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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)

#711

Post by com2kid »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #698
com2kid wrote: post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because 99% of the things I cut are fruits and veggies. and heavier boards move around less!

I have some cheap plastic cutting boards that have a rubber edge. Zero movement on those. And you can just pop them in the dishwasher.

I despise plastic cutting boards, they slip around too much.

A plastic (or maybe it is some type of rubber, not sure) that goes on top of my wooden board works well, it stays in place and it also pops into the dish washer.

Best of both worlds.

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

#712

Post by cloverich »

mcv wrote: post #588
SamBam wrote: post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real issue is simply a vague use of the word "caramelize," not that they expect you to be at the stove a half-hour longer than they say. The vast majority of recipes that say "caramelize" simply mean "cook until softened and sweet." No, technically the onions won't be caramelized after 15 minutes, but very few recipes actually want you to caramelize the onions. Take an Italian pasta sauce. As an Italian who has c…

Exactly. I'm no cook, I'm barely an amateur cook, and I have absolutely no idea what "caramelized onions" means. Turned into caramel? I'm pretty sure you can get onions brown in 10 minutes, though. It probably won't be caramelized, it might be burned, but it's brown. I remember brown, dry onions. I'm sure caramelized ones are better. In fact, I think my wife once did something with onions that made them very sweet. I…

Ruhlman's 20 was that book for me. From that one book I feel like I can dissect and understand so many core concepts that I very rarely follow recipes any longer, I just skim for the key aspects and wing it, substituting with what I have available, and a reasonable intuition for when I can't do so. Am grateful I made that investment (reading it, making most of the recipes).

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

#713

Post by eru »

hnfong wrote: post #707
eru wrote: post #705

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess Arch Linux is a lot saner, they just have one place to change things: the configuration files; and that one place is well documented and there's no magic going on. No weird settings panels that try to be smart.

That's interesting. Did either Ubuntu or Arch Linux patch GNOME to read configuration at different places? Doesn't Ubuntu also have configuration files that actually store the configuration (while the settings panel would be just the UI to the config files)? At any rate, how are you sure that this bug only affects Ubuntu but not Arch?

I don't use GNOME, so I can't comment. I just use XMonad as a light weight window manager, and don't bother with any 'desktop environment'.

I don't know how Ubuntu nor GNOME store their configuration. I suspect they have lots of plain text config files, but they might also have other formats like databases etc? I think the more important part is that they try to 'magically' do much of the config for you, and sometimes that magic breaks.

I found 'etckeeper' quite useful, it sticks your /etc in a git repository and makes commits when something changes. So you can at least review what just changed that must have broken your config. (I use etckeeper on Arch, but it seems to be also available on Ubuntu.)

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

#714

Post by kqr »

TheReveller wrote: post #636
kqr wrote: post #612

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Our induction stove very clearly has two concentric circles of different radii that get hot, and nothing else. If you use cast iron and vary the power slowly you won't notice, but it's very obvious with thinner pots and when you control heat quickly (which is a delight to be able to do in the first place -- yay induction.)

Are you sure that's an induction element? Induction elements don't get hot, only the pan does. Easy way to tell is - does the element switch only turn on when a pan is on top of it?

Clumsy wording. I mean the pan gets hot in two concentric rings.

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

#715

Post by kqr »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #659
kqr wrote: post #612

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Our induction stove very clearly has two concentric circles of different radii that get hot, and nothing else. If you use cast iron and vary the power slowly you won't notice, but it's very obvious with thinner pots and when you control heat quickly (which is a delight to be able to do in the first place -- yay induction.)

> Really? Our induction stove very clearly has two concentric circles of different radii that get hot, and nothing else. Either you have an electric stove - not an induction stove, or you have a VERY bad pan (for an induction stove).

It's induction, not electric. This happens with all my cast iron pans. Easiest way to see it is to boil a thin layer of water mixed with a little hand dishwashing liquid in it. There are clearly two rings where cavities are formed more easily, thus there are two circles of peaking foam.

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

#716

Post by underratedbug »

JohnFen wrote: post #690
mrguyorama wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you followed the recipe as written without overthinking it, you would have had translucent onions after ten minutes and a complete and tasty dish. You aren't supposed to interpret a recipe. You are supposed to follow it. If you have enough skill, practice, or ability to order pizza, THEN is the right time to make decisions about whether this recipe actually needs REAL caramelized onions. Recipes have been vague an…

I do follow the recipes without overthinking them, because I don't have the skill required to make judgement calls. But also, I know that any time a recipe gives is highly suspect, so don't judge if something is done based on times in recipes. So when a recipe says to "carmelize onions", that's what I do. To do anything else is to deviate from what the recipe is plainly telling me. > Recipes have been vague and don't…

> I'm just irritated that there was a secret definition to "carmelize onions" that nobody clued me in to.

Many words will have definitions you don’t know — sometimes literally the opposite of their “proper” definitions!

It’s not a secret, it’s just a thing you didn’t know yet. So don’t be too mad, now you know.

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

#717

Post by pfffr »

jacurtis wrote: post #601
SamBam wrote: post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real issue is simply a vague use of the word "caramelize," not that they expect you to be at the stove a half-hour longer than they say. The vast majority of recipes that say "caramelize" simply mean "cook until softened and sweet." No, technically the onions won't be caramelized after 15 minutes, but very few recipes actually want you to caramelize the onions. Take an Italian pasta sauce. As an Italian who has c…

The confusion comes in the color versus the process. I've seen some recipes call for "cook down onions until translucent and caramel in color". This is the most accurate definition of what most recipes want when asking for caramelized onions. However the true use of the word "Caramelized Onions" are onions that have gone through the cooking process of caramelization. This process requires three things: sugar, heat, a…

Some people add sugar but it is not required to achieve carmelization. Onions contain sufficient sugars to ensure this process.

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

#718

Post by ubercore »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #685
ubercore wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Pretty much everything from the technique to the details were pretty far off the mark. It was pretty cringeworthy to watch.

I meant the techniques portion of the book, not techniques for the Mapo Tofu.

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

#719

Post by Toutouxc »

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #254
kevsim wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gotta say, not really looking forward to GPT generated recipes rendered by Stable Diffusion.

Already on it! The images part. https://jellicles.substack.com/p/10-rooting-for-root-vegetab... : all images are AI generated. I am a classically trained chef and so the recipes are tested. Sure saved me a lot of time to put it together. There is no way I could have thrown something together with pictures without midjourney. The actual recipes are already ready but won’t be up before 2024. I can come up with..say 10-…

The images are amazing, they have this warm, soothing painterly quality.

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

#720

Post by fingerlocks »

kqr wrote: post #715
onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #659

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really? Our induction stove very clearly has two concentric circles of different radii that get hot, and nothing else. Either you have an electric stove - not an induction stove, or you have a VERY bad pan (for an induction stove).

It's induction, not electric. This happens with all my cast iron pans. Easiest way to see it is to boil a thin layer of water mixed with a little hand dishwashing liquid in it. There are clearly two rings where cavities are formed more easily, thus there are two circles of peaking foam.

Oh neat. I have a thermador star burner gas range that makes a wonderful five point star shape oil pattern on a cast iron using a similar technique. I can produce this effect by applying a very thin sheen of high smoke oil point at high heat.

No idea if that’s better for cooking than concentric rings, but it looks really cool.

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