how to make carmalized sugar syrup


 

Pinny

TVWBB Super Fan
I got a bottle of this stuff the last time I was in Israel: it's a pretty thin deeply caramelized syrup. It delicious in bbq sauces, meat stews, and various kugels. It's also a super glaze on challah and chicken.

Anyhow, I've tried a thousand times to make the stuff. Basically, I just added a bunch of sugar to a pan and caramelized it. The problem is: EVERY SINGLE time, once the syrup cools, it's turns hard as stone. Deep golden brown stone that is, but stone none the less. Think gorilla glue. How do I get it to stay a nice pourable, (storable,) liquid? Adding oil hasn't helped - it just turns to stone under the oil.

Thanks!
Pinny
 
Hmmm, those are some good ideas. I'm actually gonna go try one or two of the easier ones. I'll let you know in 15 minutes how it went.

Thanks!
 
Haha, success! And good thing - I was down to my last bottle (of 3).

The key is that caramelized sugar needs to be cut with another liquid in order not to turn into glue when it cools, but it can't be with oil (it won't blend well) so you have to use water. The problem with water, is that it boils at way to low a temp (the sugar doesn't caramelize until 328 degrees). So the key is to caramelize the sugar first without the water (until a nice dark reddish brown), and only then cut it with water. Do this by waiting until the sugar cools (otherwise it will explode when you add the water), then adding a bit of water (1/3 cup water to 1/4 cup of your original amount of sugar works perfect for me) and bringing back to a boil until the sugar reliquifies. This time when it cools, it will stay a syrup.

This stuff is killer in bbq sauce if anyone wants to play around with it. It has a tremendously deep, strong, and pungent flavor. And as the only ingredients are sugar and water, it can literally be stored for years outside the refrigerator.

Thanks!!
 
I have a recipe that calls for a similar technique. I'll melt the sugar and add the liquid a little bit at a time. eventually, it'll cool enough that it won't just boil off the liquid, and every thing dissolves together.
 
It sounds sort of like the hard "filling" for fairy food - without the baking soda and vinegar.

When carmelizing the sugar, I would recommend using a candy thermometer - it'll let you know when your molten sugar is in the "Danger Zone".

The Danger Zone, in this case, is at the upper end of the "hard crack" stage - when it gets here, you need to keep stirring, including up to and past the point where you remove the heat.

(Do some reading on Fairy Food, lollipops, or peanut brittle - to get some good pointers on working with molten sugar.)
 
Glad that link helped. Once again homebrewing and BBQ go nicely hand in hand.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It sounds sort of like the hard "filling" for fairy food - without the baking soda and vinegar. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

sounds like what we call sponge candy.
 
Another way of arriving at the same result is by making the syrup and letting it cool and harden into a "stone" and then slowly melting that stone in water.
 

 

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