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caramelized sugar

caramelized sugar

1 2.8
You heat sugar until it melts and turns brown to add color and sweet taste
  • noun
  • /ˈkærəˌmɛlaɪzd ˈʃʌɡər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : azúcar caramelizado
  • a drizzle of caramelized sugar
  • pour caramelized sugar
  • mixture of caramelized sugar

Examples

  • With a wooden spoon, she rubs the pan to deglaze the caramelized sugar on the bottom.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The dessert was beautifully topped with caramelized sugar that added a rich flavor.

  • For the recipe, you need to sprinkle the caramelized sugar on top before serving.

  • The chef demonstrated how to make the caramelized sugar without burning it.

Synonyms

caramel
vscaramelized sugar
29 1.1

A smooth brown sweet syrup made by heating sugar

is the descriptive phrase stressing the heating process rather than the noun

How Brown

caramelized sugar
  • Specialized
1 2.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

caramelize + sugar

The phrase is fully compositional: 'caramelized' means heated/browned and 'sugar' is the ingredient, so together they denote sugar that has been caramelized. This follows a regular past-participle + noun pattern common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Caramelized sugar comes from the kitchen act of heating sugar until it melts and turns brown into 'caramel'. That's why the name means sugar used to give food a brown color and sweet taste.