caramelize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
caramelizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
caramelized,
past participle, past
-
caramelizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
caramelizesimple
-
caramelizessimple
-
have caramelizedperfect
-
has caramelizedperfect
-
am caramelizingprogressive
-
are caramelizingprogressive
-
is caramelizingprogressive
-
have been caramelizingperfect progressive
-
has been caramelizingperfect progressive
Past
-
caramelizedsimple
-
had caramelizedperfect
-
was caramelizingprogressive
-
were caramelizingprogressive
-
had been caramelizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caramelize
Explanation
To caramelize is to slowly cook a food until it turns sweet, nutty, and brown. You can also caramelize pure sugar, or cook it until it melts, becoming golden-brown, sweet, and thick. When a cook caramelizes chopped onion, she gently cooks it in butter or oil, usually for a long time at a low temperature, until the sugars in the onion begin to brown and become very sweet. She caramelizes sugar by cooking it until it melts and reaches a certain temperature. The verb caramelize comes from caramel, or "burnt sugar" in French.
Vocabulary lists containing caramelize
Blanch, Poach, and Scald: Cooking Methods
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Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
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When Clouds Touch Us
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
You can caramelize the corn in a skillet, but if you prefer it with a late-summer-smoky-char, cook the shucked cobs on the grill before cutting off the kernels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Party wings are another reliable crowd-pleaser: Farmer Focus wings come pre-split, grill quickly and only need a coating of Tabañero BBQ sauce near the end so it can caramelize and get sticky.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Some wrap their ham in foil to prevent drying out, but this can hinder the glaze’s ability to caramelize.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025
They will soften, and then turn golden, and then — quite a lot later — caramelize.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2024
Laughing as they chop onions and caramelize them with garam masala and turmeric and ginger and garlic, trying to replicate my nanni’s kheema.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
The sugar in glazes caramelizes in the oven, adding deep sweet-savory notes and intensifying browning.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
Grilling them caramelizes their sugars a bit, complements their sweetness with a little smoke and gives them pretty grill-lines.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
Grilling brings out the sweetness and caramelizes the natural sugars in the peaches.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2023
A final coating of brown sugar and honey, speckled with mustard seeds, caramelizes onto the ham in the oven.
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2022
In doing so, the sugar in the sweetened coconut caramelizes for a greater depth of flavor, and the crisp texture it adds plays nicely with the soft and fluffy cake and frosting.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 2022
Because one caramelized vegetable is good and two are better, I added a white onion.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
A caramelized garlic steak bowl sells for $17.95, and a garden cobb salad is $15.75.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026
Lotus’s caramelized cookies are a ubiquitous traditional treat back home in Belgium, where they have long been known as speculoos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Winter really does need these tiny pockets of sweetness to brighten the bite, and whether you choose something caramelized and dense or something juicy and sharp, that contrast makes the whole thing sing.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
Jam ground some pink salt over them and nibbled at a caramelized edge, watching Redemption’s face in her periphery.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
Have a listen while you’re caramelizing or grilling the corn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
I don't care what some chef in a toque says about caramelizing onions; I want to hear the telephone cord cooking lowdown you'd warn your cousin about when she was making dinner.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
Roasting, grilling or caramelizing can bring out natural flavors in foods.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
The near-direct heat chars the peaks of the skewered meat, and the valleys catch little pools of caramelizing sauce.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
Is any of the injurious substance formed in caramelizing sugar present in Caramel Sauce?
From School and Home Cooking by Carlotta Cherryholmes Greer
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