288164 Wed Jan 02 13:35:50 -0800 2002 7 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1553655 So...never having eaten let alone made a mexican chocolate flan I rashly volunteered to make one to go with my significant other's grandmother's tamales on xmas eve. Luckily, Rick Bayless had a recipe, and the flan came out...okay... more like a mexican chocolate pot de creme. (Everybody thought it was delicious but I knew better...) But nothing in my cooking experience has frustrated me more than trying to caramelize the little porcelain ramekins acquired for the occasion. I tried four times and never got it right. Three times the caramel turned to hard candy as it hit the porcelain -- even when I tried heating the ramekins beforehand. Once the caramel granulated in the pot. I consulted not only Rick Bayless but Martha Stewart, Julia Child and even (one of my favorites) the La Varenne Cooking course cookbook. All told me more or less what what Rick did -- half cup sugar, quarter cup water, cooked til golden, pour into mold. Simple. No mention of the agony and tears I was driven to. Although there was some disagreement about whether to stir, swirl, or leave the mixture sitting still... What's the deal? My father's wife tells me that her professional cook's cook book says to use lemon instead of water, then dilute at the end. Is this what I should have done? Do I need a candy thermometer and if so what temp should the caramel get to so that it stays liquid and doesn't harden? I figure if I start practicing now I should get it right by next xmas... Thanks! Rafi Wed Jan 02 13:35:50 -0800 2002 0 Rafi 1 1553658 I've found it is necessary to work extraordinarily fast when doing this. It helps only a little to have the dishes as hot as you can stand them, and increases greatly the chances of you burning yourself. Pour, rotate, pour, rotate, etc. There's no time to measure, and no time to pour all of them and go back. As long as the bottoms are coated, that's the best you can do. Don't worry about getting an even coating, either, because it melts away in the cooking. Meanwhile, your caramel is getting darker, so you need to get it finished within a minute or two at the most, anyway. I think it's just a knack you get with practice. Wed Jan 02 13:57:45 -0800 2002 1553655 0 ironmom 2 1553713 When Making a 'Wet' Caramel (using any water): 1. Before you put the pot on the fire, combine the sugar and water well. It will look like wet sand. There will undoubtedly be sugar on the sides, so instead of using a wet pastry brush (the 'classic method'), I find it much easier to just run my fingers under water and use them as a brush to wipe the sides. All you really want to do is get enough water down the sides to push the sugar back to the bottom. 2. Put the pot on medium/low heat and wait for the sugar to dissolve. Once it starts to dissolve, you can *Gently* swirl the rest of the sugar around to dissolve. 3. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, turn the heat up to high and leave it be until it starts to get some color. The more water you had in the pot to start out with,the longer it will take. 4. Once you get a little bit of color, swirl the pot around to even out the color. I usually pull the pot a touch lighter than what I'm looking for and just swirl it off the heat. Always have your ramekins/vessels ready and an oven mitt handy to help hold them while you swirl the caramel. Unless you are completly comfortable with caramels, I would not advise making a 'Dry' one (using lemon juice or just a scant amount of liquid). Thu Jan 03 09:19:30 -0800 2002 1553658 0 Amy 1 1553672 A little bit of lemon juice,honey,or corn syrup added to the mix before putting the pot on the heat should prevent crystalization of the caramel.Otherwise;work fast,and if the caramel hardens after you've covered the bottom evenly that's ok,because it's going to soften when you bake the flan.Use a small pot that you can see the caramel color in,and remember that it continues to cook after you take it off the heat.Once you master caramel and get over the anxiety,it's a wonderful thang.. Wed Jan 02 16:19:34 -0800 2002 1553655 0 M.K. 2 1553686 Without the acid (lemon juice, tartaric) or invert sugar, impurities in the sugar and unmelted crystals can still pose crystalization problems. You should wash down stray crystals with a clean wet pastry brush too. Julia in Mastering Vol I gives the alter- nate method of starting with the pan covered, so the steam does the washing. I've started to fiddle with pulled sugar, and all the annoyance with inopportune crystalization goes double as impurities can cause nasty lumps, plus as an added bonus, one gets to burn one's hands on the nearly molten sugar. Perhaps I should take up more productive use of my time such as being a profess- ional speedbump. Best of luck with your caramel. Wed Jan 02 19:29:05 -0800 2002 1553672 0 Christopher Oliver 1 1553676 I'm not sure how you were making this dish, but in my one attempt at making a baked flan like dessert in porcelain cups, I remember the directions saying not to worry if the caramel hardened when you poured it into the cups. The heat of the baking process and the moisture of the custard would reliquify the caramel. It worked OK when I made it. Of course if the dessert is not baked then you have a problem. Wed Jan 02 17:22:53 -0800 2002 1553655 0 rjka 1 1553681 Have a bowl of ice water near by when you make caramel. That way if the caramel starts to get too dark after you take if off the heat, you can put the pan in the water and stop the cooking process. Also, once you've whisked the sugar and water together, wash down the sides of the pot with a clean, wet pastry brush so the sugar doesn't crystalize. And then don't stir it again. Once it starts to color, you can swirl the caramel so it caramelizes evenly. Stirring will cause crystalization. Good luck! Wed Jan 02 17:58:38 -0800 2002 1553655 0 Karen M. 2 1553683 Thanks for this and all responses/suggestions below. Will do exactly as described. Reading previous posts I realize what a fool of a flan-maker I am (no surpise really...) I discarded all hardened caramel assuming it would only get harder when baked. Now I find that it re-softens in the oven... Although I can't quite get my head around the idea... oh, well back to the kitchen... Happy New Year to all! Wed Jan 02 18:57:16 -0800 2002 1553681 0 Rafi