There is browning and there is caramelisation.
No, its not. Heck, even “caramelizing” onions mostly isn’t caramelization, its Maillard-reaction browning combined with slower cooking so that the cooking is more complete, retaining less of the firm texture.
First DDG link: https://www.onions-usa.org/onionista/faster-caramelized-onio...
Unless the dish relies on the flavor of caramelized onions, I just go with lesser cooking time.
These guys say baking soda turns it into sludge.
Those quoted recipes don't mention baking soda.
In which case the layer of deceit is the conceit that the editors of popular cookbooks can spot and will correct obvious BS.
Certainly editors don't write cookbooks. But they decide what to publish. I personally think the essay is correct. My followup on this thread is that even if the essay isn't correct, there are still other "layers of deceit" to consider.
The top-level of this thread was dexwiz's statement "I don't think recipes lie". I pointed out how that statement doesn't jibe with the presented evidence. moistly followed up that it wasn't a lie, but ignorance "by people who don’t know what they are doing."
My observation is that if we accept that the authors aren't lying, but are simply incompetent, then a different layer of deceit arises - the belief that cooking columns in national newspapers and cookbooks by reputable publishing companies will have enough oversight and not publish recipes 'by people who don’t know what they are doing'.
2. None of them will ever list baking soda because it will affect the taste in a horrible way.
> Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot over a medium-high flame. Brown the meat cubes in several batches and set to one side. Put the cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon into the same hot oil. Stir once and wait until the cloves swell and the bay leaves begin to take on colour. This just takes a few seconds. Now put in the onions. Stir and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn a medium-brown colour.
For some other quotes along the same lines: page 51 at https://archive.org/details/madhurjaffreysin0000jaff_r5e9/pa... :
> Heat the oil in a wide, flameproof casserole-type pot over a medium-high flame. ... Put the onions and garlic into the same pot and turn the heat down to medium. Stir and fry the onion-garlic mixture for about 10 minutes or until it has browned.
(The introductory text on page 50 is clear this is supposed to be a "heavy pot", not something thin like a wok.)
Page 46 at https://archive.org/details/madhurjaffreysin0000jaff_r5e9/pa... :
> Heat the oil in a wide, heavy saucepan over a medium-high flame. When hot, put in the finely sliced onions. Stir and fry for 10-12 minutes or until the onions turn a nice, reddish-brown colour. You may have to turn the heat down somewhat towards the end of this cooking period.
Page 55 at https://archive.org/details/madhurjaffreysin0000jaff_r5e9/pa... :
> Heat the oil in a large, wide, and preferably non-stick pot over a medium-high flame. When hot, put in the onions. Stir and fry for about 12 minutes or until the onions are a reddish-brown color.
I cook a Madhur Jaffrey recipe or two most weeks.
Made all the more amusing since the author is absolutely right and there are many, many good examples available to support their argument.
Thin cuts, a decent pan, avoid sweet onions (which take longer to brown), and use a little higher heat than the center of the medium-high range, IME.
Browning is much quicker than caramelizing (see, e.g., https://marxfood.com/caramelizing-onions-vs-browning-onions/ which gives 15 minutes for browning, and an hour for caramelizing; you can push browning more easily.)
(The quoted 5 to brown + 5 to caramelize in TFA is bullshit, though, no question, but most of the quotes in the article aren’t about caramelizing, they are about browning – often lightly browning – in a fairly reasonable time for the level of browning described.)
Whatever kind of sweet onions we get locally start to turn brown after 7 minutes on medium high (keeping the skillet around 350F).
I’ve read that the lack of sulfur compounds has that effect, and my subjective impression is consistent with that, but I haven’t done structured trials. (And I don’t prefer sweet onions in those applications, in any case.)
I would not say caramelized, but I certainly get significant browning in less than 3 minutes in a wok on a 7 500 W work burner.
Most ordinary stoves are about 2 000 W, but apparently professional stoves go to 4 000 W, and the professional “jet engine” work burners in many restaurants achieve 20 000 W.
On the flip side, to your point, the large burner on my stove is fine for a wok (I'd have to look up the output) but it's a lot more than a typical electric stove would put out (and hears up the sides)--which is why America's Test Kitchen recommends people use a skillet rather than a wok.
And “professional kitchens” often have everything at temperature already - the wok was just used moments before so there’s no preheating.
They're not caramelized, but the vast majority of recipes mean browned when they say "10 minutes."
Very few recipes actually want caramelized onions. For instance, almost zero Italian recipes involve caramelizing.
] "Add the onions to the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook until they begin to turn dark brown and somewhat soft, about 5 minutes."
] “Stir and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn a medium-brown colour.”
] “Add the onion and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.”
How do you get "dark", "medium-brown", or "golden brown" in under 10 minutes, and without caramelizing?