Talk:Caramel
| This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Caramel article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the subject of the article. |
Article policies
|
| Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
| Archives: 1 |
 | This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Inclusion of a pronunciation section
editI am somewhat bemused that there is not currently a section on pronunciation in this article like the one in the Wiktionary article for caramel or the Wikipedia article for scone. Caramel seems to be the American equivalent to "scone" in British English in which there are two common pronunciations with the more common one varying by region. This could also be an example of elision in American English (as far as I understand, elision is more common in British English than American English (General American anyway)) although it has been suggested in the archives that the two syllable pronunciation originates from confusion with the Carmel mountains or places called Mount Carmel in North America. This issue came to my attention after hearing the two syllable pronunciation on You Tube videos by American presenters including one who got confused with the three syllable pronunciation which is more common outside the US. Tk420 (talk) 21:00, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
Odd Salting section
editMost of this page is inaccurate - but I dont have time to get my references... I was shocked to see the "Salted Caramel" section given I have an American cookbook from the 1930s that has Salted Caramels in it - a date earlier than the suggested first time caramel appeared (around WWII) let alone French chefs adding salt. Maybe they started adding salt in Brittany in the 70s but this is not a Starbucks fad. I grew up with salted caramel over homemade ice cream in the 1980s and make my own caramel and butterscotch now - and I usually add salt just cause sweet and salty is yummy.
As for the rest, a basic google search will show someone added chocolate to a caramel recipe - a NYT article in 1881, Fanny Farmer's from 1877, and a Civil War discussion on butterscotch and caramel being a favorite among soldiers: "Caramel could be made with simple ingredients like sugar, cream, and butter, making it easy to prepare and store."
It boils down to caramel is white sugar, butterscotch is brown (molasses/treacle), salt is optional but I always add it to mine. (Pun intended) I'll have to come back when I have time and edit what is listed in the article - such a rich and tasty history this page deserves more accuracy and just - more. ~2026-28905-72 (talk) 15:59, 13 May 2026 (UTC)