Microwave-cooking browning composition

A microwave-cooking browning agent consisting essentially of an aqueous syrup prepared by heating one part by volume of a granular disaccharide until said disaccharide melts, then carmelizes, and then foams, and then until said foaming stops to form a dark brown liquid, after said foaming stops, maintaining said dark liquid at the resultant temperature for an additional period of up to about one minute, then allowing the resultant liquid to cool without solidifying, then, to the resultant brown cooled liquid, adding from about 1.5 to about 2.5 parts water per part by volume said disaccharide, and heating the resultant mixture to a boil to form a uniform aqueous syrup which is crystal-free at room temperature, and adding to said resultant syrup a minor amount of salt to neutralize any sweetness to produce a resultant aqueous syrup which, when applied as a coating to any raw food product selected from the group consisting of meats, poultry, fish, eggs, french fry-cut potatoes, and pie crust and the resultant coated food product is cooked in a microwave oven, produces a cooked food product which is browned.