Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the caramel
Caramelize the sugar in an omelet pan, stirring constantly.
When it reaches the desired color, slowly add the boiling water and stir until well blended.
Finish the sauce
Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Cool the sauce and add a few drops of vanilla extract.
Serve 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.
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Granulated sugar
- Melts and caramelizes to form the sauce's colour and deep, bittersweet flavour.
- Boiling water
- Loosens the hot caramel into a pourable liquid sauce.
The step that matters
Adding the boiling water to the caramel. Hot caramel can spatter and seize into hard lumps when liquid hits it, so the water should be added slowly while stirring until the mixture is smooth.
“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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