I wish I had a pizza from Roberta’s for every time I botched a batch of caramel sauce. Sometimes, I didn’t take the sugar far enough and it ended up pale and gloomy, like when it’s mid-March and you forget what sunshine feels like. Other times, I took it too far, burnt beyond repair. For years, I didn’t realize that you’re supposed to use warm, even hot, cream—cold cream shocks the melting sugar, causing it to seize up. Incredible, I thought. All my caramel problems, solved! Grainy caramels, no more! Except they kept turning out grainy.
Which is another way of saying, crystallized. Caramel can crystallize for a million and one reasons: because the sugar didn’t dissolve enough before reaching 238° F; because some stray sugar granules clung to the side of the pot; because you stirred too vigorously; because you just have bad luck.
In any case, crystallization comes with the territory. Think of it like a champion figure skater. She practices for hours a day, lands triples, spins like a dreidel. She’s the best in the country, even the world! But every so often, she falls. So, instead of trying to never fall—impossible—she stuffs a pillow inside her uniform, to cushion the blow. Our caramel sauce wants that tuckus pillow.
But first things first. Caramel can start two ways: One, dry, where you just add sugar to a pot or pan and start melting on the stove. Or two, wet, where you combine the sugar with water until it looks like wet sand. Many—including myself—prefer the latter because the liquid provides some insurance. It slows up the pace, gives you more control.
After you add the water, brush the sides of the pot with wet fingertips, to wash away any superfluous granules. Set on the stove over high heat. Don’t stir—let it do its thing. Everything is going great. It’s very excited and bubbly, cloudy then clear. That’s when you add the secret ingredient: acid.
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Top Comment:
“How much water? How long to boil and caramelize? No swishing of the pan once it starts turning color? Thanks.”
— susan
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Some recipes use cream of tartar. I prefer lemon or lime juice, even apple cider or balsamic vinegar. You only need a small amount, so the taste won’t be detectable. My baseline: 3 cups sugar. 1 ½ tablespoons citrus juice or vinegar. 1 ½ cups warm cream. So much salt, to taste (when cool!).
This wee amount of acid prevents any crystallization—from subtle graininess to total disasters. In other words, it leads you toward the smoothest, shiniest, silkiest caramel sauce. If you listen closely enough, you can hear the ice cream sundaes cheer.
FAQs
Add acid. Acid ingredients (like vinegar or lemon juice) can help prevent re-crystallization which causes caramel to become grainy. Acid physically breaks the bonds between the glucose and fructose molecules that form sucrose and ensure that it stays apart.
How to prevent crystallization in caramel? ›
Add an acid: Adding an acid keeps sugar from recrystallizing by breaking down a portion of the sucrose molecules into fructose and glucose molecules. Our Caramel Sauce, for instance, includes cream of tartar as insurance against the sugar crystallizing.
Which method is quickest in caramel making? ›
For the "dry" caramel method, you simply heat the sugar in an empty pan until melted and caramelized. It's quick and direct, but the risk is that some parts of the sugar melt faster than others, and can burn before the rest had made it even to light amber.
What not to do when making caramel? ›
12 Mistakes To Avoid When Making Caramel
- Not assembling your ingredients. Juanmonino/Getty Images. ...
- Choosing the wrong pan. Milanchikov Sergey/Shutterstock. ...
- Using the wrong sugar. ...
- Getting the temperature wrong. ...
- Stirring the sugar too much. ...
- Forgetting about safety. ...
- Not heating your liquid. ...
- Stopping before the sugar browns.
Adding an acid like lemon juice is another way to prevent sucrose from crystallizing. The cream and butter also act as “interfering agents” as the milk proteins in both help to prevent crystal formation. Ingredients such as vanilla, flavorings, salt, and nuts (or baking soda for caramel corn) are all added at the end.
What 3 ingredients can help interfere with crystallization? ›
Crystallization may be prevented by adding an interferent, such as acid (lemon, vinegar, tartaric, etc.) or glucose or corn syrup, during the boiling procedure.
What causes caramel not to set? ›
If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough. Again place the caramel back into a sauce pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and heat to 244°F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test with a cold water test. Details on how to use this method can be found here.
What is the formula for caramel? ›
Explanation: The typical formula for caramels is C24H36O18 , so the elements of water have been removed from the sucrose.
Is caramel better with white or brown sugar? ›
The best caramel starts with regular granulated sugar. This refined white sugar is made from sugarcane or sugar beets, and it melts more evenly than unrefined sugars. Some recipes call for brown sugar as a shortcut because its dark color looks like caramel as soon as it melts.
What makes caramel so good? ›
Brings indulgence
Caramel is all about indulgence and it satisfies everybody's sweet tooth. It can also help to add multi-sensoriality as consumers are looking for an intense sensorial delight. From soft to gooey and crunchy textures, different shades of golden and characteristic tastes, caramel has a lot to offer.
It makes sense to stir your pot, but you have to resist the urge. The reason that caramel turns back into sugar crystals and becomes grainy is because too much moisture has been lost in the cooking process. When sugar is dissolved in water it loses its structure and becomes the liquid that develops into caramel.
Why won't my caramel get hard? ›
If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough.
How do I get my caramel to harden? ›
Refrigerate until cooled and hardened. (Best if you refrigerate them overnight, or for several hours. They will be easier to cut and wrap). The caramel will seem hard in the fridge after they're set, but they should be soft at room temperature.
How to keep caramel from sticking to wax paper? ›
Cut waxed paper for caramel wrappers -
In general the paper sold for home use is too light weight, the grain of the paper isn't made to withstand twisting (it tears), and the wax coating is too light to prevent the moisture from the candy from seaping into the paper and weakening it thus causing it to tear and stick.
