Food and cooking: Caramelisation: New science, new possibilities

For me, the epitome of stovetop alchemy is making caramel from table sugar. You start with refined sucrose, pure crystalline sweetness, put it in a pan by itself, and turn on the heat. When the sugar rises above 160 degreesC, the solid crystals begin to melt together into a colourless syrup. Then another 10 degrees or 20 degrees above that, the syrup begins to turn brown, emits a rich, mouth-watering aroma, and adds tart and savoury and bitter to its original sweetness.