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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)

#421

Post by sanitycheck »

I've had this conversation with people many times, a consequence is that some of them have no idea what caramelised onions actually are - they think it's the state you get to after 10 mins.

Thinly slice 10 onions, dump them in a big pot with some oil on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes stirring frequently. Then turn the heat down to low and cook for a further 45-60 mins, check on it and stir every 10 mins or so. When it gets dry, add water and use it to deglaze the bottom of the pan to prevent burning. It's finished when the onions are a deep brown colour and their volume has reduced to about 1/6th of what it was to begin with. Store in fridge, enjoy with every meal in the following few days.

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

#422

Post by jorvi »

sanitycheck wrote: post #414
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…

...and here's an example of someone whose job can be replaced with ChatGPT. I realised long ago that most published recipes are not very good, but it's the first time I've heard that the writer doesn't even try them. "Turns out OK" is a terrible bar, if I make up something in my head it'll almost always turn out "OK", if I'm following a recipe it's because I want a better chance of it being better than OK.

YouTuber home cooks make it “live”, so I generally trust those. Same for Gordon Ramsey, Marco Pierre White, Heston Blumenthal etc.

As far as YouTubers go you have the holy trinity of Adam Ragusea, Ethan Chlenpwoski and Joshua Weissman, although I dislike the latter and would sub (haha) him out for Brian Lagerstrom.

All of those YouTubers hit a good balance between: scientific basis, concise clear steps and taking reasonable shortcuts.

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

#423

Post by throwaway2990 »

GuB-42 wrote: post #331
henrikschroder wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As if I needed more fuel on the fire of my burning hatred for recipe collections. Everyone who is interested in cooking should do themselves a favour and buy a proper cookbook. Something that starts with the basics, and works itself up to full meals. It should have cheat-sheets for basic ways to cook all your staples, here's all the ways you can cook a potato, with times and temperature. Here's all the ways you can s…

> A timer can never replace the knowledge of how something is supposed to look, feel, and smell when it's done or not. I tend to disagree on that one, unless you are particularly experienced, or naturally gifted, measuring tools (timers, scales, thermometers,...) will give you the best results. At least for me, that's the case. And if you can't follow a recipe to the letter, without knowledge of how things are suppos…

> I tend to disagree on that one, unless you are particularly experienced, or naturally gifted, measuring tools (timers, scales, thermometers,...) will give you the best results. At least for me, that's the case.

If you’re baking then you usually must follow the recipes as it will yield the best results. Experience will tell you more or less water will result in what. More or less baking soda will alter the result in what way. Etc

But if you’re cooking dinners, you don’t really need to follow recipes. Soup? You can often just throw whatever you want in the pot and it doesn’t matter. If it said 1 onion and you added 4, just tastes more oniony”

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

#424

Post by secondcoming »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #161
dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

I think cooking times assume the ingredients are already at room temperature.

If you cook chicken taken straight from the fridge it'll take longer and cook more unevenly than room temperature chicken.

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

#425

Post by rightbyte »

Karupan wrote: post #333

Most recipe sites are also misleading when it comes to the amount of fat required and the quantity of spices (at least for Indian cooking). I used to wonder why the special “restaurant” recipe was as just meh. Then after I got a little more experience cooking regularly, I just realised instinctively that the quantity and duration of cooking wasn’t accurate at all!

Spices are hard to specify the amount since the spice taste so differently according to freshness and exact species.

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

#426

Post by throwaway2990 »

than3 wrote: post #208
henrikschroder wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As if I needed more fuel on the fire of my burning hatred for recipe collections. Everyone who is interested in cooking should do themselves a favour and buy a proper cookbook. Something that starts with the basics, and works itself up to full meals. It should have cheat-sheets for basic ways to cook all your staples, here's all the ways you can cook a potato, with times and temperature. Here's all the ways you can s…

No such book actually exists. There's a french book that covers basic/common procedures and a reader's digest book but those are about it; and they definitely are not beginner oriented.

Edmonds cookbook.

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

#427

Post by ubercore »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #372
ubercore wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure it does. https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-... Would be useful for any home cook (I have it in my kitchen)

The CIA has a huge blind spot for non-European food. Check out the Chinese Cooking Demystified youtube channel. They did a video on the CIA's laughably bad mapo tofu recipe. It was bad enough that simply following the instructions got their neighbors up in arms.

That book is way more useful for techniques than the recipes in it. I wouldn't dream of trying their mapo tofu!

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

#428

Post by eru »

dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #341
eru wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why else would you use Linux? Because you just want to get work done, or play your game or browse the web etc? Yes, learning Linux is fun (for the kind of people who find this fun). But we don't expect people who just want to get on with their lives to eg break Windows or MacOS a lot, either.

I'm pretty close to this at work since about 1/3rd of my job is helping the non-Linux people deal with Linux. Programming is their 2nd language so to speak, and the use of Linux is incidental, it's just what's easiest to give them to keep everything in our company compatible. They require a person who knows Linux in order to keep working. It's not optional -- they just wouldn't be able to get everything running other…

What are your people doing that they break stuff all the time?

I found I had more trouble with macOS than with Linux.

I mostly use ArchLinux, and I don't have those weird problems you are talking about.

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

#429

Post by ubercore »

salawat wrote: post #385
inferiorhuman wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The CIA has a huge blind spot for non-European food. Check out the Chinese Cooking Demystified youtube channel. They did a video on the CIA's laughably bad mapo tofu recipe. It was bad enough that simply following the instructions got their neighbors up in arms.

...The world, for just a moment, was a far more interesting place. Then the realization that no, the Central Intelligence Agency does not have a crack division of crypto-culinary experts in the midst of a cold war, attempting to thwart or coordinate psyops in which they sabotage other nations morale through spreading deliberate, yet subtly disasterous cooking advice.

Thailand's culinary diplomacy program isn't _too_ far off
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