Caramelized Sugar

Sugar starts to turn from golden to light brown in color and begins to caramelize when its temperature reaches 320°F(160°C). There are two ways of bringing sugar to this temperature: the dry method and the wet method. Caramelizing sugar dry takes about half the time, and you do not have to worry about recrystallization. It does, however, require more attention, as the sugar must be stirred constantly to prevent it from caramelizing too fast—that is, before all of the sugar granules have melted—or worse, from burning. If you use the dry method, do not use a skillet or pan that is any larger than necessary, or you will have a larger area to cover when stirring, and you may not be able to keep the sugar from getting too dark. With the wet method, a small amount of water added to the sugar means the caramel does not need to be stirred during the entire cooking process, but it takes longer to caramelize because you must wait for the water to evaporate.