What Is Butterscotch? How Is It Different From Caramel?

When you read the word butterscotch, it can refer to a few different things. For me, what first comes to mind is butterscotch sauce; for others it might be candies, or even chips. It’s perhaps easiest to think of butterscotch as a flavor in baking, one that’s similar to caramel, but not quite the same.

So what is butterscotch, and what is the difference between it and caramel? Let us explain.

What Is Butterscotch?

It's a confection made by cooking brown sugar and butter together. Just like caramel, it can be cooked until it forms a candy, or it can be turned into a sauce with the addition of cream.

Where Does the Name Butterscotch Come From?

There isn’t one clear answer to this question, but there are a few working theories. One is that "scotch" refers to the candy’s origins in Scotland, although most credit Samuel Parkinson, a Brit, with inventing butterscotch candies in Doncaster, England, in 1817.

Encyclopedia Britannica presents another theory: that "scotch" is a derivative of scorched, referring to how the butter and sugar are cooked over high heat to create butterscotch.

Yet another explanation is that "scotched" meant to cut or score, referring to the process of scoring butterscotch candies while warm to make it easier to break the hard confection into pieces later. 

While there isn’t necessarily one clear answer as to how it got its name, we know for sure that it’s not because butterscotch contains any scotch (as in, the hard liquor).

How Is Butterscotch Different From Caramel? 

Sometimes you’ll see recipes that use caramel and butterscotch interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. Caramel at its most basic is just caramelized sugar, with nothing else added (aside from maybe some water), while butterscotch is always the combination of cooked butter and sugar. Both can use cream, salt, and vanilla, among other things to flavor or alter the texture of the final product. 

You’ll often see butterscotch defined by the use of brown sugar as its base, rather than white sugar as is the case with a classic caramel candy or sauce. In terms of taste, the brown sugar lends butterscotch a richer, deeper flavor than a classic caramel, the same way brown sugar in baked goods lends a more robust, molasses-like flavor than white sugar does.

Our Favorite Butterscotch Recipes

Try one of these butterscotch-flavored recipes next time you're in the mood for something sweet:

• Mom's Butterscotch Oaties
• Butterscotch Fudge
• Butterscotch-Bourbon Lava Cakes
• Butterscotch Bird Nests