How To Never Burn Caramel Again

My family has a long history with caramel. My grandmother’s caramel cakes are the stuff of family legend. When she died, they very well could have passed with her. Thankfully, my sweet, loving (and sweet-loving) mother has picked up the caramel-making torch for us.

But—and I’m going to get in SO much trouble for saying this—my mom is terrible at making caramel. Don’t misunderstand me: Her caramel frosting is delicious—when she finally gets it right.

Seriously, she’s never made caramel without burning it at least once and having to start over. It's the running joke every time she cranks out a caramel cake: "How many times did it take you this time, Mom?"

It turns out the apple doesn’t fall so far from the tree. I recently tried my hand at making caramel of a different sort—apple cider caramel—and experienced equally tragic, if not decidedly more dramatic results. (And yes, Mom, I realize I deserve it for being a smart mouth!)

To make apple cider caramel, you have to reduce apple cider down a lot. I got it simmering, set a timer, and went out back to my studio to do some pottery.

Twenty minutes later, I checked on it—literally no change. So, I reset the timer for 15 minutes. When I checked again, it was just starting to get syrupy, so I figured it could take at least 10 more minutes.

Turns out, it literally could not. I walked back into the house to discover a TWO-FOOT-THICK blanket of sugar smoke hovering at the ceiling like an indoor thunderstorm. I quickly snatched the offending pan from the heat and got it outside Then, I ran back inside and opened all the windows to vent the smoke. When I flung open the front door to help, you could actually see the smoke billowing out into the night!

You might be wondering, "Why didn’t the smoke alarm go off?"

Oh, do you mean the smoke alarm that I dismantled in a fit of rage eight years ago when I couldn’t make it stop beeping at 3 a.m. for no reason? Oops.

Caramel is a fickle beast and a tricky recipe to tackle. There are many things you can do to mitigate disaster: Choose a heavy-bottom pan; use a little water; even cheat by using a little corn syrup (read all of our best caramel tips here).

All of these things will help, but there’s only one secret that will help keep you from burning caramel—NEVER, EVER WALK AWAY.

Whether you’ve made it 100 times or none, if you’re using a wet or dry caramel method, or you're turning it into candy or frosting, the best way to guarantee good caramel is to give it your undivided attention. Don’t check your Facebook. Don’t bathe the cat. Stand there at the stove, and watch that pan like your mom watched you from the choir loft at church when you were talking during the sermon.

They say a watched pot never boils; I say watched caramel never burns. Stay with it, follow your recipe directions to the letter, and your caramel aspirations will become a delicious reality.

But maybe check the battery in your smoke detector before you start.