Caramelize Onions In A Flash With One Pantry Staple

What is the most pernicious lie in history? Is it the assertion that climate change is a hoax? Was it the false accusations of heresy that led to the Salem Witch Trials? Certainly, these were both terrible, damaging falsehoods, but spare a thought for another sinister deception: the idea that it only takes five minutes to caramelize onions. You will see it in recipe after recipe, and yet it is utterly untrue. If you want those beautiful brown onions, the kind you get as a side dish at a nice steakhouse, you're going to have to stand over that pan stirring those onions for forty-five minutes to an hour. Sure, it's not exactly complicated work, and it gives you plenty of time to plot your revenge against whatever cookbook writer decided to ruin your day — or you could add some baking soda to your onions and get it done in ten minutes, provided you're okay with a different texture.

We talked to Grace Vallo, the chef and recipe creator for the food blog Tastefully Grace, and she confirmed: "Baking soda raises the pH of the onions, which speeds up the Maillard reaction that gives caramelized onions their deep color and flavor. With a pinch of baking soda, onions break down and brown faster, cutting the cooking time down." In short, baking soda makes the onions less acidic and more alkaline, which helps them brown much more quickly than they might otherwise do.

So, how do you caramelize properly? Grace Vallo tells us that a little dab will do ya. "Use just a pinch, about ⅛ teaspoon per pound of onions, and stir it in early while sweating the onions. It browns but also softens the structure of the onions quickly." It's only a small amount of baking soda, but that's all it takes to get the job done.

Just be careful not to add much more, or to keep it going for too long, as the consequences for your dish can be dire. As Vallo warns us, "Overdoing it gives onions a mushy texture and an unpleasant metallic or soapy taste." Hardly the stuff steakhouse dreams are made of. But so long as you're careful, and you make use of some of the other caramelizing tips (like avoiding thin pans, cooking at high heat, perhaps even making use of water), you can get those sweet, jammy onions quicker than you ever dared hope.