Kitchen & Bar

On this phone

How to get around

The bar across the top scrolls sideways. These are the same stops, with the job of each one written out.

Sugar

Caramel

Taking sugar past melting into browning, judged by colour and smell because there is no other reliable instrument.

What you are actually controlling

  • heat
  • colour
  • water
  • agitation
  • residual heat

Naming the dials is most of the difference between cooking and following. Everything below is a way of moving one of these.

How it goes wrong

  • crystallized
  • burnt
  • too pale to taste of anything
  • seized when liquid was added

If your result is on this list, the step it belongs to is named below and so is the way back.

The loop

Caramel5 steps. Each step shows the cue that confirms it worked below the step, and above it the way it fails together with the correction that returns you to the same step.GOES WRONGA gritty white crustclimbing the sides of thepan.1Choose wet or dryand commitLOOKS RIGHTWet: a clear syrup at ahard boil. Dry: sugarmelting at the edges into…GOES WRONGThe whole thing goesopaque and sandy inseconds.2Do not stir a wetcaramelLOOKS RIGHTEven colour developingacross the pan as you tiltit.GOES WRONGBlack wisps of smoke, andan acrid smell.3Judge by colour, offthe heat earlyLOOKS RIGHTThe colour of an oldpenny, and a smell thathas gone nutty rather than…GOES WRONGIt looked right on thestove and is bitter in thebowl.4Stop the cookingdeliberatelyLOOKS RIGHTThe colour stops changing.GOES WRONGA rock of set sugarsitting in cream.5Add liquid at arm'slengthLOOKS RIGHTViolent bubbling, then alump, then a smooth sauceas you stir over low heat.
Read down, not just across. Below each step is the cue that says it worked; above it, dashed, is how it fails and the correction that sends you back to the same step.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Choose wet or dry and commit

    Dry caramel is sugar alone, fast and unforgiving. Wet caramel adds water first, is slower, and crystallizes less.

    Looks right
    Wet: a clear syrup at a hard boil. Dry: sugar melting at the edges into clear liquid.
    Goes wrong
    A gritty white crust climbing the sides of the pan.
    Way back
    Brush the sides down with a wet pastry brush, or put a lid on for a minute so the steam washes them clean.
  2. 2

    Do not stir a wet caramel

    Swirl the pan. A spoon carries sugar crystals back into the syrup and one crystal seeds the whole pot.

    Looks right
    Even colour developing across the pan as you tilt it.
    Goes wrong
    The whole thing goes opaque and sandy in seconds.
    Way back
    Add water, bring it back to a boil until it dissolves, and start over. Crystallized sugar genuinely does re-dissolve — this is one of the few complete rescues in the kitchen.
  3. 3

    Judge by colour, off the heat early

    Pale amber is sweet and characterless. Copper-penny is where it tastes of something. Dark mahogany is bitter and, thirty seconds later, burnt.

    Looks right
    The colour of an old penny, and a smell that has gone nutty rather than sweet.
    Goes wrong
    Black wisps of smoke, and an acrid smell.
    Way back
    Nothing. Burnt caramel is burnt. Pour it out, wash the pan and start again — it takes four minutes.
  4. 4

    Stop the cooking deliberately

    A heavy pan holds enough heat to take caramel two shades darker after it leaves the burner. Add cream or butter, or move it to a cold pan.

    Looks right
    The colour stops changing.
    Goes wrong
    It looked right on the stove and is bitter in the bowl.
    Way back
    Pull it a shade earlier next time. Carryover is not a rounding error at 180°C.
  5. 5

    Add liquid at arm's length

    Warm cream, poured in slowly, standing back. It will erupt and it will seize into a lump before it smooths out.

    Looks right
    Violent bubbling, then a lump, then a smooth sauce as you stir over low heat.
    Goes wrong
    A rock of set sugar sitting in cream.
    Way back
    Keep it on low heat and keep stirring. The lump dissolves back in — it just takes longer than feels reasonable.

Watch somebody do it

Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.

Reviewed video for this technique. Reading a cue is one thing; seeing it is faster.