Mistakes are bound to happen in the kitchen from time to time, so what should you do if you accidentally let the temperature of the caramel exceed 220 F? Luckily, caramel can be enjoyed in many forms, so you have some wiggle room. If this happens, it’s best to let go of the sauce idea and focus on other ways you can still enjoy the caramel.
When it reaches about 245 F, caramel becomes chewy and firm. So, if you take it off the heat at this time, you can turn it into square caramel candy pieces. You can’t exactly drizzle them over ice cream, but the squares are still a delicious treat. If you happen to let the temperature go way over 220 F, then you can turn it into a brittle. A temperature of about 300 F will give you the hard, breakable texture of brittle — just be careful not to crack a tooth. You can always try again to get that perfect texture of caramel sauce, so you may as well indulge in caramel’s other forms if you happen to mess it up on your first try.