The Lie of Caramelized Onions (1 Viewer)

[Optimus Prime]

I was just talking about this last week when I came across a recipe that said quote

“the longest step is caramelizing the onions, which could take as much as eight minutes”

I don’t know why the recipes don’t say it takes 45-60 minutes because that’s how long it takes
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Browning onions is a matter of patience. My own patience ran out earlier this year while leafing through the New York Times food section. There, in the newspaper of record, was a recipe for savory scones with onions, currants, and caraway. Though I wasn’t particularly interested in making savory scones, one passage caught my eye:

Add the onions to the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook until they begin to turn dark brown and somewhat soft, about 5 minutes. Add the oil and a pinch of the fine sea salt; continue cooking until the onions are soft and caramelized, about 5 minutes longer.

Soft, dark brown onions in five minutes. That is a lie. Fully caramelized onions in five minutes more. Also a lie.

There is no other word for it. Onions do not caramelize in five or 10 minutes. They never have, they never will—yet recipe writers have never stopped pretending that they will. I went on Twitter and said so, rudely, using CAPS LOCK. A chorus of frustrated cooks responded in kind............

Why Do Recipe Writers Lie About How Long It Takes To Caramelize Onions?

Browning onions is a matter of patience. My own patience ran out earlier this year while leafing through the New York Times food section. There, in the...

slate.com

 

[Madmarsha]

I feel like Scorpius should be here.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I feel like Scorpius should be here.

that would really ramp things up

 

[Bronson]

I once was fired over this

 

[superchuck500]

Another culinary lie - if your local restaurant or pub has items with "truffle oil" in it, it's almost certainly bullshirt.

Originally, truffle oil was high-quality olive oil infused with black or white truffles, but today, most of the stuff is made synthetically with ingredients like 2,4-dithiapentane, an aromatic molecule that gives truffles their distinctive smell. Some people love the oil, but a lot of chefs despise it.

“One of the most pungent, ridiculous ingredients ever known to chef,” Gordon Ramsay once told a competitor on MasterChef.

Reaching for the oil is "a sure sign of someone who doesn't know what they're doing," Joe Bastianich said in the same episode.

“Fake truffle flavoring is one of those things that's especially upsetting, because not only does it taste like a bad chemical version of the real thing, it's the flavor that almost everyone now associates with truffles,” Jonathan Gold says.

Still, chefs use it as a way to project quality onto their plates, and diners eat it up, whether they’re aware or not that it’s all just a ruse.

Your Truffle Oil Contains No Real Truffles - Tasting Table

It’s time to face the music: The truffle oil fries you’ve been paying a premium for aren’t actually that premium.

www.tastingtable.com

 

[Zack Lee]

I have occasionally made homemade French onion dip. And making it good is all about how long your willing to hang out in the kitchen with it.

 

[someone]

I think there's a difference between caramelizing onions and browning onions. You can brown them fairly quickly, but caramelizing does take longer.

Another culinary lie - if your local restaurant or pub has items with "truffle oil" in it, it's almost certainly bullshirt.

Your Truffle Oil Contains No Real Truffles - Tasting Table

It’s time to face the music: The truffle oil fries you’ve been paying a premium for aren’t actually that premium.

www.tastingtable.com

I hate "truffle" flavored items. "Truffle fries" are just about the only type of french fries I can't eat.

 

[superchuck500]

I hate "truffle" flavored items. "Truffle fries" are just about the only type of french fries I can't eat.

I agree 100%, I don't even like to smell "truffle" fries (which are actually just fries drizzled with some synthetic chemical - no thanks).

Actual truffles (like truffle butter where you can see the truffle chips) are another matter . . . but usually expensive.

 

[Madmarsha]

 

[Tapxe]

Clearly you are not doing this right. Have you tried putting the pan in the microwave for 5 mins on high?

 

[buzd]

You people are weird.

 

[The Moose]

I have come to this conclusion way early in life they lie.

Kinda way before I started trying to cook well.

When working on car/ motorcycles trying to make them faster all components will give you a time it should take to install said parts. That is always a lie.

The rule of thumb was always double it if you had a really good set of tools and a fridge with beer.

Crap tools no beer call friends and beg for tools and get beer and Lord help ya it is gonna take forever.

 

[zeetes]

red onions can suck both of my nuts

 

[Brad Mojo]

Totally agree with OP. If I am making anything that involves caramelizing onions (fajitas, burgers...), the very first thing that I do is get the onions going. Way before anything else.

 

[Twyst]

Fun fact, you actually CAN significantly increase the speed at which you can caramelize onions by raising the Ph which accelerates the maillard reaction. The easiest way to do this is adding a little baking soda. Same principle can be used to quick caramelize in a pressure cooker due to the fact that you can brown at lower temperatures with increased Ph. I do find there is a trade off with onions and find the texture is a bit "off" and mushy