Homemade browning sauce - the essential multipurpose pantry staple condiment which is used in a number of Caribbean recipes.
Browning sauce is probably one of the most important ingredients you'll ever encounter in Caribbean cooking. Seriously, I mean if you've ever browsed the pantry of an Islander you're guaranteed to find a stash of this stuff.
Don't forget to checkout my other DIY recipes - Jamaican Curry Powder, All Purpose Seasoning and my Seafood Seasoning all of which of crucial to Caribbean cooking.
Of course my family were the same, we always had some browning in the pantry, my mother wouldn't have it any other way. As a young woman, who was reared by both my mother and grandmother, I still to this day like to whip out the browning when cooking some Island food.
Lately I've been thinking about the components of this rather rich sauce, When I made my homemade Brown stew chicken and Jamaican beef stew I knew I had to credit it's richness to this sauce.
The best thing I could have done for myself was start making my own brown sauce from scratch. It's a zillions times cheaper doing it yourself and very VERY easy to make.
What is exactly is homemade browning sauce?
I'm sure you're probably wondering what's so special about browning sauce? I just read your mind, you see it's traditionally used to create an enriched deep colour hence the name.
Browning creates the most amazing dark brown hue I've ever seen in the culinary world, it's my key ingredient.
When is homemade browning sauce used?
Caribbean people add this is stewed meat, gravy and even extend it to baking the infamous black cake during the festive season.
Browning is essentially charred brown sugar, more noted for it's strong hue rather than it's nutritionally value.
Unlike the store brought kind, my recipe is completely unadulterated and free from additives and preservatives.
Please note that the flavour of the sauce is slightly smokey from charring the sugar. The longer you allow the sugar to burn the smokier the flavour and deeper the colour.
I decided to add some himalayan pink salt once liquidised to balance out that smokiness.
Add this one to your gravy, stews or whatever you need to enrich....go on I dare you!
I've updated the post with a few progress so you have an idea of what to expect. Again! please DO NOT use cold water as this will ruin the recipe because the sugar will harden and not dissolve.
Notes and tips
- Use hot water to dissolve the sugar NEVER cold or the sugar will become hard and not dissolve.
- Don't let the sugar turn BLACK or it will result in a bitter tasting browning sauce.
- Be very careful when adding the hot water as the sugar may splutter and raise up.
- Use a non stick saucepan or an old saucepan. DON'T use one of your fancy or brand new saucepans.
- When adding the hot water you may want to do this in the kitchen sink to reduce accidents.
- Store in the refrigerator for several months to over a year once chilled.
- Keep the fan extractor on/leave a window open to reduce a build up of smoke.
Other recipes to use this sauce in
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Homemade Browning Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups of coconut palm sugar raw organic cane sugar works too
- 1 cup of hot water
- 2 tsp of himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Add the sugar to a large saucepan and turn on medium heat.
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula and begin to slowly stir. The sugar will start to dissolve and turn into a syrup consistency while darkening.
- If the sugar begins to smoke too quickly then reduce the flame or switch off the stove and continue to stir while charring the sugar.
- Once the sugar darkens to a dark brown almost but NOT black (don't let it go black or it will be too bitter) in colour remove from the stove and carefully add the hot water. The saucepan will yield plenty of steam and splutter which is normal but please be very careful when following this step and add the water slowly - keep on stirring the pan.
- Once the sauce is formed, allow to cool before adding the pink salt and pour into a sauce bottle.
Notes
- Use hot water to dissolve the sugar NEVER cold or the sugar will become hard and not dissolve.
- Don't let the sugar turn BLACK or it will result in a bitter tasting browning sauce.
- Be very careful when adding the hot water as the sugar may splutter and raise up.
- Use a non stick saucepan or an old saucepan. DON'T use one of your fancy or brand new saucepans.
- When adding the hot water you may want to do this in the kitchen sink to reduce accidents.
- Store in the refrigerator for several months to over a year once chilled.
