Burnt sugar, also called caramel sugar or "burnt" sugar, can be made at home in a variety of ways. Burnt sugar is used to color and decorate dishes, as well as to give them a sweet caramel flavor. For a change, they can replace the usual sugar. In addition, burnt sugar is a folk remedy for coughs. And even a child can make caramel candy.
Instructions
Step 1
To turn the sugar into caramel, just put a spoonful of sugar in a saucepan and put it on fire. Sugar gradually melts and thickens. In the process of preparation, the range of shades of color of burnt sugar changes several times: first, the sugar acquires a light amber hue, then golden, then brown. Accordingly, an increasingly complex flavor range corresponds to each of these stages. The main thing is not to overexpose the sugar on the fire, do not wait until it turns black, otherwise you will have to start all over again.
Step 2
To evenly distribute the liquid sugar in the saucepan, rotate the pan around its axis while cooking. And to stop cooking, pour it into a cold saucepan, or better place the saucepan with syrup in a larger container filled with cold water. If you want to keep the resulting caramel liquid, after removing the pan from the heat, add butter and dilute the caramel with a liquid such as water or cream.
Step 3
Burnt sugar can be used to color sauces, broths and various cakes. Pour 1 tablespoon into the pan. water and pour 4 tablespoons there. fine sugar. Put this mixture on fire and when the sugar begins to melt and change color, stir it to make the color more even. Once the sugar is completely browned, pour 1 cup hot water into it and let it boil. Then drain, cool and pour the "burnt" into a bottle. Seal it and store it in a cool place as a reserve.
Step 4
For coloring creams, doughs, fondants, pie fillings, you can use another recipe. Place 4 tablespoons in the skillet. sugar and pour in 1 tbsp. water. Stir the sugar mixture constantly (over low heat) with a wooden spatula until a dark brown color is obtained. To prevent this mixture from foaming strongly when heated, add no more than 1% of the sugar mixture of melted butter to it. Strain the finished burnt sugar through folded cheesecloth and pour the burnt sugar into a glass dish.
Step 5
Burnt sugar is also great for adding to traditional black coffee instead of regular sugar. And here also has its own "subtleties". While the coffee is still hot, you can add burnt sugar prepared in a peculiar way to it. Put sugar in a teaspoon, pour cognac over it, and then light it. When the flame is out, pour the burnt sugar from a spoon into the coffee and stir thoroughly. For an even more sophisticated coffee taste, you can add a little cinnamon to taste.
Step 6
Finally, the simplest recipe for burnt sugar. Take 2 teaspoons or tablespoons. Grease one of them from the inside with butter beforehand to pour the caramel that you will make there, and put this spoon in a saucer with a little cold water at the bottom. Then add sugar to the second spoon, add 1-2 drops of water there and then keep the spoon on low heat.
Step 7
When the sugar is melted and has a rich honey or amber color, pour it into a second spoon. Cold water will make it harden faster and turn into candy. You can also put a small wooden stick (for example, a toothpick) in the sugar mass, then you will get a lollipop. And to get the ready-made frozen caramel, turn the spoon over with the caramel and lightly tap it with an edge on the table. Thanks to the buttered surface, the sugar caramel will easily separate from the spoon. And you don't have to spend a lot of time washing the caramel from the spoon. This lozenge is also a great dry cough remedy.
