Is time a factor in Caramelization?
A lot of cooking involves caramelization, and I want to get a better understanding it. Does caramelization happen instantly when each sugar molecule reaches the correct temperature, or does the sugar need to maintain that temperature for a specific amount of time?
If it needs to maintain temperature, is there any way to estimate the amount of time needed before cooking?
Best Answer
Caramelization occurs at the melting point of sugar. When a sugar molecule hits the appropriate temperature, it melts. This is similar to ice turning to water above 32 F (0 C). It will take some time for all of a given amount of sugar to melt, but this is relatively insignificant compared to ice melting due primarily to the vast amount of heat involved to melt sugar. Once melted there is no need to maintain it at a specific temperature.
However, time is a factor in achieving the desired temperature for your melted sugar.
For sucrose:
- At 356 F (180 C) you have light caramel - it's a pale amber to golden brown in hue
- From 356 F to 370 F (180 C to 188 C) you have medium caramel - this is a golden brown to chestnut brown hue.
- From 370 F to 400 F (188 C to 204 C) you have dark caramel - this is very dark, bitter, and smells a little burned - this is used for coloring only
- At 410 F (210 C) you have monkey's blood - it tastes like burning and the sugar breaks down to carbon
Another thing to be aware of is that caramelization is often mistakenly attributed to the browning of meats, nuts, or bread crust. This is actually an entirely different process called the maillard reaction which requires specific enzymes to be present, and occurs at different temperatures than caramelization.
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What are 3 factors that affect Caramelisation?
The degree of Caramelisation that occurs varies according to:- the amount of sugar used.
- the length of heating time.
- the type of sugar.
- the addition of other ingredients.
- the temperature the sugar reaches.
What affects caramelization?
The caramelization reaction depends on the type of sugar. Sucrose and glucose caramelize around 160C (320F) and fructose caramelizes at 110C (230F).Why does it take time for the sugar to become caramel?
Whenever sugar gets hot enough to liquefy, it's also breaking down and turning into caramel. But it starts to break down even before it starts to liquefy. And the more that sugar breaks down while it's still solid, the lower the temperature at which it will liquefy.What is the principle of caramelization?
Caramelization is what happens to pure sugar when it reaches 338\xb0 F. A few tablespoons of sugar put in a pan and heated will eventually melt and, at 338\xb0 F, start to turn brown. At this temperature, the sugar compounds begin to break down and new compounds form.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Jafaris Mustafa, Alex Kad, Donald Tong