Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Caramel Recipe
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the base
Boil 1 lb of sago in water until it becomes transparent.
Add glucose and sugar to the sago and continue boiling.
Use a thermometer and boil until the mixture reaches 248°F (120°C).
Cut, wrap and finish
Cut the mixture into sizes and wrap them.
Continue boiling until the temperature reaches 255°F (124°C).
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.
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.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + condensed milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Cream + condensed milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together416 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sago
- Thickens as it cooks and turns clear, giving the caramel a firm, chewy body.
- Glucose
- Interferes with sugar crystal formation, keeping the caramel smooth and chewy rather than grainy.
- Sugar
- Provides most of the sweetness and the bulk of the caramel's flavour.
- Cream
- Adds richness and softness, with its milk fat giving a creamy texture.
- Oleo
- Adds fat that makes the caramel tender and smooth to bite.
- Cream of tartar
- Acid that helps prevent sugar crystals from forming, keeping the texture smooth.
The step that matters
Watch the final temperature. Firmness depends on how much water boils off and how concentrated the sugar becomes. Stopping early leaves the caramel soft and sticky, while going too far makes it hard and brittle.
“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.
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