kennyc
Well-Known Member
Disclaimer: I am a well-intentioned, but modestly skilled home cook. Mostly I just want to play with knives
My recent kicks have been to practice a few fundamentals - but do them WELL. Right now is caramelized onions. Usually in a home setting I'll do 2-3lbs but am always disappointed by the yield when it gets consumed much too quickly. But why does it always take SO. DAMN. LONG. And is there any way to hurry the process? What method does a commercial operation use?
I think I understand the principles - sweat down the onions, get them to release their water, reduce out the water, caramelize leftover sugars without burning. (right?)
In a recent effort to make my time "worth it", I sweated down 12lbs until they all fit in my wok (15" - large surface area = quick evaporation?)
Accidentally made onion soup - I had horrible visions of what I would do with 5L of hot onion liquid! It "stalled" in an emulsified liquid form for almost 2 hours
Finally starting to dry out
Finished product
To summarize though - from first hitting the pan to completed product in the bowl was just over 4 hours. Does that sound reasonable?
My recent kicks have been to practice a few fundamentals - but do them WELL. Right now is caramelized onions. Usually in a home setting I'll do 2-3lbs but am always disappointed by the yield when it gets consumed much too quickly. But why does it always take SO. DAMN. LONG. And is there any way to hurry the process? What method does a commercial operation use?
I think I understand the principles - sweat down the onions, get them to release their water, reduce out the water, caramelize leftover sugars without burning. (right?)
In a recent effort to make my time "worth it", I sweated down 12lbs until they all fit in my wok (15" - large surface area = quick evaporation?)
Accidentally made onion soup - I had horrible visions of what I would do with 5L of hot onion liquid! It "stalled" in an emulsified liquid form for almost 2 hours
Finally starting to dry out
Finished product
To summarize though - from first hitting the pan to completed product in the bowl was just over 4 hours. Does that sound reasonable?