Sweat, Saute’ and Caramelized Onions
What is the difference? How does this change the flavor of the onion?
Onions have a wonderful flavor. This flavor can be altered by cooking. Just like a recipe has many ingredients, onions have many flavors. This is a way to adjust the flavor of your recipe, a little or a lot. Depending on how much onions are part of the recipe, then you can adjust the overall flavor some or much. Not cooking the onion or raw, has a strong pungent onion taste. One way to ‘turn down’ the onion flavor compared to raw is to cook it.
Of the three, saute’ is the most common way to prepare onions. The word ‘Saute’ is French. The definition of ‘saute’ is: ‘Fry quickly in a little hot fat.’ This is the quickest cooking method of the three.
You will want the onions to cook to a golden brown translucent state. 8-10 min
This will make the onions sweeter by removing the oil and bringing out the natural sugar which is part of the onion, by slightly caramelizing it. The flavor will be sweet and just a hint of nuttiness.
This technique uses a low heat and all we want to do is soften the onion without changing the color. The pan should have a heavy bottom for even heat.
I like this for the ease of cooking. Doesn’t matter where in the pan the onions are, they’re cooked the same as anywhere else in the pan.
When you’re cooking the onions, the sound of the cooking will be a low sizzle. Meanwhile stirring the onions frequently. This should prevent them from burning. Because of the lower heat this might take a little longer. If the onions start to sizzle more you will want to turn the heat down a little. When the onions are translucent and soft you’re done. The flavor will be less sweet compared to saute’.
When might someone use this… generally when you want to have a lighter color for the dish. Golden brown might not look right in the dish. A quiche for example.
This is the sweetest version of cooking onions. How can this be the sweetest for an onion? Well onions have natural sugars. These sugars can be accessed by first breaking down the cell walls of the onions. When an onion becomes transparent through cooking this is when the cell walls break down. Now the sugars can be released. All we are doing is bringing out the sugars by cooking. Definition: Caramelize – (with reference to sugar) convert or be converted into caramel through heating.
The trick is to bring out these wonderful flavors without burning the onions. Basically the part of the onion that tends to burn is the sugar. This is why the heat is lower than for sauteing’.
For this you’ll need a frying pan or dutch oven with a heavy bottom and a lid.
A little water that you can add to the pan to de-glaze the pan from time to time.
Cutting the onions, the same size, will help with even cooking.
Also if the pan is large enough so the onions are spread evenly in one layer.
Now it’s time to file up the stove and heat the pan/Dutch oven to a medium high heat.
Add the oil (2-2 1/2 Tablespoons) and the onions.
After a few minutes stir turn the heat down so the onions are starting to sizzle but not too loud. Cover the pan. Do not leave the stove now. A little trial and error to make sure the onions don’t cook too fast. One should hear a low sizzle with the lid on. During this time, I would recommend not leaving things unattended, especially if this is the first time trying this. Check the onions every 5-8 minutes and see how they are cooking. Stir every 8-10 minutes. If the pan needs de-glazing, then maybe add 1- 1 ½ tablespoons of water. This should move the de-glazed material off the bottom of the pan and onto the onions. The onions should be medium-dark to dark brown as the finished product. The total cooking time would be 30-45 min. This would be a nice addition to a barbecue recipe.
As one can see there are different ways of preparing the versatile onion. Many recipes feature onions as an ingredient. Onions are a staple in many French recipes including ratatouille, quiche, French onion soup and many more. With these new techniques one might find new ideas for your recipes and bring new flavors to the table. Bon Appetite!