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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
When Clouds Touch Us
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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
But when you caramelize tomato paste, roast fresh cherry tomatoes and onion, and let it all simmer for hours on a snow day before adding a final finish of cream?
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2025
Zucchini, on the other hand, with its high moisture content, needs plenty of roasting time for the juices to condense, then caramelize.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2024
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 caramelizes, the heat cuts through the sweetness, and the result is bacon you physically cannot walk away from.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
The latter involves building a “cheese wall” around the perimeter of a cast-iron skillet, which crisps and caramelizes while baking in a very hot oven.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
The sugar in glazes caramelizes in the oven, adding deep sweet-savory notes and intensifying browning.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
But using flour comes with another benefit: The flour left behind in the pan caramelizes, helping to both flavor and thicken the pan sauce.
From Washington Post ● May 12, 2022
The amber maple both dyes the bread a gorgeous hazelnut color and caramelizes into an exterior that you actually want to eat.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2022
It’s crisp and caramelized on the outside, tender and structured within.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 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
Shredded raw red cabbage and roasted sweet potato coins, caramelized at the edges.
From Salon ● Jan. 13, 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
“Well, let me see...will it be oozing chocolate lava cake at sixteen dollars or the caramelized runny butter tarts at fourteen dollars or the...,”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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
Time in a hot oven transforms food — concentrating and deepening its flavors, caramelizing it and creating crispy surfaces, while cooking gently enough to slowly bring proteins to the perfect temperature.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 29, 2022
This means it's caramelizing and becoming more flavorful.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2022
Iron is not affected by the highest cooking temperature, hence it is desirable to use an iron utensil for caramelizing sugar.
From School and Home Cooking by Carlotta Cherryholmes Greer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
