Editor's Choice: Divine Caramel Creations

Salutations, Fancy Food blog readers! Today we have a special interview-style review with Fancy Food Magazine associate editor Marc Kozak. We will be talking about the gourmet line of sea salt caramels from Divine Caramel Creations - Ellie's Edibles. Mr. Kozak was very excited to try these out and share his thoughts. So let's get to it!

Fancy Food: Thank you for joining us, Marc. What can you tell us about these caramels?
Marc Kozak: Mfffph.....nomm.....

FF: Oh, I see you're still eating one of the caramels. 
MK: (Happy yet indecipherable noises)

FF: We'll give you a minute.

****MILK-BASED INTERMISSION****

MK: Sorry about that. I'm a little embarrassed.

FF: It's okay. We could tell from your desk that you snack hard.
MK: Oh man, really? Great, now I'm the "Snack Guy".

FF: We're not judging. It is a food magazine. So about the caramels?
MK: Right. Well first of all, let's talk a little bit about sea salt. It's a really big trend in the food industry. Chefs and food companies are using it on everything because of its stronger flavor in comparison to regular salt. I've been saying this for years, ever since I noticed this obscure local restaurant that I eat lunch at all the time was putting it on their side dishes.

FF: Are you talking about the fries at Wendy's?
MK: Uh....it's....well, I mean you've probably never heard of the place. Anyway, it IS true - there's a lot you can do with sea salt. These Divine Caramel Creations are a great example. The salt is only lightly sprinkled on each one, but the first few bites pack SO much flavor. It was really surprising in a totally good way.

FF: Ellie's Edibles mentioned that the sea salt caramels were their best sellers without a doubt.
MK: That makes all kinds of sense. And see, we're only talking about the salt. Even without it, these caramels would be special. They make it the old-fashioned way - with heavy cream, no harsh preservatives, artificial flavors or colors. It's really rich and flavorful in itself, and when you add the sea salt into the mix...I just can't stop eating them.

FF: We noticed. What kind of varieties are there?
MK: Their #1 seller is the Vanilla Caramel with Fluer de Sel Sea Salt from France. I really enjoyed the fruit caramels, like Cinnamon Apple Cranberry and Huckleberry. Ellie's Edibles is from the Spokane, Washington area, and they have their own orchard where they grow and use their own fruit. The huckleberries are grown on a mountain that is literally just east of their farm.

FF: Do you even know what a huckleberry is?
MK: I'm assuming it's a berry in the plant genera of awesome. But really, the inclusion of dried, all-natural fruit, plus sea salt, plus the smooth caramel - we're talking about a lot of positive mouth emotions, here.

FF: That's a pretty ringing endorsement. Where can you go to purchase the caramels?
MK: They have a shop in Colbert, WA where you can stop in and grab some, or you can go to their website and order them. They even make special order caramels, including ones with chocolate and other seasonal fruits. I'd really recommend doing so. They'd make a great gift for Mother's or Father's Day, or just for yourself to greedily hoard and eat at your own convenience.

FF: Like you're doing right now. Because no one else in this office likes caramel....
MK: Hey, you're interviewing me because I'm the Snack Guy, right? I need all of the samples I can get in order to shape my expert opinion.

FF: Whatever, Gollum.
MK: My precioussssesssssssssss!!!! (stuffs face with remaining caramels)

THE END. 
-Marc Kozak (mkozak@talcott.com)

Update: Béquet Gourmet Caramels

Be sure to catch Béquet Gourmet Caramels in action on the Food Network Sunday, November 2. The Celtic Sea Salt caramel will be featured on Road Tasted with the Neelys at 2:30 p.m. EST!

Editor's Choice: Béquet Gourmet Caramel

I have eaten a lot of caramel in my time, from the mass-market brands like Brachs to the upscale finest-ingredients-only varieties we feature in Fancy, as well as the only slightly burnt batch that I attempted to make last Christmas. In such a large category, there are certain characteristics one must look for to determine a truly outstanding caramel from the rest. Flavor, texture, stickiness and innovation are all key elements of what makes a quality caramel. One company that I found so far to have excelled in all of those areas is Béquet Gourmet Caramel.

Robin Béquet, founder of Béquet Gourmet Caramels, always enjoyed gourmet confections, but she didn't want to venture into the confectionery business herself unless she was sure she could make the best caramel available anywhere. The product of that mindset resulted in an array of caramels flavored with natural ingredients and made in small batches to ensure freshness. The caramels are just the right combination of soft and chewy, and most importantly, I've never been nervous about losing a filling! The caramels come in traditional varieties like Soft and Chewy vanilla butter caramels, but Béquet has also mastered the art of infusing just the right amount of flavor to create flavors like Chipotle, Chocolate, Espresso, Maple, Black Licorice and the newest, Pomegranate. She's covered the confectionery-and-sea salt trend with the customer-requested Celtic Sea Salt butter caramel and the surprisingly addictive Salt-Chocolate butter caramel.

Needless to say, her treats have gotten plenty of attention in the gourmet world, in the form of a Sofi gold for her Chipotle butter caramel and two silvers for her Soft vanilla butter caramel and the Celtic Sea Salt butter caramel. But Béquet doesn't take the credit for herself. "We are very fortunate that we have a great team of people -- our products are made by a team of people who really care about what they're doing," she says. "They care a great deal about the quality of the product, and there's no substitute for that."

For more information about Béquet Gourmet Caramels, visit www.bequetconfections.com.

-Stephanie