What does caramelize mean? Our Kitchen Lingo cooking glossary explains the concept, and then shows you how to achieve the desired result with an instructional video — less than one minute long.

While caramel is generally thought of as a sweet syrup or candy, caramelizing takes existing sugar (as in onions, apples, leeks, bananas, and carrots) and, through heat, gives foods an appealing nuttiness and brown color.

Here’s the definition of caramelize: To oxidize sugar found in foods, when heated, for the resulting nutty flavor and brown color.

See more cooking words and phrases defined in our KitchenLingo culinary definitions section, including chiffonade, deseed, braising, roux, creme fraiche, butterfly, meringue, reduce, and supreme.