Caramel is a great thing to make yourself at home, but this delicious treat doesn’t always turn out quite the way you might hope. Sometimes, it starts to crystallize instead of staying smooth and syrupy – so what causes this to happen?
A few different issues can cause the caramel to crystallize. Failing to use an invert sugar or add anything acidic are common problems. Stirring the caramel too much or failing to scrape sugar back into the pan may sometimes cause issues too. Occasionally, unclean equipment and impurities in the sugar can also trigger crystallization.
Nobody wants crystals in their caramel, so in this article, we’ll be checking out the top causes – and the best ways you can prevent this so your caramel stays smooth and silky every time you make it.
What Makes Caramel Crystallize?
Although making caramel is reasonably straightforward most of the time, there are a few pitfalls that you should be aware of.
Making any of these mistakes could cause the sugar in your caramel to crystallize instead of melting smoothly and evenly:
- Failing to add an invert sugar
- Failing to add an acid
- Stirring the caramel too much
- Not scraping the pan down
- Using dirty equipment
- Using sugar with impurities.
To make sure you understand how to avoid each of these problems, let’s explore them in more detail!
1) Failing To Add An Invert Sugar
You will find that most caramel recipes call for you to add an invert sugar. Some people skip this for the sake of making the recipe simpler, but this can seriously increase the risk of crystallization in the caramel.
An invert sugar is a liquid sweetener that has been made by combining water and standard table sugar. Things like corn syrup and honey will work, although you shouldn’t add honey if you’re making vegan caramel.
If you don’t use an invert sugar, there’s a risk that your sugar molecules will stack up on top of each other, making the caramel grainy. Invert sugars will interfere with this stacking process because they have long-chain glucose molecules that will prevent crystallization.
Because vegan caramel has no butter or cream (which can also prevent the stacking), it’s a lot more likely to crystallize, so make sure you have a suitable invert sugar available and use this in the recipe.
2) Failing To Add An Acid
If you don’t have anything suitable, an acid can work instead. It will also prevent the stacking of the sugar molecules.
A dash of lemon juice or vinegar should prevent your caramel from becoming grainy – even if it feels odd to be adding something sour to your sweet caramel!
If you only add a little bit, you won’t be able to taste it, and this should give you lovely, smooth caramel with no effort at all.
3) Stirring The Caramel Too Much
Another thing to be wary of is stirring your caramel too much. Some people make this mistake because they think the graininess is caused by the molecules being allowed to stick to each other, or getting too hot.
You do indeed need to stir the caramel, to begin with, so that the structures in the sugar dissolve, but if you keep stirring for too long, you’ll encourage the molecules to rejoin.
You should stop stirring as soon as your recipe tells you that the caramel has been stirred enough. Avoid agitating the pan, and resist any temptation to give it one last quick mix.
4) Not Scraping The Pan Down
Bits of sugar will probably cling to the sides of the pan while you’re making the caramel, and may then drop back into the mixture when you’ve finished, adding grains to it.
Use a wet brush to shake them into the hot caramel so they dissolve before the mixture has cooled down.
5) Using Dirty Equipment
Before you start making caramel, you should always check that your pans and other tools are scrupulously clean. It’s a good idea to wash and dry all the tools you will use so that you know for sure nothing is clinging to them that could upset the process of dissolving the sugar.
Ensuring everything is clean reduces the risk of your caramel becoming grainy, so do this every time you make caramel at home.
6) Using Sugar With Impurities
If your sugar is not high quality, there is a chance that it could fail to melt properly, and may crystallize instead.
This is not a particularly common problem, but if you’re consistently having issues with your caramel, consider swapping the brand of sugar you are using to see if this solves the issue.
Conclusion
If you rule out each of these issues, you should find that your caramel comes out beautifully smooth every time you make it. Use clean equipment, add a sugar invert, and don’t over-stir, and in most cases, it will come out perfect.
