Combine sugar and water in a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium low heat, and stir together until the sugar is completely saturated and beginning to dissolve.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat to high. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to swab down the sugar crystals on the sides of the pan, but do NOT stir. It must be left alone to cook.

As the water evaporates off, and the heat of the sugar rises, the sugar begins to caramelize. The mixture will quickly go through all of the sugar syrup stages listed above. Be ready to remove it from the heat as soon as it gets to the desired stage, because it won’t stay there for long.

Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pan, and turn on medium heat. Do not dump all of your sugar in at once.

As the sugar gets close to the desired stage or caramelization, remove it from the heat. The pan will still be hot, and the sugar will continue to get darker.