Practical Round Level: sec 1- sec 2

Basic Theory
Caramelization is the name of a cooking process that occurs when sugar is heated.
The molecules of the sugar begin to break apart and make new compound. Caramelization of
pure sugars without any addition of milk, butter or cream is called browning reaction or
Maillards reaction. There are two types of browning reaction, wet method and dry method.
Wet method starts by dissolving sugar into the water and then boiling it in order to remove the
water while the dry method starts by melting sugar without adding any water. Since wet
method are more common and easy, we will use wet method in this experiment. In this
experiment, you will observe the effects of the time in the browning stage of sugars.

Apparatus and Materials:

2 stopwatch 1 electronic balance
1 wok 150 gram of sugars
2 spoons 75 ml of water
1 bowl Aluminum foil
1 measuring cylinder Cloth to avoid burn

Experiment methods: (Caution: be careful, caramel is very hot and could damage your
hands)
1. In the wok provided, dissolve 150 gram of sugar in 75 ml of water.
2. Heat the mixture by using minimum heat for 5-10 minutes.
3. Every minute take out a spoonful of the mixture and put the mixture into the aluminum foil
until you get the best colour. Taste the caramel (amber colour with little bit burn sugar
taste). Turn off the stove and pour the caramel into a bowl contain 50 ml water. Remove
the solid caramel and hand it to the committee to be marked
4. For each sample you take every minute:
a. Measure the time taken until the solution freezes (it might be only taken few second
so work efficiently)
b. Observe each sample according to the colour, taste and hardness. Is there any
difference in coloration? Taste each spoonful and describe the flavor.

You have 40 minutes to complete this form and do your experiment.

Posing question: How long is needed to create best taste and colour of caramel
Independent variables: ____________________________________________________[1]
Dependent variables: _____________________________________________________[2]
Control variables: _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________[3]

Hypothesis: _______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________[2]
Data Presenting (Complete the table below. Only fill the row until the time you take out
the caramel from the stove)

Time for Time for colour Taste hardness

cooking mixture to
(minutes) freeze
(seconds)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
[4]

Draw a conclusion to explain your data

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________[3]
Group: ____________________________
Rubric for marking the practical round: Judge 1
1. Taste, colour, and texture of the caramels : /15
2. Science inquiry (from the form) /15x2 : /30
3. Tidiness : /10
4. Efficiency of lab work : /25
5. Team work : /20

Group: ____________________________
Rubric for marking the practical round: Judge 2
1. Taste, colour, and texture of the caramels : /15
2. Science inquiry (from the form) /15x2 : /30
3. Tidiness : /10
4. Efficiency of lab work : /25
5. Team work : /20

Group: ____________________________
Rubric for marking the practical round: Judge 3
1. Taste, colour, and texture of the caramels : /15
2. Science inquiry (from the form) /15x2 : /30
3. Tidiness : /10
4. Efficiency of lab work : /25
5. Team work : /20