“That’s really interesting, but who cares?”
Out of everything I heard at Kathleen Flinn’s food writing workshop, that statement resonated with me the most. Â What compels us to read food blogs? Â Are you willing to stop and read everything an author has to say regardless of the topic? Â I can’t say I know many people who would do that readily. Â I’m not going to lie here; I’m a notorious skimmer. Â I mostly visit blogs for the recipes and to support my friends and community. Â But when I’m trying to catch up on 20-40 blogs a day I just don’t have the time to read every story. Â If I skim your post it doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Â I’d rather peek in and give a hollar of encouragement than do nothing. Â But truthfully, if I’m going to slow down and read everything there needs a be a hook. Â Something to catch my attention and draw me in. Â A strong opening line. Â Why should I care that you went to the grocery store and stumbled in the cereal isle? Â That’s really interesting, but who cares? Â Make me care. Â Perhaps I should re-frame that so it doesn’t sound so demanding. Â I want to make YOU care that I went to the grocery store and stumbled in the cereal isle. Â I want compel you to read my story.
I read Kathleen’s memoir The Sharper The Knife, The Less You Cry just before making the decision to attend culinary school.  Her story was a huge inspiration to me, right up there with My Life in France by Julia Child.  When I heard she was teaching a two hour food writing boot camp in DC it was a no brainer.  I signed up immediately.  And I was astounded by how much I learned in my brief time with her.  She had me thinking about writing in a whole new way.  Did you know I have a bachelors degree in English with a focus on Creative Writing?  I don’t see why you would because I never mention it.  After so many years in IT and the kitchen I feel incredibly disconnected from my college days as a writer.  But the exercises from our workshop brought it all back.  I felt excited about writing again.
“Every food blogger writes about the farmer’s market. Â Go to the grocery store instead.”
Kathleen shared a lot with us including a story from when she was a speaker at IFBC last year.  In preparation for the event she had her assistant look at the attendee blogs.  The conclusion?  45 out of 50 blogs were exactly the same.  I was kind of stunned to hear this but it also made complete sense and fascinated me.  I mean we are all kind of doing the same thing here. There’s nothing wrong with being similar to other blogs but it got me thinking about how to set myself apart in an over-saturated market.  For the past three years I’ve been constantly working to improve my photography but have given little thought to the quality of my writing.  Perhaps this is the next step?  It’s certainly something worth exploring.
The recipe I’m sharing with you today is adapted from Baking Bites.  It’s almost her exact recipe with the exception of the salt.  She used regular Maldon Sea Salt and I used Maldon Smoked Sea Salt.  It sounds weird, right? Smoked sea salt caramels.  They are indeed weird. Weird and good.
Smoked Sea Salt Caramels
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 – 2 tablespoons smoked sea salt (I used Maldon)
Instructions
- Lightly grease an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish (I used baking spray with flour).
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Cover the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once some steam has developed in the pan, remove the lid (steam will help prevent crystallization). Continue to boil until the caramel turns a deep honey color, approximately 10-15 minutes.
- While the sugar is cooking, combine the butter and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time until the butter is melted.
- When the caramel begins to darken, carefully but swiftly add the cream and butter. The mixture will steam and bubble up so pull your hand away. Use a heat resistant spatula to stir the mixture and add the salt once the bubbling has calmed down a bit.
- Place a candy thermometer in the saucepan and stir frequently until the mixture reached 260 degrees.
- Pour the caramel into the prepared baking dish and allow it to cool completely. Sprinkle smoked salt on top.
- Use a warm knife to cut caramels into small squares or rectangles. I used a ruler to draw guides first. Caramels will keep at room temperature for a few weeks.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Erin @ The Food Doctors says
Great post. Sounds like it was a really useful workshop.
Lauren @ Gourmet Veggie Mama says
I was skimming, but then you hooked me. :) I wish I could’ve attended that workshop — it sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing some kernels of wisdom with the rest of us.
Cassie says
I love making homemade caramel and what is even the use without sea salt! These look incredible, Jen!
And I feel exactly the same way – I have 100-150 new posts in my reader each day. I never get to them all but I try to skim each one and to read the whole thing, every word, it has to catch me quickly! Great post!!
