Why it works: Sugar and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 98,233 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the caramel
In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and water.
Cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to burn slightly.
Thicken and finish
In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in a little cold water.
Add the dissolved cornstarch to 1 cup of boiling water.
Stir the cornstarch mixture into the caramel until well mixed and partly cold.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Brown sugar
- Provides the sweetness and deep caramel flavor, and browns as it heats.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mellow flavor.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the sauce as it is heated with liquid, giving it body.
The step that matters
Cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to burn slightly. Sugar darkens quickly once it begins to caramelize, and past the point of slight browning it turns bitter. Watching closely at this stage keeps the flavor sweet and rich rather than acrid.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More caramel sauce recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.