Caramelizing onions
Onions are about 90 percent water, and they won't brown until most of it evaporates, roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Then the sugars brown. Plan on 40 to 50 minutes over medium-low heat. High heat blackens the edges and leaves the middle pale.
Salt and stirring help
Salt pulls water out early, which speeds up the drying. Stir every few minutes and scrape the brown film back in. A pinch of baking soda (about 1/4 teaspoon per pound) speeds browning, but it also softens the onions, so use very little.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
Your sliced onions have cooked 10 minutes and are still pale and wet. What is going on?
This is normal, because the water has to cook off first. Onions are mostly water, and browning starts once it has evaporated.
True or false: When the pan goes dry and the onions stick, a splash of water loosens the brown film so you can stir it back in.
True. Water dissolves the brown film and cools the pan, so the film can be stirred back in without burning.
What went wrong? You crank the heat to high to hurry the onions along. They end up black at the edges and raw in the middle.
High heat scorched the outside first. The outside burns before the inside softens. Keep the heat medium-low.
Fill the blank: Browned onions taste sweet and deep because heat browns their natural ___.
Browned onions taste sweet and deep because heat browns their natural sugars. Heat browns the sugars into new, deeper flavors.
Thirty minutes in, brown film is stuck to the pan and starting to smell bitter. What is the best move?
Splash in water and lower the heat. Water frees the brown film, and lower heat slows the browning.
Onions on high vs low heat
Can you rush caramelized onions?
Do the 45-minute experiment
