With the rise in popularity and similarities between Toffee and caramel, it’s easy to confuse the two, and they both sweet substances and look almost the same.
If you’re looking to get enlightened on these two sweeteners, this is the guide for you. If you’re just looking to make a healthier choice then this guide is also for you as we’ve broken everything down into appropriate sections so you don’t get confused.
Table of Contents
Toffee and Caramel Explained
You should know why these sweets bear the names they bear and the features they possess before you find out their differences.
How is Toffee Made?
Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing (burning) sugar to molasses (syrup) along with butter, and occasionally, flour. The mixture is then heated until its temperature is at a hard crack stage of 300-310 degrees Fahrenheit (150-178 degrees Celsius).
Depending on your preference, you can mix your toffee with either raisins or nuts. Toffee is made by boiling sugar and butter together till it hardens.
How Is Caramel Made?
Caramel is a usually soft and gummy golden-brown substance that has a sweet, buttery flavour and is used especially as a colouring or flavouring agent. It is a confectionery made by heating a variety of sugars, butter, heavy cream and condensed milk until it’s at a temperature of 245-250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius).
As the sugar is heated slowly to this temperature, the particles in it break down and form a new mixture that has a deep, rich flavor and dark brown golden color.
What Are The Differences Between Toffee and Caramel?
Although Caramel and Toffee sound alike and are both sweets, they do have some key differences and some of these are:
- Toffee should be cooked at a temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit so as to be hard and crunchy, while caramel should be cooked at a little more lower temperature (248 degrees Fahrenheit) so it can achieve that soft and chewy state.
- While caramel is made out of sugar, butter, cream and milk, toffee is just basically sugar and butter.
- One very noticeable difference in these confectioneries is texture. Toffee is brittle (hard and crunchy) and sometimes has nuts and raisins in it, while caramel is gummy (soft and chewy) because it includes heavy cream and condensed milk.
- Even though caramel can be eaten alone, it is most especially used as a colouring and flavouring agent, while toffee might not do this because it is brittle.
- Toffee can be mixed with chocolate, raisins, or nuts, either almond or pecan, but caramel can not be mixed with these.
These two are really delicious treats and you’d certainly want to indulge yourself with them, but before you do, as always we’ll suggest you keep reading to find out which you should not indulge yourself too much with, and why you shouldn’t.
Just like every other thing on the planet, just to be on a safer side.
Toffee vs Caramel: Which is Healthier?
Well, it is very safe to say that Toffee is the healthier of these two treats, and these are some of the reasons why caramel is considered quite unhealthy.
- Caramel is extremely high in calories because it contains butter, heavy cream, and even condensed milk. This makes it not so healthy. Toffee on the other hand contains basically sugar and butter, which makes it not as high as caramel in calories, and this is why it is considered way healthier than caramel.
- There is excess sugar in caramel. Remember when I was stating how you make caramel, in the list was ‘variety of sugars’. You’d agree with me that that is a lot of sugar. Caramel contains so much sugar and you might even be so in love with it that you’d want to drizzle it on your ice cream, now, that is way too much sugar to be taken at once, and we both know that extra sugar is never good for your health.
- Caramel is not considered really healthy because, the excess sugar in it costs your teeth and encourages the growth of bacteria no matter how much water you drink after consuming it. These bacterias then attack your teeth, weaken it, and cause tooth decay. So, to protect your teeth from decay, you shouldn’t make caramel your favourite sweet.
- Your weight set point is the level of weight your body strives to maintain. If caramel becomes your favorite treat though, it might become difficult for your weight set point to regulate your weight which would then lead to excessive and unhealthy weight gain. Also, there’s no added vitamins or minerals caramel is providing your body. It’s all sugar.
So, if you want to indulge in sweets, We’ll suggest that you stick with toffee and if you must take caramel, drastically reduce your intake of it to remain healthy, because caramel is largely sugar, and excess sugar never did anybody any good.
Wrapping it up
The key differences between Toffee and Caramel are their ingredients, texture and the temperature they’re cooked at. Both toffee and caramel though can be made into sauces to pour over your chocolates, ice cream, and cakes.
Although caramel and toffee have their differences, the most important feature they possess is that they are both very delicious. And don’t forget, Caramel is soft and chewy, Toffee is hard and crunchy. These should be the key features you need to remember if ever you want to make any of these delicious confectioneries.
