Why does toffee turn to sugar

Most of us stopped studying chemistry for a reason so it is enough to know that, put very simply, the sugar molecules react with the amino acids proteins in the butter to form new molecules that are delicious and toffee-ish. If you really want to impress your friends, you may also want to remember that this reaction is called the Maillard reaction after the French scientist Louis Camille Maillard, who must have been taking part in Movember when his picture was taken.

This toffee is flat and crunchy, and most often comes with chocolate and nuts on top. And our method will be: 1. Calibrate your sugar thermometer. This can be done by putting it in a pot of boiling water and taking a reading. Melt the butter in the saucepan on low heat, together with the sugar, water and salt.

But treat it with care, and everything should work out okay. If not, let me know and we can work on the other, less likely scenarios. My toffee is never brown when it reaches degrees!!

Should I ignore the thermometer and wait for the color change? How to videos on you tube. Already a subscriber? Log in. Get the print magazine, 25 years of back issues online, over 7, recipes, and more. Start your FREE trial. Fine Cooking. Sign Up Login. Save to Recipe Box.

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To keep reading, subscribe today. Monitor the temperature with a candy thermometer , and try not to "shock" your candy by drastically turning the heat up or down during cooking or even moving it around on the burner too much.

It is especially important to watch the candy at the beginning of the cooking process while the butter and sugar are melting together. If the two elements melt unevenly it can result in separation. If you have good stovetop burners, we recommend turning them to medium-low to allow the butter and sugar to melt gently in the beginning stages.

If the heat is too high, but butter might melt too quickly and can separate from the sugar. Take a recipe seriously when it tells you to stir constantly—give your arm a workout and never stop stirring until the specified moment.

If your candy separates during the cooking process there is a chance you can save it. Sometimes separated toffee or caramel can be saved by removing the saucepan from the heat and stirring constantly until it comes back together into a smooth mixture. Gradually return it to the heat, stirring constantly.