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If you’re out of browning, don’t run to the store, let’s learn how to make an easy homemade browning sauce. This browning sauce recipe is incredibly simple and only takes a few minutes to make. Let’s get into it!
For this recipe all you need is brown sugar, water, and a bit of will power. What I love about making homemade browning is that you can use any sugar of your preference.
Many people like to use products like date sugar or coconut sugar because they’re healthier than regular white sugar. I personally used brown sugar for this recipe because it was what I had on hand at the moment.
I love to make my own browning because I try to make anything homemade whenever I can. Store bought ingredients are usually loaded with salt or preservatives that can have a negative impact on your health in the long run.
Another recipe I love to make myself is dairy free condensed milk. Learn how to make it here!
What is Browning?
Browning is a sauce used in Jamaican/Caribbean cuisine that is typically added to meats/stews and cakes. It provides a sophisticated and deep umami flavor while adding a gorgeous brown color.
This sauce is a pretty typical ingredient in Jamaican Brown stew chicken or Oxtail. It helps to provide a smoky and savoury depth of flavor. However, browning sauce is also used in sweet recipes like Jamaican Black Cake or Spice Bun.
Hint** Browning is not necessarily something you want to dip your finger into and try a taste. It’s basically going to taste smoky, rich, and kind of like liquid burnt sugar. Browning sauce has a very concentrated like taste that pairs very well with different savory stews!
Because this is an ital (plant based) food blog, we will be using browning for different meat free stews of authentic Jamaican cakes.
Ital is the diet of the Rastafarian community in which they don’t consume any animal products.
Learn how to cook authentic ital Jamaican recipes here!
What You’ll Need
- Sugar of choice- I chose light brown sugar but a healthier sugar like date or coconut sugar should be able to work.
- Water
How to make Homemade Browning
Step One:
Make sure you’re wearing an oven mit or heat safe glove to protect the hand thats holding the pot. Sugar burns are NOT fun!
Put your brown sugar into a small sauce pan on medium heat. Stir this vigorously for about 45 seconds so that each sugar bit is touching the heat.
Now, allow the sugar to sit untouched for about 30 seconds. You will start to see the sugar melt in some patches.
Continue to stir on and off every couple of seconds. The goal is to get the sugar to melt without burning it. It will take about 5 minutes for the sugar to fully melt.
Step Two:
Once the sugar has fully melted and liquified, it will turn a gorgeous golden brown color. Continue to alternate between stirring and leaving it alone every few seconds for the next 5 minutes.
You will start to see dark brown bubbles appear and the mixture may even start to smoke. Stay calm, you can do this.
Step Three:
Rapidly, you will see the sugar turn from a golden caramel color to a dark woodsy brown within a couple of seconds. The sugar will kind of go from being a dense liquid to a light, fluffy, and almost airy liquid. See the video below for explanation. This is when the major color change happens.
Once the browning color turns to a deep dark brown (almost black), turn off the heat.
SLOWLY add in half of your room temp water. We’re not using hot water for this recipe. As soon as the water touches the browning, the mixture will bubble up and possibly sputter. Stay calm, you’re all good, it’s just ~science~. Be safe and mind yuh face.
Step Four:
Once you’ve stirred in that water, turn the heat back on medium low. Add in the rest of your water and allow the browning to simmer for the next 35 minutes. Once finished, the browning will look extremely glossy.
The browning sauce will still be liquid because it is hot. Once it cools, it will turn into the thick, runny browning texture Jamaican and Caribbean people know and love. Store in a heat safe mason jar and enjoy the fruit of your labor!
Notes for making homemade Browning
👩🏿🍳Some people use hot water but I don’t find it necessary and can make the recipe even more dangerous. For this homemade browning recipe, we’re going to be using room temperature water.
👩🏿🍳Once you take your browning off the stove, it will be a bit liquid-y. Trust the process, this will thicken SO much once it cools down into the browning sauce we know and love.
👩🏿🍳Making browning sauce requires burning sugar which is extremely hot. Please be very cautious and careful in the kitchen.
How to store Homemade Browning
I prefer to store homemade browning in the fridge, it will last for several months. When making homemade recipe, I try to avoid keeping them in the pantry – even if using an airtight container.
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Check out these other classic authentic Jamaican Recipes
Homemade Browning Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar or sugar of choice
- 1/2 Cup Room Temp Water separated into two
Instructions
- Make sure you're wearing an oven mit or heat safe glove to protect the hand thats holding the pot. Sugar burns are NOT fun!Put your brown sugar into a small sauce pan on medium heat. Stir this vigorously for about 45 seconds so that each sugar bit is touching the heat. Now, allow the sugar to sit untouched for about 30 seconds. You will start to see the sugar melt in some patches. Continue to stir on and off every couple of seconds. The goal is to get the sugar to melt without burning it. It will take about 5 minutes for the sugar to fully melt.
- Once the sugar has fully melted and liquified, it will turn a gorgeous golden brown color. Continue to alternate between stirring and leaving it alone every few seconds for the next 5 minutes. You will start to see dark brown bubbles appear and the mixture may even start to smoke. Stay calm, you can do this.
- Rapidly, you will see the sugar turn from a golden caramel color to a dark woodsy brown within a couple of seconds. The sugar will kind of go from being a dense liquid to a light, fluffy, and almost airy liquid. See the video below for explanation. This is when the major color change happens.Once the browning color turns to a deep dark brown (almost black), turn off the heat.SLOWLY add in half of your room temp water. We're not using hot water for this recipe. As soon as the water touches the browning, the mixture will bubble up and possibly sputter. Stay calm, you're all good, it's just ~science~. Be safe and mind yuh face.
- Once you've stirred in that water, turn the heat back on medium low. Add in the rest of your water and allow the browning to simmer for the next 35 minutes. Once finished, the browning will look extremely glossy. The browning sauce will still be liquid because it is hot. Once it cools, it will turn into the thick, runny browning texture Jamaican and Caribbean people know and love. Store in a heat safe mason jar and enjoy the fruit of your labor!
