caramelize

verb

car·​a·​mel·​ize ˈkär-mə-ˌlīz 

ˈker-ə-mə-,

ˈka-rə-mə-

caramelized; caramelizing

1

transitive : to subject (sugar or the sugar content of a food) to caramelization : to change into caramel (see caramel sense 1) by heating at high temperature

… flan bathed in caramelized sugar and topped with whipped cream …

—Penelope Casas

At a restaurant, some unlucky prep cook gets to peel, slice, and caramelize bags of onions in the morning.

—Stephanie Alleyne

2

intransitive : to change to caramel

Fructose begins to rapidly caramelize at around 200 degrees …

—Matthew Card

: to undergo caramelization

These sweet potatoes caramelize slightly in the oven, which gives them a sweet crunch as their flesh remains creamy.

—Lesley Porcelli

Examples of caramelize in a Sentence

The onions will take five minutes to caramelize.

Caramelize two cups of sugar.

Continue stirring until the sugar caramelizes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Good & Gather Buffalo-Style Wings Bright orange in color, these huge wings have plenty of Buffalo sauce and develop a crust that caramelizes nicely in the oven. —Jolene Thym, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024

This process coaxes and caramelizes the sugars from the shallots and garlic and creates umami without the help of fish sauce or snails. —Diep Tran, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024

It’s made of 70% dark chocolate and filled with caramel ganache and caramelized popcorn. —Helen Chandler-Wilde, Fortune Europe, 22 Mar. 2024

Stoop Kid, Phoenix Stoop Kid's Stoop burger is made with a brisket single patty, Tillamook cheddar, caramelized onions, dill pickles and Dijonnaise on a brioche bun. —Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024

The 30-seat dining room offers dishes like king crab with pork cheeks and caramelized Belle de Boskoop apple with milk and woodruff, and the 15 sunlit guest rooms have locally handmade beds and glass sculptures by Ellen Ehk and Markus Åkesson. —New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024

The addition of cheese and caramelized onions paired well with the slightly sweet burger sauce. —Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 29 Mar. 2024

Green chili queso smash burger, made with a third-pound smash burger patty, hatch chile, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onion and chipotle aioli on a local pretzel bun. —Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 2024

Fried chicken wings are drenched in a sweet-spicy, caramelized fish sauce glaze and cocktails wink at the tropics of Vietnam with spirits made from sugar cane and agave, like rums and tequilas, blended with tropical fruits, such as hibiscus, pineapple and tamarind. —Detroit Free Press, 10 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1