Is caramel and butterscotch the same thing?

[newcook]

I am trying to organize my recipes and see recipes with butterscotch in the title and others with caramel. Is it the same thing?

[slawrence]

No, they are not the same. I just looked up caramel recently to see if there was a 'carmel' or it was all 'caramel'. (There is no carmel' and it is pronounced with the 'ah' in there after the 'r'. I've been saying it wrong all these years. Here are the definitions from THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION:

Butterscotch: The flavor of butterscotch is a blend of butter and brown sugar. It is popular for cookies, ice-cream toppins, frosting, and candies.

Caramel: A mixture produced when sugar has been cooked (caramelized) until it melts and becomes a thick, clear liquid that can range in color from golden to deep brown (from 320F - 350F degrees on a candy thermometer). Water can be added to thin the mixture. Caramel is used to flavor soups, stocks and sauces-sweet and savory. It's also used in desserts. When it cools and hardens, caramel cracks easily and is the base for nut brittles. Crushed caramel is used as a topping for ice cream and other desserts. A soft caramel is a candy made with caramelized sugar, butter and milk. Sue

[sneezles]

There are recipes that make them very similar (if not the same) just by the ingredients and the fact that you end up with candy at the end.
I agree with the definition of caramel that slawrence posted because I usually think of butterscotch as a candy (though I abhor those butterscotch chips) and caramel as more of a sauce...JMHO

[newcook]

Thanks for your replies. Because they are so hard to distinguish by the ingredients, I am thinking I should probably categorize as "Caramel or Butterscotch".