In the real world, sweet flavors are hard to come by, except for a few wild fruits, and the rest is honey. In the long history of human struggle, not only have we cultivated a large number of sweet fruits and vegetables, but we have also learned to extract sugar from them, which in turn has been upgraded to a variety of flavors. One of these flavors is caramel.
It comes from nature and transcends it.

What is caramel?

The process of sugar melting and browning at high temperatures is called car amelization. This process can also be called the oxidation of sugar, or the breakdown of sugar under heat.

Caramelization of sucrose begins when sugar melts and boils at high temperatures. Sucrose first breaks down into glucose and fructose, which then lose water and react with each other to form hundreds of complex compounds that make up the mixture known as caramel.

The results of caramelization are browning and a “caramel taste “, which are determined by the two types of products of the caramelization reaction: the products of polymerization of the sugar dehydration and the products of degradation. The browning is caused by polymers, caramelans (C24H36O18), caramelens (C36H50O25), and caramelins (C125H188O80), among probably thousands of other polymers that together make up the brown color of caramel; and diacetyls, which have a butter or creamy taste, furans, which have a nutty flavor, esters and lactones, which have a sweet rum flavor. Degradation products such as diacetyls, which have a buttery or creamy flavor, furans, which have a nutty flavor, esters and lactones, which have a sweet rum flavor, and maltol, which has a toasty taste, provide the caramel with a complex “caramel taste”.

As the caramelization continues, the violent reaction continues until the bound water in the sugar is completely lost and the sugar turns into carbon, a black, porous mass that is, of course, not sweet, but bitter.

What needs to be understood, however, is that the caramelization reaction is an immensely complex process, and like another browning reaction, the Melard reaction, there is limited understanding of it, and the exact reaction remains unknown.

Caramel contains so many arrangements of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements that scientists have given up trying to name them. Sugar melts from a solid to a liquid, but instead of evaporating like water, it breaks down into countless new compounds with complex flavors that cannot be precisely described or measured.

Western and Eastern methods of caramelization

By now, caramel flavors, too numerous to be expressed in thousands, are salty or sweet, soft or hard, crunchy or tough …… These rich textures and flavors all come from one important factor – temperature.

Caramel is a caramelization reaction that occurs when sugar heats up to a critical point. The caramel flavor has a bitter taste, but also a charming aroma, and these changes, to be controlled just right, really all depend on craftsmanship. Even a temperature difference of just 1°C will bring about a completely different taste. The higher the temperature, the bitter flavor will gradually increase, and the sweetness will decrease.
▲Cane sugar caramel changes color at different temperatures, and near 170°C, a temperature difference of only 10°C makes a world of difference in color.

Different types of sugar, this critical point is also different, for example, sucrose to 170 ℃, glucose is 150 ℃, and fructose as low as just 105 ℃. In addition, when adding butter or cream, this critical point for caramelization will also drop, for example, when adding milk, the caramelization temperature is only 120℃.

The traditional western practice of making caramel is divided into dry and wet. Dry is directly in the pot to boil the sugar and then to caramelize, wet is to add water to the sugar, boil away the water, and then boil caramel. There is another way, that is, directly with a spray gun high temperature melting sugar to caramelized.

And the clever people of my great dynasty, created a long time ago with oil, water and water-oil mixture of fried sugar color method, fried sugar color, and meat with, is the color and flavor of the pearl combination.

Water fried sugar, for example, to illustrate the process of Chinese fried sugar: clean pot add sugar, and just enough to dilute the amount of water sugar, open a small fire heating, and stirring with a spoon in one direction, as the heating state continues, will experience successive six changes: sugar water, frosting, pulling, glaze, tender juice and sugar color.

Caramel color

Caramel as a food additive, the official name is “caramel color” caramel color, make caramel ubiquitous caramel is caramel pigment, industrial synthesis of caramel color is mostly chemical methods, but the raw material is still from natural sugar. In beverages, chocolate, various snacks, alcohol, as well as soy sauce, vinegar and other types of food, caramel coloring is used to adjust the color.

Problems and solutions encountered in caramel color application
Question 1: Is it safe to add caramel coloring to food? What are the relevant standards?
At present, according to the relevant provisions of GB 2760-2014 “National Standard for Food Safety, Standard for the Use of Food Additives”, four types of caramel color (produced by adding ammonia), caramel color (caustic sulfate), caramel color (common method) and caramel color (ammonium sulfite method) are used as coloring agents, and the corresponding scope and limit of use in foodstuffs are stipulated for different production methods. For example, the amount of caramel color produced by ammonia method in the preparation of condensed milk, frozen drinks, jams and other food products should not exceed the maximum limit; caustic caramel color can be used in brandy, whisky, rum and prepared wines, and the maximum use limit is 6.0 g/L.

