Suffer from sweaty sea salt caramels? You're not alone. Many candy makers have faced this common issue and shared possible solutions in the RCI member forum, The Candy Dish.

When making sea salt caramels, finishing with high-quality sea salt is best. However, even with quality salt, storing salted caramels in a cool room with 50% humidity can still cause the salt to sweat or become clear on the caramel. Here are four RCI member tips to prevent similar problems when storing sea salt caramels:

1.     Some salts are harder than others. Use a harder and more dense salt, such as pink Himalayan sea salt, which is less likely to absorb moisture.

2.     Store sea salt caramels at room temperature, rather than reducing the temperature.

3.     Dehumidify your storage area to at least 40%.

4.     Shrink wrap the boxes or cases to completely enclose the product before storing.

Nobody likes a sweaty sea salt caramel! Give these tips a try to keep your sea salt caramels dry.

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For many candy makers and chocolatiers this is the busiest time of the year. That’s why, for the month of December, we’re sharing some of our favorite candy hacks—quick and easy solutions to common confectionery conundrums. This week we’re sharing a pro tip for making meltaways.

The most common way to make a meltaway is to combine tempered chocolate with melted coconut oil until it is smooth. Because coconut oil is a lauric fat, it must be added at a lower temperature so not to throw the chocolate out of temper. If the chocolate becomes untempered (or was never tempered to start with) the nice, smooth texture of the meltaway will eventually be replaced with an unpleasant mouthfeel due to the formation of fat globules.

Mixing Things Up
Consider this alternative method to making stable, smooth-textured meltaways with untempered chocolate. Instead of adding fat to tempered chocolate, combine untempered chocolate and coconut oil in a mixer. Mix at a slow speed until the temperature is below 78ºF/25.5ºC and has visibly thickened. Referred to as the “mixer method,” it achieves the same desired stability and texture the meltaway is revered for, without the hassle of keeping temper.

Stay tuned, next week we will share a simple trick for greater consistency when spreading brittle.

Crave more?Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

If your candy thermometer has ever got in the way of stirring a bubbling hot candy concoction, then you’ll appreciate this week’s quick and easy hack.

RCI member Hilliard’s Chocolates makes approximately 5,000 pounds of their signature almond toffee crunch each year. With all the stirring it takes to whip up that much toffee, the Hilliard’s team developed a simple, yet, innovative solution for keeping that sometimes pesky candy thermometer in its rightful place.

As pictured above, Hilliard’s has screwed two eye hooks into their wooden paddle, so the thermometer slips right into place, preventing it from getting in the way while stirring.

Even small adjustments like this can make a big impact in improving efficiency. Do you have any simple hacks that improve your efficiency in the candy kitchen? If so, we’d love for you to share on RCI’s Facebook page.

Crave more?Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Have you ever experienced problems with caramel slipping off your caramel apples? The wax on your apple may be the culprit. By simply wiping each apple with a damp cloth prior to dipping, you can remove the waxy residue that rests on the apples.

An apple naturally produces a waxy film to protect itself, however, in some instances additional food-grade wax is added by suppliers to further increase an apple’s shelf life. For this reason, it could save you time and effort to request unwaxed apples from your supplier, if they do add wax to their apples.

If that doesn’t help, consider adding white compound to your caramel at a 5 to 1 ratio to help it better adhere to the apple.

If you can’t wait to test this out, here’s a few summer-inspired caramel apples ideas to try too!

Patriotic Caramel Apples
Show your patriotic stripes with drizzles of red and blue over a white chocolate coated caramel apple.

Zesty Coconut Caramel Apples
Think tropical by adding a generous helping of toasted coconut and a little lime zest to your caramel apples.

Wormy Caramel Apple
Turn shoppers heads with these fun, wormy caramel apples!

S’mores Caramel Apples
Transform your caramel apples into a s’mores lover’s dream by adding layers of graham crackers, marshmallows and drizzled chocolate. 

Was this tip helpful? If so, let us know in the comments below.

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