What is caramelization?

Caramelization is when sugar turns into something sweet and golden, just like it does when you make caramel.

Imagine you have a pile of white sand, that's like sugar. When you heat it up, the grains start to melt together, and they slowly turn from white to yellow, then to amber, and finally to a deep brown. This change is called caramelization. It’s not magic, it’s just sugar getting warm and changing its shape, like how ice cream melts on a hot day.

When you cook sugar in a pan, the heat makes the sugar syrup get thicker and darker. If you keep cooking it longer, it will turn into caramel, which is sticky, sweet, and sometimes even crunchy when it cools down. This is why people love adding caramel to desserts, it’s like giving them a warm hug made of sugar!