On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1241

The flavors of caramelization. Heat
transforms table sugar, a sweet, odorless,
single kind of molecule, into hundreds of
different molecules that generate a complex
flavor and rich brown color. A few aromatic
examples (clockwise from top left): alcohol,
sherry-like acetaldehyde, vinegary acetic
acid, buttery diacetyl, fruity ethyl acetate,
nutty furan, solvent-like benzene, and toasty
maltol.
MakingCaramelTheusualtechniquefor
makingcaramelistomixtablesugarwith
somewater,thenheatuntilthewaterhas
boiledoffandthemoltensugarcolors.Why
addwaterifthefirstthingyoudoisboilit
off?Watermakesitpossibletocookthesugar
overhighheatfromtheverybeginning
withoutthedangerofburningit.Inaddition,


thepresenceofwaterprolongstheperiod
duringwhichthesyrupiscooked,givesthese
reactionsmoretimetoproceed,anddevelops
astrongerflavorthanheatingthesugaronits
ownveryquickly.Andwaterenhancesthe
conversionofsucroseintoitsglucoseand
fructosecomponents.Cookingthesyrupinthe
microwaveovenhasbeenfoundtoproducea
somewhatdifferentspectrumofflavorsthan
ordinarystovetopcooking.
Oncecaramelizationandcolorandflavor

generationbegin,theoverallsetofreactions
actuallygivesoffheat,andcanrunawayand
burnthesugarifit’snotcarefullycontrolled.
It’shelpfultohaveabowlofcoldwaterready
tocoolthepandownassoonasthecaramelis
done.Excessivecaramelizationturnsthe
syrupverydark,bitter,andviscousoreven
solid.
The Flavor of Caramelized Sugar The
aroma of a simple caramelized sugar has