"shipwreck" > wrote in message
...
> I tried to make a caramel by boiling sugar and water. What I got was
> just boiled sugar and water. A clear solution that never turned
> brown.
>
> Then, I mixed 1/2 stick butter with the sugar with some water, and
> got...caramel.
>
> However, in looking up other recipes calling for caramel, it's stated
> to just boil sugar and water.
>
> Thus, my question is, can you get caramel just from boiling sugar and
> water?
>
> Thanks, Gary

Well, first, there's two different kinds of caramel.
One is creamy and has dairy. The other is essentially caramelized sugar.
The first one you made, it sounds as if your ratio of water to sugar was too
high and you didn't cook it long enough. The water is only there to control
the rate at which the sugar melts, then caramelizes. All of the water must
evaporate before the sugar caramelizes, so the more water you have, the
longer this will take.

kimberly