Fleur de what?

Complex flavor personalities excite me. While nothing is quite as delicious as the simple sweetness of a New Jersey beefsteak tomato or the earthy, primal flavor of a proper steak, a flavor you need to dig through and think about is just plain exciting. It's amazing how different flavors interact and balance each other, heighten the sensation of flavors or mellow each other. If you want an extra chocolatey chocolate for fudge or truffles, add a smidge of put-hair-on-your-chest coffee. If you want to enliven something sinfully sweet, sprinkle a little salt into it. Ever notice salt in cookie recipes? There's a method to the madness.

The chemistry and science of cooking also excites me, which is probably why I love rich, decadent caramels. Watching sugar dissolve into water, thickening, bubbling, then browning. Amazing! I won't get into the depths of science for this explanation, you can look it up if you're curious as to why all that happens. All I have to say is pay attention to what you're doing. Not just so it doesn't burn and set your kitchen on fire, although that is important, but really pay attention to the stages of cooking. You'll be better for it in the end - you'll have a better relationship with and understanding of the food you make. Cooking is not just measuring out the right ingredients, it's a tactile interaction that becomes more successful when you really get into it. Most of the recipes I've learned from the family were all measured out by the feel and texture of the ingredients together. This familiarity allows you to problem solve in the kitchen - my cream sauce is too thin, I'll whisk in a quickie rue! Or, this is way too sticky, I'll add some more flour! Being able to pinpoint a problem and quickly solve it saves you heaps of time and stress. Cooking is fun! Don't let your food beat you into submission.

Making caramel is part mad scientist, part confectioner and part culinary master. In theory it's very easy with simple ingredients, but you must have patience and must be able to react quickly. It's a finicky treat that must be loved and seduced so it gives you exactly what you were looking for. I've made three batches and the first two ended up toffee. Delicious. Tough. Frustratingly tasty. At least I could get a little frustration out when breaking the toffee with a hammer! What I've learned is there are guidelines for high altitude candy making. Of course there is, but I just didn't think about it. My toffee escapades, jaw fatigue, and resulting TMJ symptoms were a result of over cooking. Oops! For every 1,000 feet above sea level you are, reduce the final temperature by 2 degrees. (Therefore, for every 500 ft, reduce by 1 degree.) Also, have all your tools at hand and prep the pan before you start heating anything. Candy making is all in the timing and you'll need to work quickly.

With all that said...Fleur de Sel caramels. I know you've seen them in fancy pants stores and probably think you couldn't possibly make them yourself. But you can!

Fleur de what? Fleur de Sel. It's a sea salt from France. It sounds a little pretentious, I know. French sea salt? Why the heck would I need sea salt, let alone French sea salt? Have yourself a little taste test. Your standard iodized table salt will taste like salty chemical death compared to sea salt varieties. I use sea salt for everything now, fine grained for my S & P shakers, coarse for cooking. Trust me.

Fleur de Sel translates to salt flower and it's harvested by hand off the very tippy top of salt pools. It's kinda gray in color, very delicate and almost flakey, moister than other salts, and can be pricey. It dissolves quickly, so it's not to be used as other salts for seasoning while cooking, it's more of a garnish. Since so little is used at a time, it makes up for the sticker shock. Invest! Research good prices! And Dean & Deluca is having a sale on their salts. Also check out Salt Traders. Even if you just use it for these caramels, it's so worth it. You will look like the culinary rock star you always believed you were.

(Due to some bizarre technical difficulties, the recipe follows in another post)