I make a lot of fleur de sel caramels and I am thinking of investing in specific equipment just for caramel production. Does any one have any reccomendations? Are induction burners completely out of the question? Thanks!
Daniel -
What kinds of production quantity are you talking about? Induction burners can be made to work (you should overbuy wattage), but if you're making a LOT you might want to look into something like aSavage Bros FireMixer 14 or 92 .
Thanks for making me aware of such equipment. I probably would want to make a batch of caramel that could fit at least a six foot cooling table (more equipment I don't know much about). I'd be curious to hear what other members use...
Kim: Many induction burners have cut-off switches that turn the burner off when a certain temperature is reached for a certain time. When you have to get huge masses of sugar hot for a long time, it's common for the burners to turn themselves off to keep them from overheating.
If I was going to be making a lot of caramel, I would purchase the highest wattage (2000 minimum)220V professional unit I could.
Daniel:
You're probably not going to be able to make batches of caramel that size on an induction burner efficiently and cost-effectively. Best to invest in a machine specifically designed to make caramel in those quantities. Consider electric models because, depending on where you are (and you have to check w/ local authorities) you may not need special venting and fire suppression. Gas units may require a hood at least.
Savage Bros also make water-jacketed cooling tables.
We use the 1800w (120v) for small batches about three to five times a week. For larger batches I just purchased a 3000w 220v model that does the job very well. However, this still is only capable of making medium-sized batches (2-3 kilos) efficiently. A used Firemixer would probably be a very good investment if you want to cook 25-kilo batches.