- Keep the fan extractor on/leave a window open to reduce a build up of smoke.
This turned out perfectly on my first go! No bitterness - just delicious caramelized flavours! 😀
Yay! Thanks for the feedback Charlotte, always glad to hear when recipes work out for my readers and there's no need to troubleshoot.
I tried this twice. The first time, it was extremely bitter. I cooked it until it was almost black. The second time I stopped sooner and I realized that it darkens a lot when you add the water. So I think you can stop cooking it when it is a darker brown. The near black colour comes when you add the water. My second batch was less bitter, which is good because I need a 1/4cup of the stuff for a natural cola recipe. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Carla, I'm so glad that it worked out for you the second time around. Yes the key is finding that fine balance and dark brown will guarantee a great testing browning sauce.
This is perfect. I never really knew how similar browning sauce is to a Vietnamese caramel sauce. My oxtails came out perfect. Thank you 🙂 (follow directions exactly people. if it came out too hard, then it is because your measurements were off and so forth).
Thank you so much and you are welcome.
Hey, i‘m from Germany and needed Browning Sauce. It‘s not easy to get here, so i tried your recipe.
It worked perfectly with cane sugar and I will definitly try to use it on some traditionel german food.
Thanks a lot and guten Appetit.
Wow! My browning recipe has reached Germany! I'm humbled. Thank you so much and I'm happy to hear that you are using it on traditional German recipes too. Enjoy!
Hi Charla! Thankyou for the recipe! It turned out great 🙂 i only left it a smidge too long on the burner and it tastes *very slightly* on the burned side, but next time I’ll be more prepared to get it off and have space cleared, lol. Thanks again
Also in re to the past comments., I used brown sugar as well. Takes a little time but keep at it stirring slowly as she mentioned. Once it’s fully liquid and freely moving with your wooden spatula, keep a close eye but keep heat as is, it will Very quickly darken all of a sudden and start to appear to ‘foam up’ - remove it from the burner immediately.
You are welcome Lorrie. This is a delicate recipe and it literally needs to be baby sat through the entire process. I'm so glad it worked for you, the "slight burnt" taste shouldn't impact your recipes at all.
Lord.....my entire house is filled with smoke and I'm left with a pot of hard sugar and some liquid.
It's funny because the stove was off for half of the time due to all of the smoke.
I don't think I'll be trying this again
Sorry to hear that Eric
Thank you so much for this recipe. It came out just cc like you said. I needed browning sauce for vegan oxtails and I served for homemade browning sauce and I tried yours it turned out perfect!
I'm so glad it worked out for you Rita.
I've never noticed or tried KB straight out of the bottle. Does it have a sweet taste?
Does yours have a sweet taste? wouldn't that make your everyday meals taste sugary?
Thanks
KB? I have no idea what you are referring to. Sorry!
I believe they are referring to kitchen bouquet. A browning sauce you can buy at local stores.
Hi tried this and whilst cooling it harden up. What could i have done wrong please?
No problem, it's see what we can do here. Try adding hot water (about 1/3 cup) to the mixture and reheat it on the stove while stirring until it turns to liquid. That should prevent it from turning hard again and stay in a liquid state.
Hi I am trying this recipe. I used brown sugar as I did not have cocunut palm sugar. It was very difficult to get to melt down and I ended up with lumpy sugar. I ended up adding the water gradually hoping the sugar would dissolve . Should I have just used white caster sugar or perhaps raw sugar ???
Actually, it is starting to dissolve the sugar now. How thick should it be.
Regards. Helen
Hi Helen. If you ever run into any problems again try milling the sugar so it is a powdery consistency. That should make a difference. In terms of the thickness it shouldn't be too thick, it should be the consistency of runny syrup.
Life saver !!! I forgot to grab some for my Jamaican oxtail stew. This sauce is the next best thing next to sliced bread. 😂 again thanks
Thank you so much Trina, so glad you were able to make some delicious oxtail stew using my homemade browning.
