Sanders Cinnamon Pear Caramel Topping
In my review of Sanders Dark Chocolate Mint Patties last week, I gave a brief overview of the company’s history. This week, I’ll simply tell you about one of their dessert sauces: Cinnamon Pear Caramel Topping.
The first thing that I noticed about this topping is that it is pour-able even when chilled. Other gourmet caramel sauces that I’ve used must be heated in order to be drizzled over a scoop of real vanilla bean ice cream. I’m not saying that this is an asset. Even though the ingredients don’t list anything artificial, it causes me to suspect that there is some sort of preservative involved in order for the sauce to possess this fluidity.
I certainly wouldn’t send this back to the kitchen if I ordered it on a sundae at one of Sanders’ Detroit-area dessert shops. But given the quality of fine caramel sauces available at the grocery store just blocks from my home, I doubt that I would ever go to the trouble of ordering a jar. For the price ($3.59 on the company’s website) and shipping, I could buy a jar of something truly worth exclamation, Fran’s Dark Caramel Sauce – as just one example. What the Sanders sauce lacks is the unctuous, buttery mouth-feel of Fran’s or The Silver Palate’s Caramel Pecan Sauce, another delicious and locally-accessed liquid caramel product.
The cinnamon adds a nice depth, but the pear flavor does not translate well into a bottled confection. The faint pear-essence was slightly artificial tasting, even though I don’t think it was artificial. Basically, I think this sauce should be more buttery and less pear-y. Oh yeah. And salt. It really needs salt. I remedied this with a fine sprinkling of fleur de sel – always an enhancement to any fine edible.
But like I said in my earlier Sanders review, I still would like to try their dark chocolate collection. I have a feeling that this may be their forte. Are there any Detroiters (is that what you call yourselves?) out there who can comment on this? Sanders Chocolates: comparable to See’s? Or more like a Russell Stover? Talk to me.
$3.59 on Sanders’ website, (not including shipping)
I’m not sure that would interest me much. A sauce made from pears or having pear flavoring doesn’t seem to lend itself well to ice cream. Maybe waffles though.