25. Caramelised Carrots

Caramelisation is another example of non-enzymatic browning. Sugar is oxidised resulting in a nutty flavour and brown colour. By weight, carrots are almost 5% sugar, mostly sucrose but with much smaller amounts of glucose and fructose. Fructose caramelises at about 110°C (230°F) whereas sucrose and glucose caramelise at 160°C (320°F). The trick for caramelising carrots is to bring their surface temperature high enough for the caramelisation to work while not heating it to the point where th