Help me carmalize sugar for yerushalmi kugel

leaf

Thu, Jul 29 2021, 12:09 pm

Looking for tips as to what cookware to use - pan or skillet? covered or uncovered? medium or low heat? what should the carmalized sugar look like when its ready? I find that every cook book recommends something else. I usually remove from flame once the sugar is dossolved and is light brown, but in the process of adding to the noodles, half of the sugar ends up hardening and sticking to the bowl and spoon and forming clumps in the noodles. It always tastes good, but the sugar clumping frustrated me and I always end up determined not to make again. Anyway, my son has put in a request so I figured the time has come to get this right...
Thanks for your tips!

estreya

Thu, Jul 29 2021, 5:28 pm

Leaf, I know. I hated making it too because of the same reasons.

The hardening of the sugar is due to the temperature and time it takes to cook it to get the right colour and flavour for the caramel. You can see the different stages of cooked sugar here Joy of Baking . It cooks at the highest temperature and as it cools it becomes a solid (as opposed to some of the other stages where it does not go [as] hard).

The hardening of it is just its nature. I find that if I heat the cooked noodles a bit in the microwave so they are not cold (after you cook the noodles and strain them, add some oil so they don't stick all together and let them cool) and add them to the pot of the sugar and quickly mix it and THEN let it sit a bit (15 -20 min and stirring every few min), it helps the sugar to dissolve. Then continue with the eggs. If you stick cold noodles with the hot syrup, it will harden even further. It's not really about the cookware, though nonstick is helpful. Normally, you would do it the other way, adding the caramel to the noodles.

Don't know if this helps you any. Good luck. Hope you enjoy your Yerushalmi Smile

leaf

Fri, Aug 06 2021, 3:40 am

estreya wrote:

Thank you so much. I am thinking abt giving it a try today, if I dont run out of time. I'm trying to understand at what point you add the noodles to the sugar- before it carmalizes? As its carmalizing?
After its carmalized? Thank you!

leaf

Mon, Aug 09 2021, 8:06 am

Thank you shani. Maybe I will try that next time. Meanwhile, I wanted to update. I cooked the noodles in a 5 qt teflon dutch oven, transferred them to a collander and added a bit of oil to the noodles. Then I dried the pot, and carmalized the sugar in that same pot, using a wooden spoon. When the suagar was carmalized, I added the noodles and mixed. Most of the sugar remained disdolved!!! Usualy it hardens and sticks to pot, spoon, mixing bowl. I tried dissolving the little bit of sugar that hardenred by heating it up, but was not successful. But definitely much better than what I am used to. And such little cleanup! Think I will be making yerushalmi kugel more than once a yr! Very Happy

thank you!!!

watergirl

Mon, Aug 09 2021, 8:14 am

I've found the best pot to use for this is a cast iron based pot, like a dutch oven. It retains the heat so the sugar does not seize as soon as you pour the noodles (which is caused by the drastic change in temperature of the noodles vs. the hot sugar). BUT - if you do not have one and the sugar does seize, you can work with it. Just keep the heat on low and keep stirring it and the sugar will melt again and be perfectly caramelized, it just takes patience.

Note - always add the noodles to the caramelized sugar, not the other way around.