word. It's pretty spiffy. :)

 

A Google search can solve many of these questions. A woman today in another baking forum was freaked out because a recipe called for "copha", and was taking a lot of the chef's time. I just Googled it & found the answer in two seconds. Not because i'm extra smart, i just know we can look these things up that way. I think a lot of us are just getting lazy.  crazy.gif Siigh.

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post #15 of 45
10/22/11 at 8:31am

You of course mean restaurateurs ;-) That is one of the stranger words in the English language. I am so glad i didn't have to learn English as a second language and my hat is off to all who do! 

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post #16 of 45
12/14/11 at 9:14pm

amen... i joined just to second you correcting them on "resaurateurs"

 

"ain't nothin' " like hypocrisy ;)

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post #17 of 45
1/8/12 at 12:23pm

Carmel is way better than caramel IMO

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post #18 of 45
1/8/12 at 3:25pm

Posted by Headchief View Post

Carmel is way better than caramel IMO


To what end?

 

BDL

What were we talking about?
 
http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #19 of 45
3/30/12 at 4:29am

Hey everyone this is a very late reply. . . But i found this page and the argument over Caramel and Carmel quite funny. My name is Carmel and that is a normal name from where I live and yes caramel is only used to refer to the food part. Carmel is named after the Saint Carmel

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post #20 of 45
3/30/12 at 7:18pm

3 syllables, "care-ah-mel", hence the two "a"s in the spelling.  There was a discussion on this  in e-gullet not too long ago, in which I pointed out the same spelling, pronunciation and 3, not 2,  syllables.  Regretfully since I am (a) a Canuck, and (b) a dirty sordid, food business owner, I was told in not too pleasant terms that since  the pronunciation "car-muhl" existed in Wikipedia, I had no right to educate others on the proper pronunciation.

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post #21 of 45
3/31/12 at 2:19am

In the UK we pronounce it Kah rah mell!

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post #22 of 45
4/23/12 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LiL Chef View Post

Personally I dont think there is anything different! They are both melted sugar products. I am a future chef & I watch the Food Network all the time! I have learned that Its just how people adapt language, just like people say pecan differently or tomato, even potato. Either way they are all delicious things, and its all just how you are brought up to say things.

Yeah exactly I was going to ssay I really don't think there is a difference between the two.
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post #23 of 45
4/24/12 at 9:20pm

Hi guys

I came to this thread because I was curious about the carmel/caramel thing too-another thing that confuses the issue is that you can caramelize onions and other foods too =P

 

btw I make caramel sauce by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for three hours, keeping the water level about four inches above the can at all times by topping it off with more boiling water from a kettle-if you want to try this, be absolutely vigilant about it, the can will explode if not submerged. Cool completely before you remove the can from the water, and you will have a delicious sauce for desserts

 

 

*eta: remove the paper label first (easier cleanup) and don't use those pop-top cans

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post #24 of 45
4/24/12 at 9:39pm

Dolche leche (I think that's the right spelling)  Very popular in central and South America.

 

Caramelization is the partial burning of sugar.  Onions have some sugar in them, when you remove the water (cooking) this is easier to do.

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post #25 of 45
4/24/12 at 9:47pm
Dolche leche (I think that's the right spelling)

 

Dulce de leche.

 

BDL


Edited by boar_d_laze - 4/25/12 at 1:54pm
What were we talking about?
 
http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #26 of 45
4/25/12 at 2:17pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by boar_d_laze View Post

 

Dulce de leche.

 

BDL

 

Better done with whole milk:

 

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post #27 of 45
4/25/12 at 2:36pm

^sounds good

The way I make it turns out much thicker and a shade lighter in color

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post #28 of 45
4/25/12 at 2:44pm

ordo,

 

I don't understand why you're addressing your comment and video to me. 

 

Worth adding that while I agree that starting with whole milk (as opposed to sweetened condensed) makes for better, smoother dulce de leche, it's a lot of stirring for not all that much superiority compared to using canned, sweetened, condensed milk. 

 

BDL


Edited by boar_d_laze - 4/25/12 at 3:40pm
What were we talking about?
 
http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #29 of 45
4/25/12 at 3:15pm

Because you spelled perfectly: dulce de leche, and i admire your knowledge of the culinary world.

 

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post #30 of 45
4/25/12 at 3:18pm

Always thought carmel/caramel was a regional pronunciation thing??  Here in the Philly area... one "a".  On Jersey boardwalk, it's CARMEL corn, even if sign at Johnson's has 2 a's.  As for dulche de leche... I like results of a few hours simmering a can of sweetened condensed mik submerged in water.

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