In "Why do recipe writers lie and lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions?" on Slate, the author explains that caramelized onions (deep-brown slow-cooked onions) need about an hour of cooking time, but that many recipes insist that they can be finished in ten or twenty minutes.
According to the article, this discrepancy comes from the pressure for quick recipes. If that hour were added to a recipe's prep time, the recipe-reading public would flee to someone else's recipe, and therefore someone else's book or website, bedecked with someone else's ads. (OK, he didn't say "bedecked." No one says "bedecked". I'm paraphrasing here.)
Yesterday, I was thinking about the value of amateur communication, and this came to mind. Some people object to amateurs, arguing that the information provided by professionals is more accurate and responsible. But professionals face a variety of pressures that amateurs can blissfully ignore. An amateur cooking blogger can tell the ugly truth about caramelizing onions.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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