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

161–170 of 747 posts

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

#161

Post by Broken_Hippo »

dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #128
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #118

For the same reason devs lie about installing arch linux without any problem. When you are good at something, you don't realize how much you do anymore. This article is unrelated, but has a good explananation of the problem in one section : Why not tell people to simply use x https://bitecode.substack.com/p/why-not-tell-people-to-simpl...

This is different. If you learn enough about Linux, you can install Arch in 15-20minutes no problem. Especially since learning about Linux means reinstalling your OS many times until you finally learn how to keep it clean and rescue it from any situation. You are not going to be able to cook chicken in 3-4minutes per side like so many recipes claim. It's just not possible to have a good outside temperature and a good…

Exactly this.

You simply aren't going to speed up the chemical reactions that happen during cooking. Even if you do find a way, your result will often be different or the result of using ready-made ingredients at the store. (I can buy frozen caramelized onions, for example).

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

#162

Post by maccard »

plufz wrote: post #154
isaacfrond wrote: post #131

My sister in law writes recipes. She has a recipe column in a newspaper and wrote a few high quality recipe books. I saw them in a bookstore. So she's reasonable successful. Her pieces are charming, her recipes inspiring. The thing is. At a birthday party when I was talking to her, she confessed to me that she never actually tries her recipes. When it's time to do a new piece, she sits down at her computer and makes…

This is a little frustrating to hear. Since that is exactly the feeling I often have. Proportions and time seems incorrect and you question what you are going wrong. I have a few cookbooks like the ones from Yotam Ottolenghi where the recipe is actually correct. It is so much more fun to use. Nothing wrong with improvising in the kitchen, but trying to fix incorrect salt balance, being stressed over longer cooking ti…

I'm a decent cook, and occasionally I've been in the middle of a recipe and noticed something is off.

It came with experience, but knowing whether 1 TSP or 1 tbsp of something per portion is the right rough ratio comes in handy significantly more often than you think

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

#163

Post by tourmalinetaco »

onli wrote: post #75
Larrikin wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Name the brand and model of your amazing 5 dollar slow cooker and give us some recipes to use in it. Or people could just read dozens of reviews of a hundred year cooking vessel where they always complain about the price but reluctantly admit its better. Spending lots of money on cooking supplies as a novice is fraught with landmines of people wasting money, but out right dismissals of spending any money is also usua…

Every knife is sharp if you sharpen it. There is never a need to spend $300 on one.

Never a need for the home cook. Professional chefs pay for quality much like we do in tech. Ergonomics, edge retention, sharpness, and dozens of other factors can influence that $300 knife and whether its useful for a professional who chops food 8-10hrs a day, 5 days a week.

For the home cook, who chops maybe for 1/10th that weekly, not much reason beyond placebo.

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

#164

Post by misja111 »

treeman79 wrote: post #30
jonstewart wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can conceivably get a Maillard reaction with toasting some spices (e.g. cumin seed) where you wouldn’t just by throwing them in a stew. But I agree with your overall point. The 1-2 tbsp olive oil is -everywhere-. Also, better to use canola oil for browning meat.

Canola is more likely to cause inflammation. Olive oil and coconut oil are much better from that stand point.

Olive oil is not the best choice for browning meat, because its burning point is too low. Once it burns, it will disintegrate into bitter byproducts, some of which are carcinogenic.

Canola oil has a high burning point so is a better choice, but if you really want to avoid it, sunflower oil is a good choice as well.

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

#165

Post by echelon »

isaacfrond wrote: post #131

My sister in law writes recipes. She has a recipe column in a newspaper and wrote a few high quality recipe books. I saw them in a bookstore. So she's reasonable successful. Her pieces are charming, her recipes inspiring. The thing is. At a birthday party when I was talking to her, she confessed to me that she never actually tries her recipes. When it's time to do a new piece, she sits down at her computer and makes…

> [...] reasonable successful.

Maybe edit some details out? That might impact said person's career.

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

#166

Post by diffeomorphism »

acjacobson wrote: post #114
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…

> No, that is not the prep step. Then they shouldn't label it prep. > And it makes sense: the prep time can vary wildly (e.g. peeling and chopping veggies) making the "actual time" quite useless and in professional kitchens other people do this prep work. This is a recipe for home cooks not professional kitchens. Both cook time and prep time are always going to be estimates. Labeling a step as "prep" and excluding al…

What part of "you might not like this convention" was so hard to understand?

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

#167

Post by maccard »

dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #128
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #118

For the same reason devs lie about installing arch linux without any problem. When you are good at something, you don't realize how much you do anymore. This article is unrelated, but has a good explananation of the problem in one section : Why not tell people to simply use x https://bitecode.substack.com/p/why-not-tell-people-to-simpl...

This is different. If you learn enough about Linux, you can install Arch in 15-20minutes no problem. Especially since learning about Linux means reinstalling your OS many times until you finally learn how to keep it clean and rescue it from any situation. You are not going to be able to cook chicken in 3-4minutes per side like so many recipes claim. It's just not possible to have a good outside temperature and a good…

> You are not going to be able to cook chicken in 3-4minutes per side like so many recipes claim.

Sure you are. meat thermometer, hot pan and a butterflied breast [0] will give you evenly cooked chicken in about 8 minutes.

[0] https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-butterfly-chicke...

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

#168

Post by pickledshrimp »

isaacfrond wrote: post #131

My sister in law writes recipes. She has a recipe column in a newspaper and wrote a few high quality recipe books. I saw them in a bookstore. So she's reasonable successful. Her pieces are charming, her recipes inspiring. The thing is. At a birthday party when I was talking to her, she confessed to me that she never actually tries her recipes. When it's time to do a new piece, she sits down at her computer and makes…

Surely that can’t be true. Even semi professional chefs need to figure out what flavour combinations need to go together, amounts of each item, etc. Plus every modern recipe has pictures to show what the result should look like. I just don’t believe she would get anything approximating a good result from this.

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

#169

Post by misja111 »

guerrilla wrote: post #94
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.

If you need more than one tablespoon of oil then maybe you just don't know what you're doing. Meat contains fat and vegetables contain water. Consider learning patience (i.e. using lower heat) instead of criticizing people on the Internet for being better at cooking than you are.

Good luck trying to sear a steak on low heat.

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

#170

Post by iddan »

brnt wrote: post #136
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…

Absolutely! I think I am especially slow at cutting veg, which is a compromise between my motorically undeveloped and untrained self not cutting my fingers (happens every few weeks) and speed. Multiplying by 1.5 is a safe lower limit for me. I did learn a few things through it though (how to use vinager and not to be afraid of more than 5 ingredients), which is a great outcome. Apart from a bigger selection of recipe…

I would highly recommend learning how to use a chef’s knife properly. There are techniques for cutting, cleaning etc that reduce the cooking time significantly. I had the luck to be taught how to use one in school and by my dad but I always notice most people don’t know how to use it and don’t take the time to learn it (which would save them a lot of time)
Post reply on HN