How Long Do Caramels Last: Caramel, is an orange-brown sweet product, that is made by heating various sugars. In the present day, what cannot be made using caramels? Have you ever decided to make a dessert using caramel, and bought a lot of caramels instead?
Now, you are anxious about storing the caramels properly so that they can last longer and you don’t know how to store them. Well, don’t worry, this article will help you get all the answers you require.
Hop into this article to learn about the techniques and processes of storing caramel to prevent it from spoiling. Get the best of your knowledge without any difficulty. So, what are you waiting for? Go have a read!
- Do Caramels Go Bad?
- How Long Do Caramels Last?
- What Are The Tips For Storing Caramel?
- Can You Freeze Caramels?
- How To Defrost Frozen Caramels?
- When Should You Toss Old Caramels?
- What Will Happen If You Eat Expired Caramels?
- How long do homemade caramels last?
- How to tell if caramel has gone bad?
- How long do the caramels bring from the store last?
- Is it okay to freeze caramels?
Do Caramels Go Bad?
Yes, caramels can go bad. Since caramels melt very easily in high temperature, it also tends to go bad easily. However, there are various techniques that you can opt for in order to prevent them from going bad. But after all the prevention techniques, it will go bad eventually after a period of time.
Thus, you can go for the prevention techniques to keep it safe from going bad and to make them last for a little more time after exceeding the expiry date. But you cannot help retain their quality for long. Also, they don’t have a longer shelf life like others.
How Long Do Caramels Last?
Well, it is unpredictable to say how long caramels last. Products like caramels, usually have the tendency to last longer depending upon the packaging and storing techniques. However, the usual time period to which caramels will stay good ranges from 4 months to 12 months. Also, if you store caramels in a cool place, they can last longer than the expiry date mentioned in the packaging.
Moreover, caramels that don’t include any extra additives or preservatives, might not last long and has a shorter shelf life compared to other branded caramels. Caramels from Werther’s has an expiry date of 1 year from the date of manufacturing.
Thus, it is impossible to talk about how long caramels will tend to retain their quality even after passing the expiry date. It completely depends on several factors. If we talk about homemade caramels, they tend to retain their quality for a few days if you store them at normal room temperature.
However, storing homemade caramels in a refrigerator will make them last for a few months. Also, freezing homemade caramels will help retain their quality even longer than storing them in a refrigerator. However, the quality of homemade caramels depends on the ingredients and preservatives used to prevent them from spoiling.
| Type | Room Temperature | Fridge |
|---|---|---|
| Caramels, store-bought | Best-by date + 1 – 3 months | Best-by date + 3 – 6 months |
| Caramels, homemade | 2 – 4 weeks | 2 – 3 months |
This is a usual table about the shelf life of caramels.
What Are The Tips For Storing Caramel?
Caramels are made by boiling various sugars and hence require a little more care than other products. Although, the storing tips of caramel is easy and simple and doesn’t require much hard work. Storing caramel is somewhat similar to the technique of storing gelatin.
You just need to keep in mind one thing, products like caramel tend to melt quickly, hence storing them under sunlight and in a warm place will not help. Thus, you need to keep them in a cool and dry place and far away from sunlight.
- You can store caramel in your kitchen cupboard without any issues, but you should transfer them to a refrigerator if the temperature rises to 75°F or 24°C, or more.
- If the temperature around you start getting warm, then there are high chance of the caramels getting melted. However, you can eat those melted caramels after setting them once again in the fridge but they won’t taste that good.
- In the middle summer season, you should store the caramels in the refrigerator as the temperature becomes too hot to handle.
- Transfer your left-over caramels to a caramel bag and seal them. You can probably let them last for a couple of months.
- Store caramels in a dark container just like gelatin. A dark container will keep the caramels safe from melting.
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Can You Freeze Caramels?
Yes, you can freeze caramels in order to keep them for a long. Freezing caramel takes no longer than 4 to 5 minutes. All you got to do is transfer your caramel into the freezer bag. However, before transferring you should squeeze the freezer bag and let out all the air present inside it. Then transfer all the caramels you have into the freezer bag. Now, seal the bag tightly and keep it inside the freezer.
Frozen caramels tend to retain their quality after exceeding the expiry period for a very long time. It also exceeds the period when stored in the refrigerator. Even homemade caramels tend to last long if stored inside the freezer. However, freezing caramels should only be done if you want to keep them for a very long. If you want to use caramels within a week, then freezing them won’t serve the purpose.
How To Defrost Frozen Caramels?
Just like freezing caramels, defrosting caramels is also an easy task but it takes more time to prepare the defrosting than to prepare for freezing. Defrosting caramels can be done in two basic ways. These ways include:
- Defrosting when kept on the counter: Frozen caramels require a minimum time of at least two hours to adjust to the optimum temperature. However, while defrosting them on the counter, do not forget to spread them. If you don’t separate the caramels, then it will take more time to get defrosted.
- Defrosting in the refrigerator: If you want to defrost frozen caramels in the refrigerator then you should wait for 10 to 16 hours after transferring them into the refrigerator. This will allow the frozen caramels to adjust to the temperature of the fridge. After that, you must put them on the counter in order to make them chewable.
When Should You Toss Old Caramels?
Tossing old caramel can be done in three different ways. You should immediately toss old caramels if:
You find that there is something wrong with their appearance or they have become moldy: To know if there is a certain change in the appearance of the caramels you have, then you should compare them with the caramels brought from the same brand. If you find that the caramels you have are slightly deformed, then you must know that they have melted. In such cases, you should toss them.
You find that they smell bad: Even after putting caramels in a tightly sealed pack, if you find that there is an unpleasant smell, then you should immediately throw them away. However, if after storing them in your cupboard, you find that they adapted to the smell of something nearby, then it depends upon you to either eat them or throw them away.
You find that they taste bad: Taste is one of the ultimate factors in deciding the quality of something. If the appearance of caramels is good and they don’t have any bad smell, then you can taste them to find out whether they are good or bad. Throw away the caramels if they taste weird.
What Will Happen If You Eat Expired Caramels?
Eating expired caramels will hardly affect your health. However, it might make you suffer from stomach aches and food poisoning. Otherwise, there will not be any adverse effect on your health. With some medications, you can feel better and be fit again. But, eating expired caramels will ruin your tastebuds for a few seconds.
You might be interested in our other article on Can Chocolate Go Bad and clear your concerns on shelf life, spoilage signs, tips to store, etc.
FAQs On How Long Do Caramels Last
1. How long do homemade caramels last?
Homemade caramels can last for about 2 to 4 weeks at normal room temperature. However, if stored in the refrigerator, it can get stored for up to 2 to 3 months.
2. How to tell if caramel has gone bad?
It is very easy to tell if any caramel has gone bad or not. You need to see if there are any changes in the appearance of the caramel. If you don’t find any changes, you can smell them. If they do not have any bad smell, then you can taste them to tell if they are good or bad.
3. How long do the caramels bring from the store last?
Caramels brought from the store can last for 4 to 12 months.
4. Is it okay to freeze caramels?
Yes, it is completely okay to freeze caramels as it will help them to last for a long.
Summary
Caramels are sweet and soft. Thus, they require a little more care than other products. If cared for properly, caramels can be used to make various dishes and desserts. Follow canfoodgobad.com to know more articles on sweets, condiments, etc! Bookmark our site to avail latest updates on Can Maple Syrup Go Bad and other articles in no time.