Caramel

Preparation

1. Burned

   Step 1

   Immediately dip the bottom of the pan in cold water to stop it from cooking. Now, how dark is it? If it’s not dark black and smoking, it may be salvageable. These days “burnt caramel” is a popular flavor for sauces and ice creams. Even a very dark brown caramel may have a delightful smoky flavor that you’ll enjoy, particularly if it’s diluted by some cream. But if you don’t like the taste now, you’ll have to start over. And just so you know, there’s a savory Vietnamese caramel sauce called nuoc mau that is cooked until the sugar is the color of molasses or coffee.

2. Crystallized

   Step 2

   To avoid big, crunchy sugar rocks from forming as you make caramel, make sure your sugar is fully dissolved before bringing the mixture to a boil. If you’ve already got a rock, do your best to break it up and keep cooking. It should eventually melt. (We say it should, but we once made a rock that never remelted. We served it as rock candy.)