Hi Charla,
My onion soup came out beautifully. I found it takes a bit more of this than KB but, as you pointed out, it really doesn't affect the flavor at all. I was a little surprised as the smell and taste on it's own were quite strong. Word to the wise: optimally this should be done during a time of year that you can ventilate the house a bit. My upstairs still smells a bit like a Kettle Korn factory (that's not a huge complaint). Thanks again, this is now a staple in my home.
Hi Again Rael. I'm so glad you were able to use it for your onion soup. Yes, you can afford to be a bit heavy handed with this typical browning and it thankfully won't impact the overall result of the dish. Thanks for pointing out the need for ventilation, I always prepare mine with my fan extract on as I agree the smell is quite pungent.
Thank you! I've been looking for a replacement for Kitchen Bouquet for a couple years since my household went organic and non-gmo. I live in the midwest; during a big snow I got a serious yen for onion soup. Got started only to find out that I had no KB. I gave this a shot and now I have enough browning for a year or more! This is much appreciated. Happy Holidays!
Hi Rael. I'm so happy to have helped you! Yes, the browning is multipurpose and lasts for a long long time. I still have mine stocked in the refrigerator for over a year now with no problems. Happy holidays!
Hi Charla, I've just tried this recipe with unrefined coconut sugar (as i don't have palm sugar). Everything was going dainty and nice up till the cooling stage... and then the sugar hardened! With my spoon still stuck in the pot (-_-)"' I wonder what I am missing.... How is the sugar supposed to remain in liquid form? Is the proportion of sugar to hot water 2 is to 1?
Hi Kai. Thank you for reaching out to me. Let's see if we are troubleshoot this together. The ratio of sugar to water is definitely 2:1 but it sounds as if the browning is more of a thick syrup than it is a runny sauce. Are you able to reheat the mixture on the stove and pour some hot water onto it (about 1/4 cup) to get it to melt? If so, try that, if the mixture appears thick it needs to be watered down some more. Stick to adding 1/4 cup of hot water as mentioned to melt the browning into a sauce. If it still seems thick add another 1/4 cup and you should be left with a not so thick sauce as it cools down. I hope that makes sense and feel free to reach out to me again if you are still stuck.
Can ordinary granulated sugar or cane sugar be used in this recipe? Wondering if coconut palm sugar is essential.
Coconut palm sugar is simply used because it is a low GI sugar. Cane sugar will work just fine in place of it.
I made Jamaican Brown Stew with this homemade browning sauce...the best decision EVER! Super easy, simple and healthy. Thanks a lot!
You are more than welcome
Girl thank you. I’m a Jamaican living in Mo it’s hard to get Jamaican product here. Need to make a Easter bun cake acrosss your recipe and made it. Came out perfect. It’s cooling on the stove right now. Will update a photo of the bun when I make it. Thanks a lot for the recipe. I use regular brown sugar.
Happy to have helped Nicola 😉
I'll preface by disclosing that I'm not Caribbean. My other half is, however, and I'm seeking to learn how to cook the types of meals that he likes. I just want to make sure I did this correctly, because it smells horrid. Is it supposed to smell like a nice smokey flavor or is this extra burnt sugar smell the correct result? I feel like I may need to start over, but this too more like 15 minutes rather than 5.
Hi Nikki. The browning should have a smokey/slightly burnt smell but it definitely shouldn't be overly strong. You might have over caramelised the sugar and made it burn which is why it smells awful. You can give it another try, once the sugar darkens, that's when its ready for the next step. Don't let the sugar go black, just literally past the caramel stage is suffice.
I hope that helps!!
I've just moved to China and its Christmas time. I really wanted to make the Jamaican Christmas cake but they don't sell browning here. Thank you. My cake will come out really good now.
Hi Joleen. I'm glad that I have come to your aid with my browning sauce for you to use in China. Enjoy!
Awesome, the secret ingredient( to getting it close) to the real Branston Pickle recipe
thank you!!
