Why does sugar caramalize?????

Hey my name is james hewitt i live in dunedin, new zealand. At the moment for school we are doin the local science fair and everyone has to compete .
the topic is have chosen is :Why Does Sugar Caramalize?
if anybody has any infor plz post me or email me at Hewy_nz@hotmail.com

[chefjohnpaul]

James, Get a hold of the book "On Food and Cooking" by food scientist and author Harold McGee. It will answer all you questions regarding this subject.



[This message has been edited by chefjohnpaul (edited August 02, 2000).]

In her "CookWise", Corriher says, "When melted table sugar gets very hot (over 338ºF?170ºC), it breaks down to form smaller sugars, some of which join together again to form different sugars, and these may break down again to form different smaller sugars . . .but by the time you have dark, almost black caramel, more than 128 differend sugars and related compouds have been formed." The color indicates that some double bonds have been formed by stripping hydrogen from the organic molecules and combining the hydrogen with oxygen to form steam.

Originally posted by Hewy_nz:
Hey my name is james hewitt i live in dunedin, new zealand. At the moment for school we are doin the local science fair and everyone has to compete .
the topic is have chosen is :Why Does Sugar Caramalize?
if anybody has any infor plz post me or email me at Hewy_nz@hotmail.com