While not an unusual candy, toffee also isn’t likely to be one you keep on hand. According to Tastewise, an AI platform that ranks food trends, toffee is likely to be consumed less than twice per year. So if you’re not familiar with toffee, you’re not alone.
Toffee tastes very similar to butterscotch and caramel. It’s made only of sugar or molasses, and butter, which makes it very sweet. It’s meant to be hard, brittle, and crunchy.
Most people are familiar with caramel as it’s the more popular of the two. Since toffee tastes very akin to caramel and butterscotch, let’s see how they stack up.
While the three are very similar and their terms are often used interchangeably, they do have differences. Namely, in their ingredients and preparation.
Toffee
Toffee is made by caramelizing sugar and butter. Without any liquid, it makes it hard and brittle. It should snap and be crisp.
With only two ingredients, toffee mostly tastes like sweetened butter.
Caramel
Caramel is made by boiling sugar, butter, and a dairy, such as milk or cream. The addition of the liquid causes the caramel to be softer. Also, it is cooked at a lower temperature than toffee, meaning it won’t be as crispy.
Because it can easily be transformed into a liquid, caramel is the go-to if you want a sauce.
Butterscotch is made exactly like making toffee, except, instead of white sugar you use brown sugar. This gives it a somewhat deeper flavor than toffee.
What to Do With Toffee
Unlike caramel, toffee is hard, crunchy, and brittle. Even though they have similar flavors, they can’t be used in the same way.
While caramel is good as a sauce for ice cream, toffee is excellent when broken or coarsely chopped and sprinkled over the top of a sundae.
Caramel is often used in candy bars, it’s a standout ingredient in many popular brands. Toffee, however, is mostly known for being only in Heath candy bars.
It’s worth noting here that toffee is somewhat difficult to eat, as it’s very hard, making it a less than ideal choice for a candy bar.
One of the best ways to enjoy the flavor of toffee is on its own. Breaking off small pieces of toffee and allowing them to melt in your mouth is a sweet, buttery experience. Try some of these additions to classic toffee, chocolate chips and broken chocolate bars are common.
Toffee Concerns
Toffee, while delicious, may not be as popular as its caramel counterpart, due to the difficulty involved in eating it. There are two issues with eating toffee
Toffee is Hard
While it’s not common, there are instances of people cracking their teeth while eating toffee. The best way to avoid this is to break your toffee into smaller pieces. Try not to bite chunks off with your teeth.
Chewing pieces of toffee is much easier on your teeth than using them to rip or tear the toffee.
While chewing the toffee probably won’t crack or break one of your teeth, it might get stuck in your teeth. Similar to chewing caramel, it’s easy for the toffee to stick to your teeth and gums.
This is especially likely if the toffee is somewhat undercooked.
Final Thoughts
Toffee is a delicious candy that is sweet and buttery, with a hard and brittle texture. It has a similar flavor to both caramel and butterscotch, but they differ slightly in taste and preparation.
