By David Joachim and Andrew Schloss
从Fine Cooking#131, pp. 26-27

What docrème brûlée,toffee， 和butterscotch有共同点？焦糖糖，或我们大多数人所知道的，焦糖。许多经典甜点背后的风味秘密，这种美味的成分可能很棘手，对于某些厨师来说，这个过程似乎令人困惑且困难。在这里，我们将揭开焦糖化糖的科学，以使其在制作它时如何做什么 - 因此您可以自信地在家中创建焦糖糖果。

What is caramel?
焦糖只是糖，直到褐色为止。砂糖或蔗糖没有气味和简单的味道甜味，但是加热时，它会融化和变暗，形成复杂的香气和味道，味道降低了甜美，越来越甜美。热使蔗糖分解成其成分糖，葡萄糖和果糖。最终，这些分子分解成其他彼此反应的分子，以产生数百种新化合物，例如苦味的苯酚，味味酯以及其他味道黄油，酸，坚果和麦芽味的其他分子。这些是焦糖糖的美味味和香气。

当晶体糖融化成透明熔融糖时，焦糖过程开始于320°F。在340-350°F时，颜色变成浅稻草或浅焦糖棕色。焦糖可以从汤匙中滴入稀薄的股，冷却时会变得坚硬而玻璃，因此您可以制作甜点，例如甜点焦糖奶油松饼。在355-360°F时，焦糖颜色会发展为中等棕色，并且在冷却后仍然很难，但不会那么脆弱。当加热至365-380°F时，焦糖显得非常深褐色，并将其冷却至更柔软，更粘的质地。在这种温度下，奶油，黄油和香草经常被搅拌到半透明的焦糖中，以阻止褐变，并创建不透明的焦糖酱和焦糖糖果。At the upper end of this temperature range, the caramel continues to darken quickly until it reaches about 410°F. At that point, it’s known as black caramel or baker’s caramel, a less sweet and more bitter-tasting browning agent used to color everything from gravy to pumpernickel bread to soft drinks, like cola.

焦糖是如何制成的？
There are two classic methods for making caramel: dry and wet. The dry method involves simply heating sugar in a dry pan until it liquefies and browns. This requires careful attention, as the sugar tends to darken quickly and less evenly due to hot spots in the pan or the heat source. It helps to use a pan with a wide surface area for this method so the sugar is in a thin layer that heats and browns more evenly.

制作焦糖的湿法要求用一点水润湿锅中的糖。水溶解并分配糖以促进褐变。由于水随着糖焦糖而沸腾，因此湿法还延长了糖加热的总时间，从而使更复杂的口味得以发展。而且由于糖棕色较慢，因此更容易制作浅或中焦糖而不是深棕色。

What can go wrong when making caramel?
焦糖变成粒状
湿法方法的最大缺点是，糖倾向于比干燥方法更容易重结晶。当糖和水沸腾时，糖浆可能会溅到锅的壁上，在那里它迅速蒸发并形成糖晶体。如果这些晶体中的一种掉回糖浆中，它也会播种链反应，使透明的糖浆不透明和颗粒状变成。如果发生这种情况，您可以将其从热量中取出，加入几汤匙水，将其恢复到热量中，然后搅拌直至晶体溶解之前。也就是说，最好首先继续重结晶，因此有几种防止它的方法：

• Wash the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush halfway through the caramelization process, dissolving any sugar crystals on the walls.
• Oil the sides of the pan before you start, which will prevent sugar from sticking in the first place.
• If you spot any grains of sugar on the side of the pot, cover the pot with a lid for a minute to cause steam to collect and dissolve any crystals that may have formed.
• Add another ingredient to the sugar and water in the pan. Crystallization is most likely to occur in a pure solution. By adding a bit of corn syrup, which is mostly glucose, you undermine the possibility of a stray seed crystal triggering a chain reaction. A few drops of acid (lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar) do the same thing by breaking some of the sucrose into its fructose and glucose components.
• Don’t stir until the syrup starts to color, indicating that most of the water has boiled off. Before then, it may still contain undissolved sugar crystals, which can precipitate the crystallization chain reaction throughout the caramel when they’re moved. Some recipes advise swirling rather than stirring, but it’s really best to leave the mixture alone until you see some amber streaks in the caramel, and even then to stir only when you see that parts are getting too dark.

The caramel burns
一旦加热糖糖浆以至于褐色，糖浆中有80％以上的水已经蒸发。之后，沸点以如此快的速度上升，以至于它可以轻松地超过所需的温度范围并燃烧。为了避免这种情况，这里有几个提示：

• 准备一碗冷水以控制温度。当达到所需的颜色时，将锅的底部淹没以快速冷却焦糖。
• 选择合适的锅。深色锅，例如铸铁或阳极氧化铝，可以在变黑时掩盖焦糖的颜色，因此，最好使用不锈钢或不锈钢衬里衬里的铜炊具。（不要使用锡衬里的铜，因为锡在焦糖温度下融化。）如果您必须使用深色锅，则可以在不锈钢或其他闪亮的勺子上将焦糖糖填充，以帮助您看到其颜色。同样，深层煎锅或宽锅的效果要比一个高大的狭窄锅更好，该锅限制了表面积并抑制蒸发，从而减慢了过程。

最后，安全说明
Hot caramel is a liquid on the verge of becoming a solid. If it should come in contact with your skin, it will burn savagely. Three things make it dangerous: First, liquids conduct heat much more thoroughly than either gases or solids. Second, boiling caramel is significantly hotter than boiling water. And third, unlike water, caramel doesn’t quickly flow off your skin-it turns solid and sticks. With this in mind, be very careful when stirring caramel to avoid splashing. You’ll also want to stand back a little when you add liquids to it, as it will bubble vigorously. Finally, as delicious as caramel is, don’t be tempted to taste it until it cools.