Hi shakran, I agree with a lot of your points, but my conclusion is still the same.
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Originally Posted by shakran
These factories don't need actual fire to make those two candies because they are not anything like a caramelized sugar coating.
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True. Most caramels aren't really 'caramelized'. Peanut Brittle would have been a better example.
But see this link. What's important in caramelizing is not the flame--it's that sugar is subjected to a temperature surpassing 338F.
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I'm confused as to what your point is. The reason you use flame is not just because it is hot, but because it is hot in a localized area. If you stuck a creme brule in the oven, you wouldn't get the same result because 1) the entire dish would be heated evenly and 2) the flame is hotter.
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yes, I agree. My point was that the flame isn't important--it's the localized heat.
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Stick your hand in the bowl the next time you ignite brandy and you'll see that, in fact, alcohol does not produce heatless fire.
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If you could somehow actually stick your hand in the brandy without subjecting the rest of your arm to the flames above the glass, my guess is that the brandy would feel like it was just about room temperature--maybe slightly warmer. I will try and prove this tonight, by lighting a glass filled to the brim with alcohol of some sort ('to the brim' keeps the top of the glass from warming up and tranferring heat), and then feeling the liquid right after.
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First, "heat" does not rise - heated gasses are more bouyant than non-heated gasses.
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you're right--I mispoke. Radiation would go all directions. I still don't think the heat is anything substantial as to cause a significant change in the flavor of your vodka bananas. I'll tell you the results of my experiment later this week. (even without doing this experiment--if the heat was anything significant, wouldn't you see the water in the alcohol at the top of the glass heating to 100C and boiling even a little bit? Or, for that matter, the alcohol in the ...umm..alcohol heating to 80C and boiling? )
EDIT: now that I'm looking at the link, when most people are talking about 'caramelization' in regards to cooking, it seems like they're really talking about the malliard reaction. Maybe I don't stand corrected on that point! Critical temp for malliard reaction = 245F.