Caramelizing Versus Sweating Onions

Published on Wednesday, January 6, 2010, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

Caramelizing Versus Sweating Onions

Michael Symon, chef, author, and Iron Chef, says that the only real difference between sweating onions and caramelizing them is the cooking time. Don’t add sugar!

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POST A COMMENT |6 Comments

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  • OK that is just ALL wrong.. the amount of butter he added to the pan before throwing the onions in... that will make the onions soggy and mushy, not to mention prevent the natural sugars of the onion from coming out.. sure it will still brown the onion due to the butter fat solids, but this is a stupid way of complicating an obviously simple procedure.

    The key here is letting the NATURAL juices...+READ

    OK that is just ALL wrong.. the amount of butter he added to the pan before throwing the onions in... that will make the onions soggy and mushy, not to mention prevent the natural sugars of the onion from coming out.. sure it will still brown the onion due to the butter fat solids, but this is a stupid way of complicating an obviously simple procedure.

    The key here is letting the NATURAL juices and natural sugar in the onion (use the right kind of onion) to come and caramelize in a slow cooking process. To help it along, I start out on high heat to brown the onions just a bit and get the juices coming out, then turn the heat to low low low and slow cook them in their own juices... takes time, but well worth it, and you won't get a sloppy disintegrated mushy mess as this dimwit it showing here.

    Also , using a cast iron or heavy bottom frying pan will help concentrate the heat to bring out the carmelization of the onion more efficiently.-COLLAPSE

  • Long and slow works for me, to caramelize. We make lots of French Onion Soup at our deli, and we let those onions take their time. After they've browned and softened quite a bit, we might turn the heat up to high for a few minutes. Then we stir it all, and turn the pan off again, allowing more juices to collect. Once again, on high for a few minutes, off again, etc., etc. This allows the onions...+READ

    Long and slow works for me, to caramelize. We make lots of French Onion Soup at our deli, and we let those onions take their time. After they've browned and softened quite a bit, we might turn the heat up to high for a few minutes. Then we stir it all, and turn the pan off again, allowing more juices to collect. Once again, on high for a few minutes, off again, etc., etc. This allows the onions time to re-juice, which also helps keep them from burning, even if we've turned the pan on high for a short time.
    Another important point: Make sure you have enough onions for whatever size pan you use. They'll most likely burn if the pan isn't full enough in the beginning.-COLLAPSE

  • Cowboy- I didn't mean higher, as in high heat. I meant, rather, that I sweat things over very low heat, and caramelize over medium heat. Higher than sweating, but not high enough to turn things black, at least if I'm paying attention. :)

  • That video was far too short and uninformative. I think if you need help figuring out sweating vs. caramelizing, you probably want a little bit more instruction, too. I consider myself a pretty accomplished cook, and caramelizing is something I loathe doing. It would have been useful to get some specific advice from a professional rather than just "temperature is the same but time is longer".

  • Cornelius - when you caramelize over higher heat, you also introduce blackened bits to the mix - a slight burning effect that carries with it slight bitter flavors. That's fine if that's what you're looking for. But a lot of chefs recommend the realllllllly slow method of caramelization to maximize that caramelized taste and minimize bitterness - see Thomas Keller's recipe for french onion soup,...+READ

    Cornelius - when you caramelize over higher heat, you also introduce blackened bits to the mix - a slight burning effect that carries with it slight bitter flavors. That's fine if that's what you're looking for. But a lot of chefs recommend the realllllllly slow method of caramelization to maximize that caramelized taste and minimize bitterness - see Thomas Keller's recipe for french onion soup, for example.-COLLAPSE

  • The temperature doesn't change? Really? Wow, I always sweat my stuff long and low, but when I caramelize it, it is fairly quick, over higher heat.

    I don't want to argue with an Iron Chef, and before posting this I looked around on the internet. It seems there are many theories regarding sweating vs. caramelizing, but I know for sure that some of the higher heat methods of sweating would equal...+READ

    The temperature doesn't change? Really? Wow, I always sweat my stuff long and low, but when I caramelize it, it is fairly quick, over higher heat.

    I don't want to argue with an Iron Chef, and before posting this I looked around on the internet. It seems there are many theories regarding sweating vs. caramelizing, but I know for sure that some of the higher heat methods of sweating would equal burning, in my kitchen. (For example, burner on about 7, lid on the pan, and leave it alone for about "5 or 10 minutes." If I were to do this, I would come back to little charred bits welded to the bottom of my pot. )

    So, I guess it just comes down to what works for you, but I think I will stick with two different temperatures. :)-COLLAPSE