To Make Caramel for Coloring
Ingredients
Directions
Make the caramel
Combine ½ pound sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a porcelain saucepan.
Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture turns a bright dark brown color, being careful not to let it burn.
Add 1 teacup of water and a little salt, then let it boil for a few moments.
Finish and store
Cool the mixture and strain it.
Store in a corked bottle for coloring soups.
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
- Caramelizes as it heats, forming the dark brown color that gives the colorant its strength.
- Water
- Dissolves the sugar so it can melt evenly and then thins the dark syrup into a pourable liquid.
The step that matters
Stir constantly while the sugar browns. Sugar goes from amber to burnt very quickly once it darkens. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly so the color stays deep brown without a bitter, burnt taste.
“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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