These very similar words mean somewhat
different things, and aren’t always used
consistently.
Caramelization is the cooking of a plain
sugar syrup until it turns brown and
aromatic. It is similar to the browning or
Maillard reactions that give color and
aroma to roasted meats, baked goods, and
other complex foods, but unlike the
browning reactions it proceeds in the
absence of amino acids and proteins. It
requires higher temperatures than the
browning reactions, and produces a
different mixture of aromatic compounds
and therefore a different flavor (p. 777).
Cooks have spoken of “caramelized” or
“carmelized” meats for better than a
century, but this is not really correct.
Caramel is first of all the brown, sweet,
aromatic syrup produced in
caramelization, which may be used as
coloring and/or flavoring ingredient in