Caramel, or Burned Sugar
Ingredients
Directions
Make the caramel
Put the sugar in an old tin cup over a brisk fire.
Stir until it is dark and smells burned.
Add the cold water and let it boil gently for a few minutes, stirring continuously.
Cool and store
Remove from heat and let it cool before bottling 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
- Browns as it heats, forming caramel color, a deeper flavor, and a slightly bitter burnt aroma.
The step that matters
Adding the cold water. Cold water hitting very hot sugar can spatter violently and make the caramel seize into hard lumps. Add it slowly, keep stirring, and stand back while it boils.
“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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