Cooking caramel

Caramel is sugar cooked well past the candy stages. A food-science page notes that once the liquefied sugar reaches the brown-liquid stage, around 338 degrees Fahrenheit, it turns brown through caramelization. Above about 350 degrees it scorches and tastes bitter, so the cook has to watch the color carefully.

A classic pastry text starts from a heavy sugar syrup, does not stir once it is boiling, and swirls the pan instead. The caramel forms once the syrup passes the hard-crack stage and turns deep brown, and cooks avoid going over 190 degrees Celsius or it will burn.

To stop the cooking, the base of the pan can be plunged into iced water, taking it out before the caramel sets.