On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1240

crystals This tendency to form crystals is the means by which we obtain pure sugar from plant juices, and it’s the way that we make many kinds of candies Sugar crystallization is described in detail on p 682 Caramelization Caramelization is the name given to the chemical reactions that occur when any sugar is heated to the point that its molecules begin to break apart This destruction triggers a remarkable cascade of chemical creation From a single kind of molecule in the form of colorless, odorless, simply sweet crystals, the cook generates hundreds of new and different compounds, some of them small fragments that are sour or bitter, or intensely aromatic, others large aggregates with no flavor but a deep brown color The more the sugar is cooked, the less sugar and sweetness remain, and the darker and more bitter it gets Though caramel is most often made with table sugar, its sucrose molecules actually break apart into their glucose and fructose components before they begin to fragment and recombine into new molecules Glucose and fructose are “reducing sugars,” meaning that they have reactive atoms that perform the opposite of oxidation (they donate electrons to other molecules) A sucrose molecule is made from one glucose and one fructose joined by their reducing atoms, so sucrose has no reducing atoms free to react with other molecules, and is therefore less reactive than glucose and fructose This is why sucrose requires a higher temperature for caramelization (340ºF/170ºC) than glucose (300ºF/150ºC) and especially fructose (220ºF/105ºC)  ... fructose are “reducing sugars,” meaning that they have reactive atoms that perform the opposite of oxidation (they donate electrons to other molecules) A sucrose molecule is made from one glucose and one fructose joined by their reducing atoms, so sucrose has no... reducing atoms free to react with other molecules, and is therefore less reactive than glucose and fructose This is why sucrose requires a higher temperature for caramelization (3 40ºF/170ºC) than glucose (3 00ºF/150ºC) and especially fructose...Though caramel is most often made with table sugar, its sucrose molecules actually break apart into their glucose and fructose components before they begin to fragment and recombine into new molecules Glucose and