Why does heated sugar become brown and taste different?
Sugar can melt without yet becoming caramel. Further heating can produce chemical changes that create new colors and flavors, so the transformation goes beyond a change from solid to liquid.
Questions you could explore
- How is melting different from forming new compounds?
- Why would one temperature not describe caramelization in every mixture?
Start reading
- Institute of Food Science and TechnologyCarbohydrates: caramelisation
The Institute of Food Science & Technology explains caramelization through changes in heated sugars; a practical hot-sugar experiment is not required.
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