Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

slate.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 747 posts

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

#141

Post by onion2k »

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.

Temperatures expressed without a unit are in Kelvin, so 212 is really cold. It's -78.07°F.

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

#142

Post by GrumpyNl »

mattlondon wrote: post #127

Hmm I dunno. Are people using a stone-cold pan or something? You can brown (I presume this is what most recipes mean when they say "caramelise") onions brown fairly quickly in ~5 mins or so on a good induction hob and normal (i.e. not absurdly weighty) day-to-day saute pan. It was equally as fast on gas hobs when those used to be a thing too. A non-induction electric hob of course is a total different matter as they…

Caramelize onions take between 45 and 60 minutes. First result on Google https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_caramelize_onio...

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

#143

Post by Aaargh20318 »

bruckie wrote: post #110

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 an…

I have the same experience with Marley Spoon. I always make sure I prepare everything in advance but the actual recipe wants you to do some of the cutting and dicing while stuff is already cooking and they often have impossible timing.

For example, they will have you fry the meat for 2-3 minutes, clean and chop a boatload of vegetables and add them after those 2-3 minutes pass. Sometimes they even do this during a step that requires constant attention, like browning minced meat.

I have no idea how they test these recipes. Maybe they are possible if you’re a professional chef in a fully equipped kitchen with plenty of space but they aren’t in my tiny kitchen where I have to spend half a minute digging the colander out from the back of the cupboard.

They also assume I have an infinite amount of cutting boards and knifes. For example, in step 1 they expect me to cut a chicken breast into bite size pieces, and then in step 2 or 3 I have to cut veggies for a salad. I can’t re-use the cutting board and knife I used for raw chicken for salad without giving it a thorough washing. So I cut everything in advance and do the chicken last.

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

#144

Post by 7speter »

yamtaddle wrote: post #36
explaininjs wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 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.

Its like watching gordon rsay cooking videos where he says you need a “knob” of butter and he just grabs half a stick and throws that in the pan.

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

#145

Post by duckmysick »

bombcar wrote: post #17
cratermoon wrote: post #2

I read this article some time ago. > In truth, the best time to caramelize onions is yesterday Yep. I took the article's suggestions to heart, and now when I have a recipe requiring caramelized onions I take the time needed, or prep them in advance. Now my mujadara is pretty darn good.

I suspect that many recipes benefit from being started a day or more early. I know bread does.

Do does (dry) brining meats.

On the other hand, recipes with eggs and soft vegetables are better freshly made.

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

#146

Post by diffeomorphism »

williamdclt wrote: post #106
diffeomorphism wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

It is a bit weird but not moreso than, say, the word "butterfly". People agreed on one convention and one phrasing and stuck with it and it would be confusing to have wildly different time^pro and time^home scales. Just like pasta tells you the time starting with boiling water, so "5 minute pasta" does not mean "5 minutes from entering the kitchen".

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

#147

Post by debaserab2 »

bruckie wrote: post #110

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 an…

I have the exact same problem/frustration and yet my wife consistently cooks the entire meal near or at the estimated cook time. Clearly I'm not as efficient as I think I am!

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

#148

Post by 7speter »

wenc wrote: post #125
drekipus wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You actually don't want too much oil when cooking steaks, otherwise they splatter everywhere. That's something I'm glad to learn.

You can cook steaks without adding any oil at all -- in fact, this is how to cook steak in an apartment without getting it all smokey. According to America's Test Kitchen, do this: Pat dry. Start cold in nonstick/cast iron — no preheat, no oil. Flip every 2 mins. Start high, after few flips, turn heat down to medium. Keep flipping every 2 mins until done. Most cuts worth eating have some fat on them (filet mignons mi…

Even better is a reverse sear in stove on an elevated rack on a baking sheet at 230 degrees for 30 minutes, then you finish the steak off on a hot oiled (avocado or maybe peanut oil) skillet for 1 minute on each side.

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

#149

Post by tourmalinetaco »

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…

Did you seriously just call a slow cooker a “unitasker”?

And no, your Le Creuset caramelized onions will taste no different than slow cooker caramelized onions. This is what we call in science a placebo.

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

#150

Post by 7speter »

kragen wrote: post #71
mc32 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re right but that flour would have to be out (unsealed) for a while. Boy, weevils!

flour here is sold in paper bags, which are glued shut but not waterproof or beetleproof i have not had weevils in a number of years but I have recently had red flour beetles or confused flour beetles they suck

Aren’t the weevil eggs just always in the flour?
Post reply on HN