Sugar Savvy

Before I left school for Thanksgiving break, I checked my PO Box one last time. Surprise! There was a box of caramel samples from Das Foods. I was thankful that I’d thought to check my mail, otherwise I would have had to wait an extra week to taste these.

The caramels may come in a small box, but Das Foods packs that box to the brim. I was surprised at how many caramels fit inside (not that I’m complaining). I was also surprised to see that my caramels differed a little from the ones in the website’s photo. Where were my visible grains of fleur de sel (French sea salt)?

Even if I couldn’t see the salt, I could taste it. If you’ve never had a salted caramel before, you’re missing out! While it may seem like an odd flavor combination, the salt really cuts through the sweet to bring out the darker, burned sugar flavors of the caramel. The Das caramel had a dark and dusky flavor that I found quite enjoyable. The website claims lavender and honey flavors; I could taste the honey component (which probably brought some of the darker sugar taste) but didn’t notice the lavender.

Texture-wise, it had a creamy, buttery, and slightly greasy mouthfeel. I loved the buttery and creamy; the slightly greasy I could do without, but I don’t think it’s physically possible to get the first two without the latter. Life’s tough like that.

The chew was quite soft and enjoyably sticky - it gets stuck in your teeth but eventually works its way out without you having to commit a social faux pas by poking around your mouth. When a cold front came through Texas, these hardened a bit in my room, which made them more difficult to chew. If that happens to yours, just warm them up in your hand first.

Das caramels come in a wide assortment of flavors, including cafe cortado, ginger and pistachio, chocolate walnut, lemon and honey, orange and honey, and chai latte. I know a few other Sugar Savvy writers got to try different flavors. Can’t wait to hear what they thought!