Hi, Charla!
I have a question regarding the browning sauce. I was wondering if it could replace caramel coloring for a copy cat cola recipe?
Thanks
Hi Trevor, yes it should do, I'm not 100% sure if it would yield a very concentrated colour like cola though, maybe off brown and not a deep brown. It's not something I've tried but we do traditionally use browning to colour black cake if that helps.
Where can I buy the Browning source in the UK, need it for baking.
Caribbean grocery store
Made this sauce today to try my hand at Caribbean black cake for a friend's birthday treat. Took about an hour total time at the stove and since I've never used browning before I'm hoping it turned out well but it's a lovely dark color and smooth consistency.
Hi Elsie. Based on your description sounds like the browning sauce turned out well.
Thank you so much.
You are welcome Grace
Thank you for this recipe. Mine is cooling as I type. I am happy to not use a store bought sauce with all of the colorings and additives.
I think I did something wrong though. It took a really long time to turn dark brown, not the five minutes you listed. However, when I added the water, the sugar clumped up badly. I put it to on low heat and stirred until it was smooth. Should I have added hot water at then end?
Hi Laura. Yes hot water should be used to ensure the sugar doesn't clump up and remains smooth. I will revise the recipe post to reflect my answer to your question.
I thought I would give you an update. We had an early Thanksgiving today. I used your sauce in my gravy and it came out beautiful dark caramel color and tasted so good. I got compliments on it and asked to bring it to a Christmas potluck.
Thanks again for the recipe. Can the browning sauce be frozen?
Hi Laura. I'm so happy to learn that yourself and co adored the browning sauce. I would advise to refrigerate the sauce instead of freezing. Simply pour it into a sauce bottle with a stopper and use accordingly. The browning has a VERY long shelf life so as long it is stored in a refrigerator, you can use at your leisure and save a ton of money!
I just followed recipe and made this for the first time. So far so good. Turned out great. Never cooked anything with browning sauce before so this will be a first!
So glad to hear that Sparky.
Will this recipe have the effect of ruining the pan? Also, do you still add salt if you are using it for baked goods?
Yes you should still add the salt. It has not ruined my pan, but then again mine are non stick and heavy duty. If your pan isn't non stick then I wouldn't advise making the recipe just to be on the safe side.
Thank You from a NH organic gardener and senior citizen. ... I grew up with store bought browning sauce. ... today, thanks to you, I made my own! ... Also had all of your ingredients in my pantry! Thanks again!
Lovely Karen! Glad you liked and more importantly made the recipe.
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipe and kind words of encouragement.
You are more than welcome
Thank you ever so much for this fine recipe! I can't find the Browning sauce anywhere at all in Finland but now I can make my own and forget ordering it from Amazon. This is simply brilliant.
Hi Marko. You are more than welcome. The good thing about recipes such as this is that anyone can make it regardless of their location.
How long will it last if you forget to put it in the fridge? Like I did two months ago. It was great but not sure I can still use it.
Hi Nancy. The sauce should be fine so long as it wasn't stored in a warm environment where bacteria can breed.
I made this to go with a corned beef brisket. I used a mix of brown and white sugars since I'm in the States and we don't have the other kind and I didn't want to go to town. thanks! it was nice to be able to control what's in it and more importantly what ISN'T in it. 🙂
Hello there. Thank you for commenting. It's perfectly fine with me if you wish to adapt the recipe to your situation. What's important is that you enjoyed the finished result.
Going to try this homemade browning sauce in place of store bought sauce for my corned beef brisket tomorrow. Thanks for your healthier version!
You're welcome Debbie and enjoy!
