Caramelized Onion

Yesterday I learned how to make caramelized onions and practiced for the first time --

I read through these 4 resources:

• https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/caramelized-onions

• https://www.seriouseats.com/onion-browning-tip-8703441

• https://www.thekitchn.com/we-tried-6-methods-of-caramelizing-onions-and-found-a-clear-winner-22943341

• https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/1069-kitchen-smarts-how-to-caramelize-onions-in-record-time\

which, I believe, are some of the best instructional guides out there on caramelizing onions.

The basic gist of caramelizing onions are as follows:

(For the fastest amount of time, I used Lan Lam's instructional video (the 4th resource link) as the key reference.)

Ingredients:

• butter

• water

• salt

• onions, peeled, root cut off, halved, then cut from pole-to-pole in a radial cut, 1/4 inch-1/8 inch thick.

• optional: baking soda, to help the onions become softer and mushier as the basic (elevated) pH helps break down the pectin (a polysaccharide in the onion cell walls, found in other plant cell walls that is commonly used as a gelling agent to make jams/jellies)

How I made them:

1. In a steel pan I placed the onion slices in, I had about half of an onion, with a couple of slices of Vermont Creamery's sea-salted butter to melt

2. Added water to cover

3. Patiently watched and stirred as needed, watching as the onions cooked down and became more caramelized over time

4. I stopped once they had a golden color and the texture of the onions were quite soft and mushy already; since I didn't have that much onion to start off with, it probably took 5-10 minutes. I didn't really need to add the baking soda, but that is probably more needed for a batch of 3 lb. of onions as stated in the video

5. For a more deep brown color, I would have cooked them for longer.

6. Saved them for use -- I used them to add as a topping for noodles, and they worked great!