Difference between Caramel and Butterscotch?

What are the differences between Caramel and Butterscotch? Where do they come from? How are they made? When were they each first created?
Hello dvdempire-ga, According to %26#147;What%26#39;s Cooking America%26#148;: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/ButterscotchVsCaramel.htm %26#147;The flavor of butterscotch is a blend of butter and brown sugar. Caramel is a mixture produced when granulated sugar has been cooked (carmelized) until it melts and becomes a thick, clear liquid that can range in color from golden to deep brown. A soft caramel is a candy made with a caramelized sugar, butter, and milk. Basically the difference is the type of sugar used.%26#148; I found a similar description at baking911.com: http://www.baking911.com/candy_caramels.htm %26#147;Caramel is 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 320° to 356°F on a candy thermometer). The flavor of butterscotch is a blend of butter and brown sugar. It is popular for cookies, ice-cream toppings, frostings and candies. (Soft Crack Stage 270 to 288 degrees F)%26#148; More information can be found about making caramel at this link as well. They have a butterscotch recipe listed also at http://www.baking911recipes.com/candy_butterscotch.htm Regarding the histories of caramel and butterscotch, I found the following references: %26#147;On a quest for caramel Oh, sweet intensity! The best recipes lead to France%26#148; By Emily Green Los Angeles Times February 12, 2003 http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/food/article/0,1426,MCA_495_1737674,00.html %26#147;Then there is caramel, the candy. Unsurprisingly, back in 1912, it was a Frenchman, Louis-Camille Maillard, who offered a scientific explanation for caramelization, a process known among chemists as %26quot;Maillard browning.%26quot; By that time, French confectioners had long mastered the art of cooking a combination of sugar and syrup to a molten sugar state, browning it, creating a myriad of toasty, edgy, even some almost bitter flavors, but stopping just before it burns. They lined tart pans with this sugary glaze, made spun sugar cages, generally worked wonders. Some smart candy-maker thought to add sea salt in order to, as Swanson put it, %26quot;broadcast%26quot; the flavors in our mouths, an artful fillip behind caramel%26#39;s lingering richness.%26#148; Godiva.com http://www.godiva.com/about/history.asp %26#147;1671 - The Accidental Confectioner The personal chef to the Duke of Plesslis-Praslin in France watches as a panful of burnt sugar spills over a bowlful of almonds. One taste and the Duke is decidedly pleased. He%26#39;s so pleased, in fact, that he lends his name to this new confection and so, the %26quot;praslin%26quot; or %26quot;praliné%26quot; comes into being. But it took Belgian chocolatiers to perfect this particular treat. Eventually, the word praliné becomes synonymous with a particular type of Belgian confection featuring a molded shell of chocolate that is filled with creams, caramels, light ganache and, of course, praliné. Indeed, it later becomes the signature filling for Godiva chocolates.%26#148; Concord Monitor and New Hampshire Patriot %26#147;Science of butter and sugar ensures butterscotch success%26#148; By CHARLES PERRY Los Angeles Times Wednesday, December 19, 2001 http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/a%26amp;e/a%26amp;e1101/bscotch1219_2001.shtml %26#147;Though the name %26quot;butterscotch%26quot; didn%26#39;t appear until 1885, the product was probably being made in the early 18th century, maybe even before that. In Sugar-Plums and Sherbet: The Prehistory of Sweets (Prospect Books, 1998), Laura Mason draws attention to a brand of hard butterscotch called Everton toffee, which goes back to 1753. (The word %26quot;butterscotch%26quot; has nothing to do with Scotland, by the way. %26quot;To scotch%26quot; means to cut or score something; when butterscotch candy was poured out to cool, it was %26quot;scotched%26quot; to make it easier to break into pieces later.)%26#148; Other References: The Sugar Association, Inc. Sugar In Candy Making http://www.sugar.org/kitchen/candy.html Exploratorium Science of Candy Links http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/candy-links.html The Butterscotch Lover%26#39;s Cookbook by Diana Dalsass http://www.butterscotchlovers.com/butterscotch.html Godiva.com http://www.godiva.com/about/chocolate_trivia.asp#sugar-cooking %26#147;Sweet Screams Caramel, `the consummate candy,%26#39; comes into its own each Halloween%26#148; By Angie Toole, Daily News Staff Writer Northwest Florida Daily News http://www.nwfdailynews.com/archive/food/981028newsfud2.html I hope you have found this information helpful. If you have any questions, please request clarification prior to rating the answer. Googlenut Google Search Terms: Caramel Butterscotch ://www.google.com/search?hl=en%26amp;ie=ISO-8859-1%26amp;q=Caramel+Butterscotch%26amp;btnG=Google+Search Caramel Butterscotch difference ://www.google.com/search?q=Caramel+Butterscotch+difference%26amp;btnG=Google+Search%26amp;hl=en%26amp;lr=%26amp;ie=ISO-8859-1%26amp;safe=off %26quot;caramel candy%26quot; history ://www.google.com/search?q=%22caramel+candy%22+history%26amp;btnG=Google+Search%26amp;hl=en%26amp;lr=%26amp;ie=ISO-8859-1%26amp;safe=off Louis-Camille Maillard caramel ://www.google.com/search?hl=en%26amp;lr=%26amp;ie=ISO-8859-1%26amp;safe=off%26amp;q=Louis-Camille+Maillard+caramel%26amp;btnG=Google+Search history butterscotch ://www.google.com/search?hl=en%26amp;lr=%26amp;ie=ISO-8859-1%26amp;safe=off%26amp;q=history+butterscotch%26amp;btnG=Google+Search %26quot;first made%26quot; butterscotch OR caramel ://www.google.com/search?q=%22first+made%22+butterscotch+OR+caramel%26amp;btnG=Google+Search%26amp;hl=en%26amp;lr=%26amp;ie=ISO-8859-1%26amp;safe=off