I truly appreciate this recipe. I am from Haiti and as a Caribbean woman, we enjoy the rich color in our cuisine. I purchase my browning at the grocery store but lately been concerned of how healthy it is. It is so important to me what I feed my family. I came across your recipe and am so delighted that I can create this on my own. The coconut palm sugar is a healthier version sugar due to its low glycemic index. The Himalayan pink salt normally contains a collection of unbelievable nutrients. I will definitely try this out this weekend. It is good to be at ease knowing that I know what I am feeding my family. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Hi Viviane. So glad to have another Island sister on broad with the health wagon. The great thing about the browning sauce is not only is it healthier but also lasts for a very long time. You only need a small amount to work with and it lasts forever which will save you money in the long run.
If coconut palm sugar is not available what do you suggest as an alternative?
Hi Dan, there's not really many alternatives to chose from in granular form as the reason why I use coconut sugar is because of it's low GI index, it wouldn't raise ones blood pressure. Granted brown sugar would work but I wouldn't advise because it is refined with a high GI index ranking. You could try some date sugar. I have a recipe right now where you can roast and pulverise it into granules https://thatgirlcookshealthy.com/how-to-make-date-sugar-paleogluten-free
WOW ! I just made this ( cooling as we speak) to use in a corned beef recipe . I love using kitchen bouquet, I can't wait to give this a try tonight ! Thank you thank you thank you Charla !
PS I used brown sugar as I have no c. Palm sugar .
I would love to see the final results as I'm very curious to know how this recipe would work with corned beef. I hope you can send me a picture or at least provide feedback.
Where can I buy Browning in the UK??
Heh, I got here for the exact same reason, looking for a recipe for browning sauce to use with corned beef. I think this is the recipe he was talking about, which I'm about to make as well.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/231030/braised-corned-beef-brisket/?src=VD_Summary
I got here from the same recipe, because I had never heard of browning sauce. How did it turn out? I'm thinking I might just rub brown sugar on the brisket instead, but I want to make this anyway!
Unless you're basting with the brown sugar then the brisket won't yield that deep colour which is what browning sauce is used for. Please give it a try Jana
Thank you for this recipe, can I use brown sugar as an alternative to the palm sugar and would I use the same amounts?
Hey MJ, Although I don't encourage the use of brown sugar yes you are more than welcome to use it with the same measurements, no need to adjust anything!
is the browning meant to taste very bitter?
Yes, it has a bitter taste to it because it is essentially burnt sugar. The store brought kind is exactly the same thing only they disguise this burnt element with additives. Remember when you're using it, you will only be using it for colour not flavour so no more than a teaspoon worth is needed. I have used it in my brown stew chicken recipe and the browning sauce has no bearing on the taste.
This is such a useful recipe! We just had to share it. Browning is impossible to get in our little Middle Eastern village as well so this is a handy recipe without the gunk.
This is a recipe we will will definitely be sharing! Browning is impossible to get in our little Middle Eastern village as well so this is a handy recipe without the gunk.
This will definitely come in handy for some Caribbean cooking while in the UAE.
Thank you it was just what I needed, you made this post for me because I've no wanted to use my browning for sometime as it has modified maize starch as one of the ingredients this browning is quick and simple I'm sure a thickener could be added too. I cooked my snapper based on your recipe for the parrot frustrating of grilling instead of deep frying then stewed it down in a dutch pot xx Thank you again Charla
I'm glad to hear that Renee. I love receiving feedback for my recipes, highly appreciate it.
Aw wow came on here looking for a cooked down snapper recipe and came across this so amazing will be making tonight in place of my store brought browning, to use in the fish gravy thank you
Homemade browning is by far better than the store brought kind. It does have a hint of smokiness from charring but it won't compromise the flavour and still does the job. I will do some fish recipes once I go to the Market and buy more fish.
Charla!!! This looks and sounds absolutely wonderful! I've never tried browning sauce, but I bet it's amazing!
Hi Anne, it will change your culinary experience for the better. Do give this one a try, highly recommended.
Who knew ! Now I can make my own browning sauce. Thanks Charla!
You're welcome Imma.
Hi can u use the browning sauce as soon as its made?
Yes, as long as it's cool. It should also thicken up in due time if it hasn't done already.
I know right, I just ran out and I needed some fast, thanks love