Why do recipe writers lie and lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions?
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HN comment orderI'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…
The Aha moment for me came when I was watching Chef Jean-Pierre's video on the topic. His terminology is unfortunate, he uses 'caramelizing' to refer to what we call 'browning', but otherwise he's taught me more about cooking than any other YouTube chef. There are two steps to caramelizing onions. Cooking, and browning. Cooking, that is, making them soft enough to eat, is what takes the most time. Most of the time when you use onions in a dish, they're…
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- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 983
- Total comments
- 1031
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-11-22 | Layers of Deceit (2012) | Tomte | 1 | 0 |
| 2021-06-25 | Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)First breakout | tosh | 414 | 298 |
| 2023-01-11 | Layers of Deceit (2012) | Tomte | 1 | 0 |
| 2023-05-23 | Why do recipe writers lie and lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions?Best thread · Latest 20+ point return | pmoriarty | 565 | 733 |
| 2025-07-06 | Layers of Deceit (2012) | Tomte | 2 | 0 |