Technique Theory: Standard Dry-Sugar Cooking

The important difference between the standard wet-sugar cooking technique and the dry technique is that the dry technique is used only for making caramel, while the wet technique can be used to make a variety of syrups, from thread stage to hard crack or caramel. The key reason for this difference is the use of water as a solvent. When cooking sugar by the wet method, the sugar is dissolved in water, then a portion of the water is removed. In the dry method, the sugar is not dissolved, but rather is melted. Because no water is added, the only possible outcome of the dry method is melted, caramelized sugar.