DAS Caramelini French Salted Caramels - Ginger and Pistachio
Both Alicia Zar and Rosa Li have recently reported on Das Caramelini French Salted Caramels, Classic and Lemon-Honey, respectively.
I also had the pleasure of tasting these very homemade-tasting candies - the Ginger and Pistachio version, specifically. Not much to tell you that has not already been said in the aforementioned reviews, but I will confirm that these are, indeed, quite pleasing.
While Alicia and Rosa found the coupling of salt and caramel “odd”, I say: “um, where have you been, ladies?” Salt and caramel is a marriage in flavors as old as the hills – a classic combination that has recently and happily been experiencing a very welcome renaissance. Salt (particularly a fine sea salt such as fleur de sel), enhances whatever it adorns, making it taste more like what it is. In other words, cooked cream, butter and sugar (i.e, caramel), with the addition of salt, will taste even more creamy, buttery and sugary. And that, we all can agree, is never a bad thing.
I will echo Rosa’s claim that the picture on the website did not match the actual product. There was no visible salt on top of the caramel; I can only assume that it had dissolved into the caramel, which is just fine with me. Additionally, the size of the nuts in my sample were much smaller than what is shown on the website. Again, no complaints; I think a smaller nut piece works better with the miniature size of the caramel. But despite their diminutive nature, these little cubes are jam-packed with flavor. The ginger is subtle but detectable, and while the nuts added nice texture, they did not add much in the way of taste. I think that is just me, though. I don’t dislike pistachios, I just find them much less flavorful and interesting than pecans or almonds. And honestly (and my friends who also tasted agree), these could be even saltier.
That said, I loved these caramels, and the seemingly steep $6.99 price tag is actually quite a fair price for a box of several flavor-filled homemade nuggets of buttery and salty goodness. I would be inclined to buy them as a host/hostess gift for any non-denture or braces-wearing, sweet-loving friends. The box says “deliciously soft,” and maybe they are… in August. Right now, however, they are pretty dang firm and chewy, which I consider an asset.
$6.99/4 oz
Photo courtesy of dasfoods.com
For the record, I didn’t find them odd; I merely mentioned the people may think that salt and caramels were an odd combination. Though these days, it seems to be all the rage, as it should be.