Caramel Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Place sugar in an iron or granite saucepan.
Stir continually over the fire until the sugar softens, melts, and becomes a liquid that smokes.
Remove the saucepan from the fire and add the boiling water.
Stir rapidly and allow to boil until it reaches a molasses‑like consistency.
Bottle the syrup for use.
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
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Melts and caramelizes over heat to form the dark, flavourful base of the syrup.
- Boiling water
- Dissolves the caramelized sugar into a pourable liquid and sets the final consistency as it boils.
The step that matters
Stirring the sugar over the fire until it melts and smokes. Sugar can scorch quickly once it melts, turning bitter instead of caramelized. Continuous stirring keeps heat even so the sugar browns evenly before the water is added.
“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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