"Takes pots and pans" and "takes forever"? How do you make caramel?

My caramel takes ONE pot and, yes it takes a little time, but otherwise you don't get the rich, creamy, browned sugar taste.

I don't doubt that the microwave recipe works - I read it and it seems fine (aside from the addition of corn syrup, which some people are trying to avoid). But this post sounds just like those as-seen-on-tv commercials that talk about how tragically hard it is to fry an egg or slice a banana or something. Really ... it's easy enough to promote a good alternative recipe w/out making it sound like the traditional method requires a degree from the CIA.

Everyone wants a fast and "easy" way to make something.

I love the process of making caramel. I too wonder how everyone else is making it so that it is a hassle and takes lots of pots and pans and is stressful.

I don't even use a recipe anymore. I just make caramel and am so involved in the process I lose myself. I call it small batch caramel (sauce, candies, whatever I'm making) because when I make it that way of course no two sauces are alike, making them quite unique and they have their own "personality" so to speak.

I guess that's how much of cooking is. Once you learn the process, it's not some big project to be endured. It's almost a meditation.

For folks who don't make candy regularly, caramel *isn't* easy, so this trick was a game-changer for me. The microwave thing is actually a Cook's Illustrated idea--at the bottom of Ali's post you'll see a link to mine, which gives a hat tip to the original source. http://debbiekoenig.com/2011/02/21/caramel-so-easy-even-a-parent-can-make-it/

@karacooks, many people are avoiding high fructose corn syrup, which is much more processed and entirely different from the kind used as an ingredient in the home kitchen.

@debbiek - the original post talked about how it takes "pots and pans" to make caramel which is quite simply a lie. Caramel takes one pot to make. Yes, it can be intimidating to make something that requires a candy thermometer and precise temperature control when you aren't an experienced cook. But it's still not HARD. It just requires precision and that you pay attention to what you're doing.

Even so, I don't object to the idea of a microwave recipe. I object to the blatant lying about how incredibly difficult it is to make caramel and how it takes up multiple pots and pans. It's a scare tactic, plain and simple and it's what makes people THINK that things like making caramel is hard and is going to dirty up every pot they have and leave them looking and feeling frazzled. It's a flat out lie to "sell" a post.

The microwave recipe is a good one - there's no need to lie to make it sound better.

Also, yes, some people are avoiding HFCS, but some people are also trying to avoid all forms of corn syrup and processed corn sweetener. I do know what I'm talking about here.

Thank you!! I seriously had the hardest time trying to make caramel for a thanksgiving pie, (It kept getting overcooked even on the lowest setting on my stove before the sugar was even all melted. I followed every piece of advice I could find, and it just wasn't working! My stove, even on the LOWEST burner setting just gets too hot apparently!) that I just made a soy dulce de leche instead. And this WAS with a thermometer! So as someone who DOES find caramel making insanely hard, I'm totally bookmarking that recipe. (also, some people really need to get off their high horses. Geeze, go drink a margarita or something!)

@Jami Leigh, it's not a "high horse". I object to fearmongering cooking. No one should be intimidated or scared off of making something by lies. If something is truly diffiqult, then by all means reveal that and let people know that it requires advanced skills. If it's one pot, then don't lie by saying it requires "pots and pans" and scare people off.

@Karacooks et al, I don't always bother to comment on this, but I get so weary of reading people's judgment and criticisms along the lines of: "Making such-and-such is sooo easy. Why would you need to make it even easier? You're just lazy and/or inexperienced." Everyone has different capabilities (skills, kitchen equipment) and different life circumstances (schedules, family, geography). The author wasn't "fear-mongering"; she was reflecting HER opinion that making caramel is messy and time-consuming, and sharing a strategy that mitigated those obstacles FOR HER.

If you don't feel like you need a shortcut caramel (or oatmeal, or pizza dough, or whatever...) recipe in your life then just ignore it and spend your time learning from those posts and recipes that you do need in your life. I'm sure that you are actually a lovely person, but this line of criticism comes across as judgmental and insecure.

Off my soapbox now! The caramel sounds great and I'm excited to try it. :-)

Anna - you totally ignored the whole point of my post and put words in my mouth I didn't say. I never said "ooh it's so easy and if you can't do it you're stupid".

I said that lying about how difficult it is scares people into never even trying it. Yes, making any kind of candy/caramel for the first time is intimidating and it can be difficult for people who are nervous in the kitchen. And I think the idea of a quick and easy recipe is a great ides.

WHICH I SAID ABOVE REPEATEDLY.

What I object to is the fear mongering of "takes pots and pans" and "takes hours". Both are flat out lies, and have no purpose in the post other than to make it sound like only experts can make the stovetop version. She wasn't saying "it's messy" - she flat out lied and said it "takes pots and pans" and "takes forever". Both of those things are completely and 100% false.

i don't guess i see what the big deal is here. it looks like making carmel sauce in the microwave accomplishes exactly what the stovetop method does. sugar gets brown and you add cream. big whoop. what i DO want to know more about is how you all are making carmel sauce, and what kind of consistency you get. i'm working in a new coffee shop and they've asked me to make some carmel sauce. so, following the recipe for carmel jam in the bouchon bakery cookbook, i've offered them a few versions. i've thinned it down more and more with cream, but i'm not nailing the consistency. it's too thick to float on whipped cream, and sets up too thick to squeeze from a condiment bottle. so i guess i couldn't care less about how the sugar gets carmelized. how do you get a light, thin, carmel sauce that isn't thick like a melted brach's carmel candy? that said, i'm sure it has to do with what temp you arrive at, how much cream to sugar, etc., but i don't want to scare anyone.

and, not to be ungrateful, i'll try this microwave method and see what our baristas and customers think.