Caramel is a smooth, golden-brown candy made by heating sugar until it melts and transforms into something entirely different from where it started. When sugar gets hot enough (around 340 degrees Fahrenheit), it stops being white crystals and becomes a thick, amber liquid with a rich, buttery flavor. As it cools, it hardens into candy.

You'll find caramel in many forms: chewy caramel candies wrapped in wax paper, caramel sauce drizzled over ice cream, or caramel coating on apples at fall festivals. Bakers add cream and butter to liquid caramel to make it softer and richer. Without these additions, pure caramelized sugar becomes hard and brittle, like the crunchy top of crème brûlée.

The word also describes the color itself: that warm, amber-brown shade somewhere between gold and brown. A caramel-colored coat or a horse with a caramel mane has this distinctive golden-brown hue.

Making caramel requires patience and attention. Sugar burns easily once it starts melting, turning bitter and black if left too long. But when done right, the transformation from plain white sugar to deep, flavorful caramel feels almost magical.