You're probably right, but it still results in people not knowing what caramelised onions are - which is (or should be) a crime, because they're lovely.

I don't recall seeing instructions to caramelise in pasta sauce recipes, that's usually "until starting to brown", same with curries.. "Until translucent" for risotto.

What I'm really talking about is... Let's have a look... First result for "caramelised onion quiche" says cook onions for 15 mins. Doesn't work!