It takes a bit of practice to learn how to make caramel – the skill is in knowing just the right moment to take the pan off the heat.
Professionals make caramel without water, just heating pure sugar. This is quicker, but more likely to end in a burnt mess. For the home cook it’s better (at least initially) to add some water to the sugar so that it cooks more slowly, giving you more time to manage it.
Depending on the pan, the heat level and the amount of water, I’ve had it take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes for the sugar to caramelise. So patience is another key component.
Most of the time it can be left to its own devices. Just keep glancing at it to see if it’s changed colour. Once the caramel starts to turn golden, it changes quite quickly. That’s when you need to stand by, swirling the pan regularly so it colours evenly. At this stage the bubbles will subside to a tiny froth and it’ll suddenly smell delicious. Then you whip your caramel off the stove and pour it into the waiting dish – whether that’s a ramekin for crème caramel or a cake tin for an upside-down pineapple cake.
To make ¼ cup of caramel, you’ll need:
Here’s how to make caramel (scroll down for a step-by-step video).
Now you know how to make caramel, use your new skill to whip up some praline, or desserts as diverse as French crème caramel, Caribbean flan and Vietnamese glutinous red rice with coconut caramel sauce.
Share page on:
This is usually caused by stray sugar crystals on the side of the pan (from stirring, or sugar splashed up early on) seeding crystallisation through the syrup. In my experience it doesn’t happen often as long as you avoid stirring once it’s on the heat. If you get a lot of buildup of sugar crystals on the side of the pan, you can brush them down with a wet pastry brush.
Colour is the best guide — a deep golden-amber, similar to dark honey, means it’s ready. Any paler and it will taste too sweet. You can let it get a little darker for a more bitter-sweet flavour, but do not let it burn.