Caramel color produced by common method has the maximum use limit in jam, rum, whisky and puffed food; caramel color produced by ammonium sulfite method has the maximum use limit in many kinds of food, such as prepared condensed milk, frozen drinks and cookies.

For caramel color, there is also a corresponding national product safety standard, namely GB 1886.64-2015 (National Standard for Food Safety, Food Additives, Caramel Color). The standard limits the content of 4-methylimidazole in caramel color products produced by ammonium sulfite method and ammonia method, i.e., not exceeding 200 units, and provides corresponding testing methods. Therefore, regulating the production according to the standard can ensure the safety of caramel color added food.

Question 2: Why do some companies have the feeling of “thinness” in the use of acid-resistant double caramel color, is there any problem with the quality? Is there any quality problem? Will it increase the usage amount?
A: The quality level of acid-resistant double caramel pigment is not determined by feeling, but by whether the indicators of caramel are in accordance with product standards. The dosage of double caramel is mainly determined by the color rate indicator, the color rate is 1 gram of caramel in 1 liter of water coloring power, the detection of this indicator are measured using very precise instruments, the error is less than one thousandth. Therefore, the amount of double caramel pigment used is not determined by the “consistency” or “thinness” of the caramel, but by the product’s quality indicator “color rate”.

The “thinness” of the double caramel coloring purchased by the user is mainly due to the low viscosity of the product. Double caramel coloring with low viscosity not only dissolves quickly in use, but also has a shelf life of more than 2 years. And the consistency of large (i.e., viscosity) double caramel pigment dissolves slowly, but also in the shelf life of the production of lipid (i.e., the production of lumps, does not flow, insoluble in water and other phenomena) phenomena, to the user losses.

Therefore, under the condition that the product meets the color rate and other indexes, the double caramel pigment with “thin” feeling is a good product, and the customer will not increase the dosage in the ingredient. Important note: The lower the viscosity of acid-resistant double caramel pigment, the better, to ensure the quality of the user’s products to the maximum extent.

Question 3: What is Acid Resistant Double Caramel Pigment? What is the difference between it and acid-resistant double caramel pigment?
A: Caramel pigments are generally classified into four categories according to different production processes: acid-resistant caramel pigments; ammonia-type caramel pigments; normal caramel pigments and caustic sulfite caramel pigments. Both single and double caramel pigments belong to the first category of acid-resistant caramel pigments, which are negatively charged. However, due to the production process, formula, catalyst dosage is different and in the color rate, hue, viscosity, specific gravity and other aspects are different.

Generally, the color rate of double caramel pigment is more than one times of single caramel pigment, but the hue (i.e. red index) is lower than single, and the viscosity and specific gravity are also smaller than single. Double caramel pigments are generally used in acidic beverages and other negatively charged liquid beverages or in bakery and condiments. Single caramel pigment is mainly used in the production of acidic beverages or bakery products with high color requirements (large red index). For example, in the production of tea drinks, sarsaparilla and some liquid health products.

Question 4: Why is there precipitation when using caramel coloring in some products? How to solve it?
A: Caramel pigments have different charges due to different production processes. Acid-resistant single, double and powder (when dissolved in water) caramel colors have a negative charge, while ammonia-based brewing caramel colors have a positive charge. Therefore, when using these two types of caramel coloring must pay attention to the pH value or what charge is added to the ingredients. Such as containing protein, amino acids more beer, wine, wine, rice wine and soy sauce, vinegar and other liquids with a positive charge, to color these products generally use ammonia-type brewing caramel pigment.

The production of acidic beverages such as cola-type beverages, tea drinks, plum drinks, sarsaparilla soda, etc., the coloring is generally used to acid-resistant type single, double and powdered caramel pigments. And some products such as fermented wine, prepared wine, cherry wine, etc. Because the protein and amino acid in the product has been basically removed in the production process, plus itself with acidity, so the acid-resistant single and double caramel coloring will not produce precipitation.

Solution: It is suggested that when the users are not clear about the charge of the products they need to color, they should add these two types of caramel pigments with different charges into the products to do experiments, and the results of precipitation or no precipitation will generally be observed within 24 hours. Of course, if the cause of product precipitation is not due to the addition of caramel pigment, then users need to make other precipitation experiments to find out the cause of product precipitation, so that the problem can be solved.