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Many recipes, such as certain buttercreams and meringues, call for cooking sugar down to a syrup. Others, like caramel sauces, call for cooking the sugar until it caramelizes to a rich golden or brown color.
If not cooked carefully, sugar syrup (liquid sugar) can thicken and re-crystallize, ruining the recipe. To prevent sugar from crystallizing as it is cooked, follow a few basic tips:
- Always use a clean pot or pan. Sugar granules in the syrup will latch onto any particles left on a pan and crystallize to form a solid mass. Check to make sure the pan is free of any dust or particulates.
- Dip a pastry brush in water to wash away any sugar that sticks to the side of the pot or pan as the sugar heats. Sugar will splatter onto the sides of the pan as it begins to bubble; left alone, this sugar can harden and crystallize, causing the rest of the sugar to crystallize in turn. Using a wet brush to wash away the sugar will keep it from becoming a problem.
- Combine the sugar with a little water (it should have the consistency of wet sand) before cooking. You do not have to do this -- sugar can be cooked on its own -- but I find the water helps to melt down the sugar more evenly and smoothly, especially for beginner cooks.
- Avoid stirring the sugar when it comes to a simmer. Sugar is temperamental and can treat a spoon or spatula (or any foreign object, like a thermometer) as particulate, something to latch onto to crystallize.
- Cover the pan loosely with a lid or baking sheet. As the sugar cooks and the water evaporates, a loose lid works to temporarily trap the steam in the pan; the steam will help keep the sides of the pan clean, much like using a moistened pastry brush. Keeping the lid ajar will allow some steam to escape as the sugar continues to cook.
- Add a little acid (such as a touch of lemon juice) or corn syrup to the sugar-water mixture before cooking; they help interfere with crystallization.
If your sugar does happen to crystallize in the pan, don’t fret. It’s happened to all of us. Simply add water to the pan and bring the liquid to a boil; the water will loosen the hardened sugar and make it easier to clean the pan before you try again.
If you have any kitchen tips or questions you’d like me to explore, leave a comment below or email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com.
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FAQs
Keeping the lid ajar will allow some steam to escape as the sugar continues to cook. Add a little acid (such as a touch of lemon juice) or corn syrup to the sugar-water mixture before cooking; they help interfere with crystallization.
How do you keep melted sugar from crystallizing? ›
If your sugar starts to crystallize, squeeze a lemon into the pan. It will immediately stop the crystallization. and bring it all back to a nice, beautiful, lovely syrup.
How to prevent caramelized sugar from hardening? ›
If you are boiling sugar to make candy, the way to keep it from crystalizing is to add a little of a different kind of sugar—like for cane sugar you add a little clear corn syrup. Or you could add a little bit of acid, like vinegar or cream of tartar. It doesn't take much, just about a tablespoon.
How to stop crystallization? ›
If you don't want to buy invert sugar, a simple way to prevent crystallization is to “invert” the sucrose by adding an acid to the recipe. Acids such as lemon juice or cream of tartar cause sucrose to break up (or invert) into its two simpler components, fructose and glucose.
Does sugar crystalize when heated? ›
heating. The higher the temperature of the melted sugar, the less moisture is left and the harder the cooled syrup will get. The sugar re-crystallizes into different tex- tures based on temperature.
How to melt sugar and keep it clear? ›
Stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved.
Stirring at the beginning of the process helps break up lumps and make sure that the sugar is heated evenly. It's best to use a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the sugar mixture turns clear and begins to boil.
How do you make sugar not crystallize? ›
To prevent sugar from crystallizing as it is cooked, follow a few basic tips:
- Always use a clean pot or pan. ...
- Dip a pastry brush in water to wash away any sugar that sticks to the side of the pot or pan as the sugar heats. ...
- Combine the sugar with a little water (it should have the consistency of wet sand) before cooking.
There are a couple of things you can do to prevent sugar crystallising. You can add some glucose syrup, or you can 'invert' the sugar by adding some acid, namely cream of tartar. Both should be readily available, online if not at your supermarket. Cream of tartar is also useful when making meringue.
What causes sugar to crystallize? ›
A supersaturated solution is unstable—it contains more solute (in this case, sugar) than can stay in solution—so as the temperature decreases, the sugar comes out of the solution, forming crystals. The lower the temperature, the more molecules join the sugar crystals, and that is how rock candy is created.
How do you stop crystals from forming? ›
A diet lower in sodium and higher in potassium — contained in many fruits and vegetables — can reduce the risk of stone formation. Continue eating calcium-rich foods, but use caution with calcium supplements. Calcium in food can actually lower your risk of kidney stones.
Crystallization may be prevented by adding an interferent, such as acid (lemon, vinegar, tartaric, etc.) or glucose or corn syrup, during the boiling procedure.
Why does sugar crystalize instead of caramelize? ›
If you choose to cook your caramel using the wet method, by adding water to the sugar, it introduces a risk: Sugar syrup can splash up on the sides of the pan. The water evaporates, leaving sugar crystals behind.
How to prevent sugar inversion? ›
One of the ways to prevent the inversion process is to encapsulate the acid with vegetable oil before blending it with sugar and coating the sweet. Encapsulation forms a strong barrier or a 'rain coat' around the acid particles, protecting them from moisture (see diagram).
Why is my sugar crystallizing instead of melting? ›
Stirring or bumping the pot can result in sugar clumping together and hardening into crystals. If you're making syrup with water, stir the sugar into the water to fully dissolve it before you add heat. Use a clean spoon every time you need to stir. The same goes for candy thermometers and any utensils.
Can you bring back crystallized sugar? ›
You could try blitzing it in a food processor until it's back to crystals again. Note, you can go too far and end up with superfine sugar, so pulse until you hit the consistency you want.
What do you put in sugar to keep it from getting hard? ›
Store Brown Sugar with Marshmallows
The moisture from the mallows gets absorbed into the dried-out sugar. Just drop a few marshmallows into your container of brown sugar and seal it up tight. The sugar should be softer in a day or so.
