Caramel Sauce help. I made Ina Garten's recipe, 4 batches, and some of the jars

[angak]

separated with a dark clear liquid on the bottom after cooling at room temp. I shook them and put them in the fridge and they are nicely in tact again, but wondered what may have happened? I put them in Ball pint platinum jars for gift giving and sealed them---not water bath, just counter top and they "popped". I'll label them to keep in the fridge. Maybe I should have not sealed them right away and let the caramel cool off before bottling? anyway, it's delish and I hope it stays "unlayered". just a note, that I had one batch that got all crystal-y while caramelizing and I remembered the "saved" candy post about adding some salt and some liquid to make it come together again. This worked for me too.

Ina Garten's Caramel Sauce

Caramel SaucePrep Time: 5 min Inactive Prep Time: 4 hr 0 min Cook Time: 13 min Level:

Intermediate Serves:

5 servings 1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don't worry - the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

 

[dawnnys]

Thanks for the tip about the salt and liquid. I had never heard that. About canning, it's

strange that sometimes different batches come out totally different, isn't it. Maybe the different temperatures, maybe some had a little water left in the bottom of the jar, etc.

I'm a coward when it comes to canning, afraid I might kill myself or someone else in the process! Is the water bath method ONLY for non-refrigerated items, or is it necessary to prevent food poisoning? I've only made jam, and I didn't seal them, just refrigerated them until I used them.

Glad it turned out for you, anyway.

 

[angak]

what little I know is the water bath will preserve foods with some acid to keep on the pantry shelf

for a long time---jams and preserves and tomatoes and so on. this caramel sauce has little or no acid, and I don't even want to try to can it for shelf life, so I'm just giving these as gifts with instructions to keep in fridge and use up in a few weeks.