Experimenting with Caramels

I wanted to make some caramels, which are pretty easy to make as long as you have a good candy thermometer and the time and patience to stand over them.   A few tips I've learned is that you have to stir your ingredients constantly until the sugar is desolved and the liquid boils.  Then back off and let it boil without stirring at all until it reaches your desired temp.
 I made caramel from scratch the first time at a cooking school in Chicago when we made croquembouche.  We were taught to gently swirl the mixture over the flame from the gas stove.  So I have used that technique ever since and I feel it is an awesome way to get the heat evenly distributed rather than having the pan just sit directly on the flame. Plus I like to keep my hands moving and not just stand and stare at a pot.   I feel like it takes forever and ever (which in reality is like fifteen minutes) to get to the soft ball stage and then at a blink of an eye the temp soars upward quickly.  In a matter of a minute or two and just a couple of degrees north of the temp your aiming for, you have a different product on your hands.  Still edible, but not the caramel consistency you wanted.
I wanted to do something different with my caramels and my main focus was to try and make them using honey instead of icky corn syrup.  Honey has a different crystallization process  so I knew I would have to make some alterations to the ingredients I used and maybe cook it past the soft ball stage a few degrees.  Plus I wanted to add a hint of orange which was tricky because I am at my daughters home and she doesn't have a grater.  I improvised,  mangled an orange and made a mess but got a good tablespoon of grated orange rind to add to my syrup.
I put some tiny flakes of sea salt on half the pan because I love sea salted caramels but was unsure how the salt would be with honey and orange.
The result is my Honey Orange Caramels and I am really pleased with them.  I  taste both the honey in them as well as a hint of delicious orange.  I know they consist of a ton of sugar but I am thrilled I got to use honey.  Now they are healthy caramels.  Laugh. Laugh.
  I had so much fun making them and am already planning my new baking project.
Krystal Lynn