Canna Mellis and Maillard

                       Canna Mellis and Maillard

The word caramel is derived from the Latin Canna Mellis, meaning sweet cane or cane honey.

The first recorded use of the term dates back to 1702 and today we see caramel’s use entrenched in the food and beverage industries.

There is a lot of misinformation floating in cyberspace about what caramel is and how it is made. The most sensationalistic bit of information reports that ALL caramel is made through a chemical reaction involving undesirable or harmful sulfites (sulphur dioxide, to be more specific). While two of the four commonly-used caramel colors are created this way, caramel is also produced the old-fashioned way: by heating sugars or sugar sources, until they turn a golden or a darker shade of brown.

This last approach to caramelization is what needs to be better understood by consumers and by the trade. Case in point: through Rum Central we offer over 150 standard types (“marks”) of aged rum, many of them without any added caramel. But the fact that we did not add caramel does not mean they are devoid of it:

  • If the rums are made from molasses, either High Test (aka “virgin honey”)or lower grade, then some of the sugars from the original cane juice were already transformed into caramel at the sugar mill, as a result of the heat that was applied to evaporate the excess water in the juice. Many of the aromatic molecules associated with this caramel survive fermentation and distillation.
  • If the rums are aged in barrels that were toasted or charred, then there was caramelization of wood sugars and fibers within the staves. During aging, the rum extracts these caramels, along with tannins and other substances.

The creation of new aromatic and flavor components from reducing sugars, through the application of heat, is known as the Maillard Reaction and it is responsible for the existence of everyday flavors beyond caramel, such as toasted bread, roasted coffee, baked cookies and braised meats.

Better information will lead to better decisions. Those pursuing caramel-free lifestyles need to understand the different types and sources of caramels before making their final decisions.

Cheers,

Luis Ayala, Editor and Publisher

http://www.linkedin.com/in/rumconsultant