Caramel is melted sugar and is brown in color. Two important criteria for perfect caramel are color and taste. Caramel should be a beautiful tan – some say it looks like old coins. The caramel is cooked to almost burnt, but it's still sweet. Wet caramel is made by cooking sugar and water, and is often used for sauces and glazing apples. On the other hand, dry caramel is tougher and is made from melted sugar. Dried caramel is often used to make pralines, brittle, and flan. Follow these instructions and don't worry – making caramel takes practice and luckily sugar isn't expensive. Precautions need to be taken when cooking caramel, as it can burn the skin.
Ingredients
Wet Caramel
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (you can also use powdered sugar)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2/1 cup heavy cream (optional)
- 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
Dried Caramel
1 cup granulated sugar (you can also use powdered sugar)
Step
Method 1 of 2: Wet Caramel
Step 1. Prepare the pan
While you don't need any special equipment to caramelize, the pots or pans you're going to use should be really clean. Make sure the pan you're using is heavy, solid, and light in color, so you can monitor the caramelization process. If you want to add cream to the caramel, make sure the pan you choose is big enough to hold all of it.
Dirt in pots or cooking utensils (spoons, spatulas) can cause an unwanted reaction called recrystallization. Recrystallization is a chemical process that occurs when impurities and compounds (sugars) are dissolved in a solvent (water) and impurities or existing compounds can be removed from the solution, leaving others behind. This causes unwanted sugar lumps to form
Step 2. Take security measures
Melted sugar will splatter, and can burn. Wear long sleeves, an apron, and oven mitts. Wear glasses if you have one.
Keep a bowl of cold water near the cooking area to soak your hands if they get caramelised
Step 3. Mix the sugar and water
Sprinkle sugar to make a thin layer on the bottom of the pot or pan. Slowly and evenly pour the water over the sugar until it covers the entire surface of the sugar. Make sure there is no space left.
Better to just use sugar. Brown sugar and powdered sugar contain too many impurities and don't caramelize. Raw sugar is also not recommended
Step 4. Heat the sugar
Cook the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Watch the mixture carefully and gently shake the solution if you see lumps of sugar. The lumps will melt as they cook.
- To avoid recrystallization, you can cover the pan until the sugar is completely melted. The sugar crystals that stick to the edges of the pan will drop to the bottom due to condensation.
- Another trick to prevent recrystallization is to add a little (a drop or two) of lemon juice or tartar powder to the sugar-water mixture, just as it begins to dissolve. This recrystallization "agent" will prevent the formation of large crystal clumps by coating the small crystals.
- Some people use a cake brush dipped in water to wipe the sugar crystals from the edges of the pan during the heating process. While effective, the bristles from the brush can come off and end up in your lovely caramel confection.
Step 5. Heat the sugar until brown
Watch the sugar closely as it gets darker. When it is almost on fire, emits a soft, smoky foam, remove it from the heat immediately.
Since cookware and stovetops don't always distribute heat evenly, you need to pay close attention to the cooking process. The brown color changes quickly and caramel burns easily if left unattended
Step 6. Cool the caramel
Add cream and butter to cool the pan and stop the cooking process. Stir with a whisk on low heat. Any remaining lumps can be filtered out. Cool the caramel and store in an airtight container.
- To make a salted caramel sauce, mix in 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt once the caramel has come to room temperature.
- To make vanilla caramel sauce, mix 1 teaspoon vanilla extract while removing caramel from heat.
Step 7. Clean the cookware
Cleaning a sticky pan may seem daunting, but it's actually not that hard. Simply submerge the pot in warm water or fill the pot with water and bring it to a boil. The boiling water will melt all the caramel.
Method 2 of 2: Dried Caramel
Step 1. Pour the sugar into the pan
Sprinkle the icing evenly under a heavy skillet or pan. Make sure the pot is big enough to hold the sugar.
Step 2. Heat the sugar
Cook sugar over medium heat. You will see the edges of the sugar start to brown and cook first. With a clean heat-resistant spoon, push the melted sugar into the center of the pan.
- You need to remove the melted sugar so it doesn't burn. Once the sugar is burned, it cannot be saved anymore.
- If lumps start to form, lower the heat slightly and stir gently. The clumps will melt once you're done stirring.
Step 3. Cook the sugar until it turns brown
This process will happen very quickly, so do not leave the stove. Watch as the color of the sugar turns dark to brown. If your recipe calls for additional liquid (such as cream), add it right away to cool the pan and slow down the cooking process.
- Be careful when adding liquid to the pan as it will overflow.
- If you want to pour caramel into the mold (for flan or cream caramel) pour it into the mold right away.
- To make pralines, add a cup of chopped roasted peanuts to the pan. Stir lightly and add a pinch of salt, then pour the mixture onto a sheet of waxed parchment paper to cool.
Step 4. Cool the caramel
If you're not adding liquid to the caramel, another way to cool it (and stop the cooking process) is to place the pan in a large bowl of cold water. Clean the pan by submerging it or boiling water in the pot until all the caramel has melted.
Step 5. Now the caramel sauce is ready
Enjoy:)
Keep
Save the caramel. Once the caramel has cooled, transfer it to an airtight container. Place the container in the refrigerator and use it for about two weeks
Tips
- If you want to make the caramel wet, it's best to tilt the pan and don't stir the caramel, as this will cause recrystallization.
- If you've already stirred it and crystals have formed at the bottom of the pan, soak the pan in warm water for 30 minutes and then rinse.
Warning
- Any splash can damage the glass surface. Be careful when placing the mixing spoon on a glass surface.
- The surface of the clinging utensil can be damaged by the very high heat and dissolve into the caramel.
- Tin-coated utensils can melt when used to cook caramel.
