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Sugar can melt without yet becoming caramel

Heat pure white sugar in a pan, and it first melts into a clear syrup before suddenly turning amber and developing a rich, nutty aroma. That second stage is caramelization: high heat breaks sugar molecules apart and recombines them into hundreds of new flavor and color compounds, taking the transformation far beyond a simple physical change from solid to liquid.

3–5 min

Questions you could explore

  • How is melting different from forming new compounds?
  • Why would one temperature not describe caramelization in every mixture?

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Sugar can melt without yet becoming caramel | Speech Topic | speaking.app