With the holiday season in full swing, many people are looking for exciting ways to sweeten their favorite desserts. For some, the best treat is chocolate fudge. For others, it’s salted caramel sauce. 

Today, we’ll be focusing on the latter of these two delectable favorites. Read on as we discuss the history of salted caramel sauce, store-bought versus homemade, and show you how to avoid all the guilt and hassle–without compromising flavor–with Skinny Mixes Sugar-Free Salted Caramel Sauce. 

Who Invented Salted Caramel Sauce?

As far as Americans are concerned, salted caramel has only been around for about fifteen or twenty years. However, Starbucks and Haagen Dazs made a splash in 2008 when they introduced the product almost simultaneously into their product lineups—suddenly, salted caramel was everywhere!

In 1977, renowned chef Henri Le Roux made salted caramel. His secret–salted French butter. Le Roux went on to win Best Sweet in France in 1980.

After these accolades, salted caramel laid low for the next two decades as a niche product only known in Le Roux’s region of France. Then, in the late 1990s, a Parisian pastry chef started making salted caramel macarons, and the culinary world took notice. By the early 2000s, salted caramel was popping up on the menus of high-end restaurants worldwide. 

Once large corporations caught wind of this new flavor, they made it front and center in many product lines, and salted caramel has been a staple sweet ever since. 

Why Is Salted Caramel So Good?

Our tongues can taste five primary flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (a Japanese word that roughly translates to savory). 

Salted caramel activates two of these flavors simultaneously and allows for a layering that magnifies the sensation of both. The best-salted caramel flavors will create a savory feeling that makes most people want to keep rolling it around in their mouths. 

That being said, it's very easy to tip the sweet-to-salty ratio too far in either direction. So as you read our recipe below, be mindful of how much salt and sugar you’re adding, and feel free to modify the amount to reach that perfect personal balance. 

Store-Bought or DIY?

While plenty of caramel sauces are available at your local grocery store, salted caramel sauce is a bit harder to locate. Of course, you could take caramel sauce and throw salt in it, but your iodized table salt may leave a funny flavor.

So, where does that leave us–making salted caramel sauce at home? That’s a possibility, but salted caramel sauce can be homemade. Unfortunately, the process is tedious, and caramel is quickly burned.

Homemade salted caramel sauce is also relatively high in sugar and fat. After all, just take a look at these ingredients:

• Seven tablespoons of real salted butter (714 calories)
• One cup of granulated white sugar (773 calories)
• ½ cup of heavy cream (400 calories)
• One teaspoon of salt (start with ½ teaspoon and add more if desired)

That's almost 2,000 calories for about two cups of salted caramel sauce! 

All of the Flavor, None of the Guilt

For those looking for an easier way to get their salted caramel fix without making a mess in the kitchen, choose Skinny Mixes’ Sugar-Free Salted Caramel Sauce! 

It has all the sweet and salty savoriness you’ll want with zero sugar and zero calories. It makes a fantastic addition as one of the three basic components of a plated dessert, and it’s easy to pick up a bottle at your local retailer or our online shop. Try Skinny Mixes today!