Caramelizing onions is one of those kitchen tasks that can be easy to dismiss as a chore you don’t have time for. Like roasting garlic it’s a time-consuming process that requires more than a few minutes spent over a hot stove. But like roasting spicy garlic there’s a huge reward at the end. The task of caramelizing your regular old onion pays off big time with a big rich flavor that makes for culinary triumphs like a heavenly French onion soup.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 Food Network | 2017-02-27 19:11:05 |  4,065,343 Views |
How to Caramelize Onions Like a Pro | Food Network
Get it wrong and you could spend an hour in the kitchen only to end up with a disappointing mass of burnt crispy onions. As important as it is to know which onions to use how to cut them the right heat and cooking methods etc. the most important first rule for successful caramelized onions has to do with the pan you cook them in. No surprises here but it’s the trusty cast iron skillet that tops the list.
A mainstay in kitchens for hundreds of years you could argue that no kitchen tool is more valuable than a well-seasoned smooth-sided cast iron skillet that can handle everything from pancakes to cornbread and perfectly caramelize onions into a soft sweet pile of goodness. Cast iron is king because a properly sized pan can handle piles of onions cook them evenly with even heat distribution and keep stock from sticking to the pan — which is a very good thing.
In most cooking contexts nonstick is a positive description. These surfaces make cleaning easy and prevent food from sticking and becoming impossible to turn. But in the case of beautifully caramelized onions sticking is an essential part of the process.
