Salted butter caramel, a delicious combination of caramel and salted butter, has a whole story behind it!

It is indeed necessary to go back to the 14th century, a key period when the virtues of salt were first discovered, particularly with regard to food preservation. In 1343, King Philip VI introduced the “salt gabelle”, a salt tax that already existed in the Middle Ages. Indeed, salt was then the subject of a royal monopoly and it was kept in salt granaries (warehouses for table salt) and the population therefore bought it taxed, in minute quantities. On the other hand, Brittany being part of the Free Countries, it did not have to pay for this gabelle. Salt was therefore very cheap, and so it was not limited to producing and consuming salted butter. The production of salted butter developed there and the cooks probably got into the habit, very quickly, of mixing it with caramel.

A visionary chocolate maker

In 1977, Henri Le Roux, a chocolatier from Quiberon (Morbihan), made this recipe… a candy! He decided to invent a simple confectionery that was different from the products usually sold by his competitors: after three months of testing, he developed a semi-salted butter caramel to which he added nuts, hazelnuts and crushed almonds, resulting in a unique texture. Thanks to this candy, he became famous all over the world.

A versatile delicacy

Today, salted butter caramel remains the Breton star by excellence. It can be enjoyed as a sauce, soft square, hard candy, lollipop or spread (salidou). It is prepared with caramelized sugar, salted butter and usually fresh cream to obtain a smooth texture. Our caramel is homemade , it is of course perfect for filling our macarons. Don’t hesitate any longer!