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Dessert

Burnt Sugar Caramel

A caramel made by boiling sugar, milk, and butter, then adding more sugar and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Burnt Sugar Caramel

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

  1. In a saucepan, combine 3 cups granulated sugar, 1½ cups sweet milk, and ¾ cup thoroughly washed butter.

  2. Heat this mixture on the stove until it reaches a boiling point.

  3. In a skillet, add 1 cup white sugar and stir until it melts.

  4. Slowly stir the boiling milk mixture into the melted sugar in the skillet.

  5. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and boil until it thickens.

Finish

  1. Let it cool slightly, then beat until creamy.

  2. Add vanilla extract to taste.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

White sugar
Melts to form the burnt sugar base that gives the caramel its deep, toasty flavour.
Granulated sugar
Sweetens the mixture and helps it thicken as it boils down.
Sweet milk
Adds moisture and dairy richness, and its proteins contribute to a creamy texture.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mellow flavour.

The step that matters

Adding the boiling milk to the melted sugar. Pouring the hot milk slowly into the melted sugar keeps the very hot sugar from seizing or spattering violently. Adding it gradually lets the mixture blend evenly before it is boiled down to thicken.

“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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