CARAMEL Sweet, warm and comforting

The good stuff may be forgiving once it's made, but you need to follow the rules to get it right.
By AMY SCATTERGOOD
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Oscar Wilde once wrote, "the only immortality I desire is to invent a new sauce." It was a characteristically pithy statement that could very easily have been uttered by chef Antonin Careme as well.
But as Careme -- who didn't invent sauces as much as codify them -- would be the first to point out, immortality can just as easily be found in an old sauce, especially if it's a very good one. Take caramel sauce, a classic that is very old indeed, and which is as close to alchemy -- and, by extension, immortality -- as you can get in a saucepan. And the biggest surprise is how easy it is: With a few basic caveats in mind, it takes about 15 minutes to accomplish and is virtually foolproof.
A classic caramel sauce is a splendid thing, rich and bronzed, with a depth of burnished sweetness and a flavor profile that has more in common with a single-malt Scotch whisky than candy. Easy to master and almost irresistible, it's a sauce that can take you all the way through the holidays: The heady flavor is a perfect foil for winter fruit dishes and seasonal pies. Pair it with bread pudding or a simple poached pear; drizzle it around ice cream or a warm apple tart.
The sauce itself is quite simple. Just boil down sugar, water and a little lemon juice until the mixture turns a deep bronze color, then pour in heavy cream and whatever flavoring you might want to add. Stir and refrigerate.
Some extra punch
Torque up the sauce with some fleur de sel (sea salt), or flavor it with spices, fruit or liqueurs. Tempered with Banyuls vinegar or demi-glace, it can be used to sauce savory pan-roasted duck or a holiday goose.
The transformation of taste is as remarkable as that of the sugar itself: from a single dimension of sweetness to a world of smoke and honeyed flavor, deep hints of wood and fruit that can be played up with a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of sea salt, a dose of cream.
Caramel is a little different than it was back in Careme's day -- the legendary chef did not, by the way, invent either caramel or creme caramel, despite the happy assonance of his name -- as over the years we've changed the procedure slightly to prevent the sugar from burning, and added cream and sometimes butter to mellow out the sauce itself. But the equation is the same: Take sugar and melt it until it changes structure, shape, color and flavor.
In the old days, chefs simply melted plain sugar in a pot, then added water, or other liquid, and boiled it until it reached the consistency they wanted. But this, called the "dry method," is trickier than it sounds -- the sugar can melt unevenly and burn, or caramelize too quickly. Or it can crystallize, a process in which the sugars form crystals that seed other crystals -- and soon generate an ice storm in a saucepan instead of anything like a caramel sauce.
The "wet method," in which water -- and an invert sugar, such as corn syrup, or an acid, such as lemon juice or cream of tartar -- is boiled along with the sugar, easily solves all these problems. Adding a squeeze of lemon also lends a hint of citrus, a welcome note which keeps the caramel from becoming cloying.
With the addition of water and lemon, the sugar dissolves, boils down and ultimately melts and caramelizes, but it does so evenly and slowly enough -- it takes about 8 minutes -- so that you can control the caramelizing process. Some people appreciate a lighter, smoother and sweeter flavor, while others like a darker, smokier profile.
Thermometer? Nope
One of the nice things about making caramel is that it's done by sight, not by candy thermometer. After the water boils off and the sugars melt and caramelize, it's a question of color. Watch carefully: At this point, the sugars caramelize very quickly and can easily burn if left too long on the flame.
As soon as the caramel reaches the color you want, take it off the heat and whisk in the cream all at once. Stand back: The mixture will froth and bubble like a mad science experiment.
In making caramel, the choice of saucepan is important. You want one with high sides and a heavy bottom and not one with a nonstick surface: Stainless steel is best because it's light enough in color to let you judge the color of the melting sugar. (And it's not difficult to clean, as caramel made this way won't adhere to the pan: Just rinse it in hot water.)
Adding sea salt to caramel brings out more layers of flavor and, like the lemon, adds a counterpoint to the sweetness. For butterscotch flavor, stir in a few tablespoons of butter. Or consider infusing the cream first with peppercorns or rosemary or anything else that sounds good.
Then pour the caramel sauce into a glass container and chill it for at least half an hour. This allows the flavors to marry while the caramel sets up, cools and thickens. Once cooled, you can use it right away or keep it covered tightly in the refrigerator for weeks; to loosen it up enough to use, just give it a minute in the microwave.
Caramel is a very resilient sauce: After reheating, it's as good as new, ready to be poured over cinnamon ice cream or a freshly baked apple pie.