Caramelization

Caramelization is one of a class of reactions, with many subclasses, in food chemistry, which induces browning and flavor changes in foods, principally sugars. Other classes include the Maillard reaction and enzymatic browning.

At its simplest, caramelization is the process of removal of a water molecule from a sugar molecule, "followed by isomerization and polymerisation steps. In reality the caramelization process is a complex series of chemical reactions, which is still poorly understood."

There are three basic stages:
 * 1) Heating to melting and foaming/boiling. In this stage, disaccharides such as sucrose will decompose into simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose. At lower temperatures, the simple melting will produce changes in the physical form of the sugar, without, at first, color or flavor changes. The resultant forms, however, are vital as the physical base of candies (e.g., marshmallow,fudge)
 * 2) Condensation when the sugars lose H2 and then interact to produce substances such as difructose anhydride
 * 3) Fragmentation and polymerization, the former tending to be associated with color production and the latter with flavor production.