Invert sugar
Sweetener
Invert sugar (sold to bakers and confectioners as trimoline) is a thick, clear-to-pale-gold syrup or soft paste made by splitting ("inverting") table sugar into its two building-block sugars, glucose and fructose. That split is its whole point: the free-sugar mixture resists crystallising and pulls moisture from the air, so a spoonful keeps cakes, ganache, ice cream and fondant soft, smooth and moist far longer than plain sugar would.
Picking a good onedrag
Sealed, clear, glossy and quietFizzing, fuzzy, off
Open and in useEveryday bestWipe the rim and shut it tight after every scoop. Warm it a little to weigh it, then fold it into ganache, batters and sorbet for softness.
Colour and the surfaceFrankly golden rather than near-colourless - makers sell it clear to pale gold, so this is a grade, not an age
Scoop a spoonfulStiff and hard to shift from a cold cupboard, loosening as soon as the tub is stood in warm water
The tub, lid and rimOpen and in use: a sticky ring of syrup dried on the rim, the lid still seating properly
Smell it off a clean spoonA whisper of caramel over the sweetness - that comes from the making, not from age