What is the best way to caramelize onions?
The best onions for caramelizing are the so-called "sweet" onion varieties: Let the oil get hot for a moment. A general rule of thumb is to use 2 tablespoons of oil for every three onions. If you like, you can use a mixture of oil and butter. Clarified butter is best, since it won't burn as easily as ordinary butter.
Why do caramelized onions brown so quickly?
Both of these create the dark golden brown color we associate with caramelized onions. When you add baking soda during cooking it changes the pH which increases the Maillard reaction causing the onions to brown more quickly. The higher pH also causes the onions to soften more quickly, which we cover below when we discuss the texture.
Can You caramelize onions in a cast iron skillet?
Heat your pan and a few tablespoons of oil (or butter) over medium heat before adding the onions. A cast-iron skillet or even a Dutch oven works well for caramelizing onions. If you don’t have either, your heaviest skillet will work just fine.
There are lots of tricks out there for caramelizing onions in a fraction of the time. They may sound like a good idea, but caramelizing onions until deeply browned and sweet takes time and attention. Here's why
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
What Are Caramelized Onions?
Caramelized onions are made by very slowly cooking onions so that they become meltingly soft, deeply browned throughout, and wonderfully sweet. The onions are usually sliced, but can also be diced or minced.
Does Baking Soda Speed Up Caramelized Onions?
The two samples on the left were free of baking soda, while the two sludge piles on the right were cooked with baking soda. (The two top sample were cooked with butter, while the two bottom ones were cooked with oil.).
Does Adding Sugar Improve Caramelized Onions?
If caramelization is what you want, it stands to reason that adding sugar might be a good idea. Right? More sugar, more caramel! This is another one of those misguided tricks, though—the onions already have more than enough sugar to get them to the super-sweet phase.
Can I Make Caramelized Onions in the Oven?
Indeed you can! The oven can produce delicious caramelized onions, and it can do so without requiring quite as much attention from the cook.
What About a Pressure Cooker or Instant-Pot?
A pressure cooker is yet another avenue often used for quick caramelized onions. The science is there: browning reactions happen faster at higher pressure, such as inside a pressure cooker. And if you test it out, you'll find that the science works. A pressure cooker can indeed speed up caramelized onions.
Choosing Your Ingredients and Tools for Caramelized Onions
You can cook the onions in any fat you want—butter, various vegetable and nut oils, lard. Heck, you can use rendered foie gras fat if you want, it'd be freaking delicious. In terms of the more commonly available options, my favorite is butter.
Think Low and Slow With This Step-by-Step Guide
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
Heat Oil in a Nonstick Pan
Let the oil get hot for a moment. A general rule of thumb is to use 2 tablespoons of oil for every three onions. If you like, you can use a mixture of oil and butter. Clarified butter is best, since it won't burn as easily as ordinary butter. As long as you don't let things get too hot, your butter won't burn.
Add the Sliced Onions
Keep the onions moving around the pan so they don't burn. They'll cook down quite a bit in volume, so it's normal if the pan seems too full at the beginning.
Let the Onions Turn Translucent
As you cook them, the onions will start to soften and turn translucent. The reason sweet onions are used is that they have a higher sugar content and it's the sugar that's actually turning brown. Ordinary yellow onions have some–but not as much–sugar in them and you can certainly caramelize them as well.
Allow the Onions to Soften
By this time the onions will have softened and cooked down to a fraction of their previous size, as the water in them has slowly cooked away. They'll also have a slightly sticky consistency. That's because of the sugars being released in the onions.
Develop the Golden-Brown Color
See the golden brown color beginning to develop? You're well on your way to caramelized onion.
The Caramelized Onions
Here they are—a rich, golden brown hue and bursting with smoky, sweet onion flavor. Need an excuse to throw a few burgers on the grill? Delicious caramelized onions like this are all the reason you need. Also, try this classic French onion soup .
Living on my own for the first time and I can finally cook. It's fucking amazing
Long story but basically I had terrible kitchen anxiety. I've always loved cooking but hated cooking when other people were in the kitchen/house because I got terrible anxiety.
Hot tip: Dont put purple carrots into chicken noodle soup
So I smoked a whole chicken this past week (It was heavenly), and then I made some Chicken noodle soup with the leftovers. All I had was purple carrots so I used them.
To the anonymous Redittor who shared their grandma's bacon-cooking method
Thank you. I have been cooking for 30+ years, but it took me until today to master bacon, and your tip was the key. Your grandma was a GENIUS!!!
Which food ingredient do you always pay premium price for?
I’ll start: garlic!! I think this may be an unpopular opinion, but where i live (Canada) one time i bought $5 garlic from an expensive organic store, and it was life changing. Every meal i made that week was so flavourful. Much better than the 90cent garlic i usually get. It makes me wonder, what other ingredients are worthwhile paying premium for?
What's the aromatic profile of your country?
I currently try to categorise the world by their aromatics and flavour profiles a bit in order to create a world map overview of tastes. Instead of pulling things from google, i was thinking of getting first hand input, so i can learn while having fun with you guys.
Whats your food-spiracy theory?
I just thought of one today. I believe the reason that every recipe calls for chicken breast instead of thighs is so that way nobody discovers that thighs are way better and keeps the prices low.
Caramelized onions add a rich sweetness to almost any dish. We'll show you how to do it. You just need a good pan and patience
Caramelized onions add the perfect bit of savory sweetness to so many of our favorite dishes. French onion soup would be nothing without a good base of these soft, sweet onions. They also add so much flavor to sandwiches, steaks, burgers and so much more.
What Are Caramelized Onions (and How Are They Different from Sauteed Onions)?
Before we get into how to make caramelized onions at home, let’s sort out what this delicious addition really is and how caramelized onions differ from other cooked onions.
How to Make Caramelized Onions
Making caramelized onions is very simple. All you need is a heavy pan—a cast-iron skillet works especially well here—and two ingredients: onions and butter or the oil of your choice. You can use any type of onion here, but yellow onions tend to caramelize most easily and are the most versatile.
How to Store Caramelized Onions
If you don’t manage to eat all of your caramelized onions, you can store them easily. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to four days. You can also freeze them for up to three months. Caramelized onions are so versatile that we’re sure you can find lots of excuses to use them during that time.
Popular Videos
Lisa is an editor at Taste of Home where she gets to embrace her passion for baking. She pours this love of all things sweet (and sometimes savory) into Bakeable, Taste of Home's baking club. Lisa is also dedicated to finding and testing the best ingredients, kitchen gear and home products.
