If you’ve tasted butterscotch and toffee before, you’ll know that these two confections taste nearly identical, with a buttery burnt sugar aroma. However, these popular treats are made differently, and there are subtle characteristics that you can look for to figure out which kind of caramel candy you're eating.

Butterscotch and toffee are both made by combining brown sugar, butter, and water and melting them together. The difference between the two is their texture and sugar contents; toffee is just butterscotch that's been cooked for longer, so it has less water and more sugar due to evaporation and concentration.

Meanwhile, butterscotch is a "soft-crack" candy that reaches 270 degrees F during the melting process, making it more elastic than most toffees, which are a "hard-crack" candy that must be heated between 295 and 304 degrees F. Both candies can be cooked until soft or hard, but toffee will always contain more sugar.