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Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

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Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#101

Post by tuatoru »

explaininjs wrote: post #24
pbj1968 wrote: post #20

Sifting flour. Sautéing spices “to release the flavor” and then adding them to stew where they’ll simmer for an hour or more. Pretending “restaurant quality” is anything besides twice as much butter and salt as you’d dare use at home. “One tablespoon of olive oil” to brown absurd amounts of meat at high heat. Once you start recognizing recipe BS, you see it everywhere.

Spices in a stew will only ever possibly reach 212. When blasted on dry heat they can get higher. The tablespoon of olive oil is to kickstart the process, after that enough fat will render out of the meat to keep it going.

The thing that makes spices spices is volatile light aromatic oils.

Blast them on high heat and you drive off most of them, and polymerize the rest to creosotes.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#102

Post by licebmi__at__ »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #73
kstenerud wrote: post #4

The best way to carmelize onions is in a slow cooker. I used a cheapie one for years that I bought at a goodwill for $5. Chop up enough onions to fill the vessel 1/2 to 2/3, leave it running overnight (8-10h), wake up next morning to perfectly carmelized onions. Now drain the juice, portion them out and store them in the freezer (store the juice too for onion soup). Now any time you need carmelized onions, take a por…

Can you share the make and model of your slow cooker? It might generate some interesting discussions. If anyone else uses this "one trick" (joke), please post your make and model here.

I have used 4 different makes and models, from a really old one on my grandma’s kitchen that only had a on/off switch, to my newest one, a programable hamilton beach. I would say everyone worked the same, at least for beans, rice and some stews.

I only did caramelized onions twice with the same one, but based on my experience, any brand/model should work. And I agree, crockpot is the best way to cook caramelized onions.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#103

Post by AlotOfReading »

sublinear wrote: post #84
yamtaddle wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The tablespoon of olive oil is to kickstart the process, after that enough fat will render out of the meat to keep it going. Agreed on meat, but I consistently see way-too-small amounts of oil suggested for cooking veggies, too. It's like every recipe writer online got together and decided that 1) they must specify oil quantities for those steps, but 2) the quantity must never exceed one tablespoon.

Vegetables can release a lot of water. The amount and how much it affects the other ingredients varies significantly on which you put in, in what order, how much, and in what size of pan. If the pan is crowded, has high walls, or a lid, that can also affect how much water stays in the pan. I can't think of any situation where I would want more than a literal tablespoon of oil for cooking the first veggies thrown in (…

The first step in carmelization is to remove most of that water so the onions can reach maillard reaction temps. Try doing it without oil and an equivalent amount of water instead. It's much more temperamental.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#104

Post by dumpster_fire »

Larrikin wrote: post #66
kstenerud wrote: post #4

The best way to carmelize onions is in a slow cooker. I used a cheapie one for years that I bought at a goodwill for $5. Chop up enough onions to fill the vessel 1/2 to 2/3, leave it running overnight (8-10h), wake up next morning to perfectly carmelized onions. Now drain the juice, portion them out and store them in the freezer (store the juice too for onion soup). Now any time you need carmelized onions, take a por…

For the home cook, its usually a better strategy to spend money up front on quality, but ignore specialized tools, than try to cheap out. Alton Brown's advice about unitaskers is terrible, except for the first time you start cooking at home and don't know what you need. Someone could spend days looking for the specific slow cooker you found and maybe your onions from it are good. The idea of saving 50 dollars by buyi…

Reads like someone who doesn't cook, but went too deep down the YouTube product minmax research hole with America's Test Kitchen.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#105

Post by genocidicbunny »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #73
kstenerud wrote: post #4

The best way to carmelize onions is in a slow cooker. I used a cheapie one for years that I bought at a goodwill for $5. Chop up enough onions to fill the vessel 1/2 to 2/3, leave it running overnight (8-10h), wake up next morning to perfectly carmelized onions. Now drain the juice, portion them out and store them in the freezer (store the juice too for onion soup). Now any time you need carmelized onions, take a por…

Can you share the make and model of your slow cooker? It might generate some interesting discussions. If anyone else uses this "one trick" (joke), please post your make and model here.

I've used this in the past with my instant pot, though it's been a while and I don't recall the exact recipe. I've actually taken to par-cooking my onions sous vide, draining them, and then caramelizing them on high heat on the stove.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#106

Post by williamdclt »

diffeomorphism wrote: post #89
richk449 wrote: post #60

Recipes are terrible when it comes to time. I have this one open in a tab so I can try it soon: https://www.seriouseats.com/lamb-biryani The first step is the prep step, which it says takes 5 minutes. In that step, I have to: - trim the fat from, and cube (1in) 2 pounds of lamb - peel and chop 6 cloves of garlic - peel and grate 2 inches of ginger - mix with yogurt and salt in a zip lock bag That looks like at least…

No, that is not the prep step. The prep step starts with all of these done and is mixing all of these together in a zip lock bag and putting it in the fridge. So 5 minutes seems even a bit high. The time for recipes is always "with all ingredients washed, peeled, chopped and set ready to go in a bowl. Start!". Also note that step 2 is to put the onions into the pan (but no step says to cut onions) and that the ingred…

The "prep time" is _not_ the time for the "prep step"? Internet seems to agree with you, it's wild. Why is it not called "assembly time" or something?

Plus, it's not like that recipes on the internet (or books) are usually targeted at professional kitchens. Or like professional kitchens will take times at face value (and won't test it).

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#107

Post by williamdclt »

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #64

Saw a show the other day that added a bit of baking soda to caramelize them in a fraction of the time. I tried it a few days ago and it worked. Here's a page about it: https://www.onions-usa.org/onionista/faster-caramelized-onio...

Makes onions mushy though: https://www.seriouseats.com/caramelized-onions

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#108

Post by quickthrower2 »

dopidopHN wrote: post #58
chongli wrote: post #39

The trick to caramelizing onions (without leaving them overnight in a slow cooker) is to add a bunch of water to the pan and steam them until they’re completely wilted, then boil off the water and add oil. This will cause most of the onion cells to burst, releasing their water, allowing that water to quickly evaporate so that the oil can do its job raising the temperature of all the onions to the point at which the s…

I did it for a living over a summer. Helper for a Syrian restorant in France. My instruction : - long filament of oignons, all the same size - large amount of olive oil - when it start browning, start moving them. Stop when they are caramélisés. - dump - smoke a cig. - repeat

no drink wine?

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#109

Post by ZiiS »

paranoidrobot wrote: post #88
jcrash wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah dude, sifting flour totally makes better pancakes. They rise so much easier. I'm sure it helps for other baked goods as well

I'm going to bet that this one is going to depend in part on the particular product, and it's freshness/storage conditions, your location relative to the source mill, and ambient weather.

Exactly; if sifting is better for people using old flour why on earth would a recipy skip it?

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#110

Post by bruckie »

Recipe writers are still lying about cooking time in 2023.

I signed up for a Hello Fresh promo recently to get some new meal ideas, and it's making me feel like the slowest cook on the planet. I reliably exceed their stated prep and cooking times by 100-200%. Tonight's "40 minute" recipe took about 70 minutes, and that was with a family member helping out with some of the prep and cooking.

I wonder if they collect any data on how long it takes actual customers to cook them. I might be slower than many, but I'd be surprised if the median customer could complete the recipe in anywhere close to the listed time.

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