Urban Farm Hub

I have been experimenting with herbal caramels for a while and the possibilities are endless.  You can use almost any herb such as rosemary, thyme or lavender.  I tried using green fennel seeds and the buttery sweet licorice result is delectable.

You can add herbal flavor either by infusing or by sprinkling the setting pan with dried seeds or dried leaves.  To infuse, melt the butter in the cream, put in the herb, remove from heat and let sit for 50 minutes.  Take out the herb and the resulting mixture will have a lovely herbal flavor.  (The easiest way to do this is to drop a whole sprig in.  If you just have dried herbs then place in a small square of cheesecloth before steeping for easy removal.)

To sprinkle, wait until the caramel begins to set then add the seeds on top so they just sink in to the top layer.  This is really gilding the lily but I like to sprinkle a small amount of sea salt on top as well.  (If you like chunky bits in your candies try the sprinkle route if you really like the smooth creaminess of caramels then I’d go the infusion route.)