Choc Chip Uru says
What an awesome post my friend :)
And wow to your caramels!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Heather | Farmgirl Gourmet says
Hello DELICIOUS. I almost licked my monitor. Caramels make life so much better. I need to make this right away!
RebeccaSubbiah RD (@chowandchatter) says
great recipe good for the holidays I read blogs mainly as I like the people behind them
Katie @ Blonde Ambition says
Very good point about having a hook. People can only write about “omg fall is here and I love pumpkin!!” so many times before I’m tempted to just scroll straight to the bottom and type my comment based on the pictures ;)
Caramel is actually really fun to make! I tried for the first time a month or two ago. Love the addition of the smoked sea salt!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
I so agree with you, Jen. I have so many posts in my reader everyday that I find myself skipping the text too often. But I still want to leave a message to show that I care. But then there are those blogs I always read all the way through. Like yours. Love this post!! Caramels – can’t wait to try them. Especially that sea salt is involved!
Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says
I didn’t skim your writing today, because I could feel your intensity, excitement and your desire to share what you’ve learned. This is what makes me slow down and not skim a blog post.. Not to say that I mind skimming.. if someone is happy and just wants to say “I love cookies”.. I can smile and skim at the same time. But my favorites are the ones that make me think.. and that’s what yours did today! I wondered about the smoked in the salt… but I trust your judgment, it would be very good!!
Liz says
Yikes…I have to work on my writing AND my photography! Thanks for the push out of the rut :)
PS…I do love your caramels!
Laura Dembowski says
What’s not to love about sea salt caramels?! I put as much effort into writing my posts as I do the recipes. I am an aspiring novelist so writing compelling posts is important to me. I call my blog a baking and writing blog because for me the two are inseparable. I have to agree with you though that skimming other blogs is necessary or I’d spend my whole day reading blogs. I’d rather have a kind comment from a skimmer than no comment from someone who read every word.
Baking Serendipity says
Sea salt caramels are one of my favorite treats, and these look fantastic! I also appreciate the advice :)
Julie @ Table for Two says
Yes, I completely agree!! I’m reading like 100+ blogs a day and yes, I do skim a lot but there are some posts that just definitely hook you in. Definitely need that to get the readers’ attention. These smoked sea salt caramels sound amazing. I love that the sea salt is SMOKED. I can only imagine how great these taste! They look like little puffy pillows, haha
Laura says
I love sea salt caramels. Never thought of trying smoked salt… now I want to!
The writing/blog stuff is tough.
Lan l angry asian says
I’d say i read full content of about 80% of the blogs i visit. I put effort into my posts, not just in pix but content. I dont comment often but when i do, i try to give thoughtful responses. That, to me, is proper shout out & encouragement to the blogger.
There’s a readon why the majority of bloggers/foodies go to farmers’ markets & not grocery stores: better produce, supporting local farmers blah blah blah. Trying to be different for the sake of being different is insincere & inauthentic & quality readers know that.
So glad you had such a good experience with Flynn’s writing talk. Personally i did not like her book but her recipes were great, particularly her rabbit stew.
The caramels look great, i wonder if i could use coconut cream instead of heavy cream.
Savory Simple says
I think you might have misunderstood what I was trying to convey from the lesson. With regards to the grocery store versus the farmer’s market, I didn’t do her workshop justice by throwing out that line without an explanation. There’s obviously a good reason to go to the farmer’s market. The workshop wasn’t about where to get the best product or how to be different, it was about how to improve food writing and engage readers (whether you’re a novelist, a blogger or whatever). Her point was that we stretch ourselves as writers when we think outside the box and listen for food stories in unusual places. If a photographer goes to the same location every weekend, the inspiration won’t be fresh. There are only so many angles to get a pretty photo. It doesn’t just have to be the grocery store. There’s inspiration everywhere. She never said we should be different for the sake of being different. If the writing isn’t meaningful, it will indeed be inauthentic. But meaning can come from unusual places. I’m always going to love the market. It will always inspire new recipes but it’s not necessarily going to inspire creative writing after awhile.