Miso Caramel. Hang On. Let Go. It's Good.

The last time I wrote about caramel I talked about “letting go.”  And right now I feel like I’m riding a bucking bronco.  Life.  Is an animal.  And I’m just trying to saddle up, and hang on.

Which has me thinking about how difficult it can be to manage "it all."  To be a good daughter.  Good girlfriend.  Good student.  Good sister. Good employee.  Good friend.  Good cook.  Good human.

And now that I have unpacked all of this I’ve realized I don’t have a good solution for you today.  All I have is a good caramel recipe. 

It’s made in the same manner as the last one.  And the importance of letting go here is just as crucial as it was when I first mentioned it.  But this recipe attempts to subvert what it means to be caramel by including a savory note.  

The miso (said savory) mellows once it sits a little while, so if the initial flavor is a tad too strong for you, just hang on.  It ultimately imparts a little umami.  That's all.  Not that caramel really needs anything fancy.

All you need to know is that it's good.  Really good.  And thick.  And gutsy.  And it bucks the notion of what it means to be caramel.  So let go ... and hang on, friends.

Miso Caramel

Adapted from Food52

Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup water

½ cup heavy cream

2 tbsp white miso

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan; stir just to combine, and then stop stirring, allowing the mixture to come to a boil over medium heat.  You can swirl the pan occasionally to help the sugar caramelize evenly.  (You can also use a wet pastry brush to wash down the sugar crystals that can form on the side of the pan, but I don’t usually do this.  Nor have I found the need to, just be gentle with the swirling.)  The most important thing is that, under no circumstances, should you stir the mixture.  See here for additional information.

Once the mixture is deep golden brown, remove the pan from the heat.  Pour in the cream (the caramel will bubble up).  Put the pan back on low heat to aid the caramel in returning to liquid form; stir with a rubber spatula, as needed, to smooth the mixture out.  Whisk in the miso and vanilla extract.  Store in the fridge.

Makes about 1 cup

Notes:

-Underneath the caramel is a small mountain of sheep's milk yogurt, topped with hazelnuts; a breakfast that I gladly ate for days. And one that I highly recommend.

-This caramel stays nice and thick.  If you want to pour it over something (and I'll leave that something up to you), just warm it up a bit.