https://www.davidlebovitz.com/salted-butter-c/
The recipe says to cook it until it "begins to smell like it’s just about to burn" which is way too ambiguous for me. 😀 According to other caramel recipes, the sugar can be cooked from 340 to 350 degrees, at which point it can start to burn, so do you heat yours 350? I'm concerned that 350 might taste a little too bitter.
by BlastedDeeg
3 Comments
I think caramel is best cooked according to appearance. When it gets close, keep stirring, don’t look away. It’s done when it looks good.
For such a small amount of sugar, I don’t know if you can temp that properly. It’s kind of something you learn by doing, the caramel starts smoking, the smell changes, it looks darker. Just make a few batches and see how they taste to you.
Try using a pot that’s reflective (rather than a black non-stick appearance). It’ll help you see the color. You can tip the pot slightly to have the caramel pool up on one side of pot to get a better judge of the color.
[This caramel color is standard](https://eatsdelightful.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/caramel-sauce-sugar-and-water-caramelized-in-pot-scaled.jpg)
[This one is definitely burnt, and might taste too burnt for some people](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/6/63/Get-Caramel-off-Pots-and-Pans-Step-7-Version-2.jpg/550px-nowatermark-Get-Caramel-off-Pots-and-Pans-Step-7-Version-2.jpg)
[Here’s a more specific guide](https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/what-caramel-stages-look-like/). Be careful, caramel changes color quickly and when you add liquids (especially cold ones) it can bubble and splatter in dangerous ways.