"caramelize" news and stories

Looking to deepen the flavor and color of your soups, stews and other preparations? Try tomato paste.

Some places, parts of the deep South and at least a few spots in Australia, for example, often use the word “shallots” to apply to green onions, or scallions. Though the white portion of a green onion has a similar flavor, it is not as subtle or delicate as the flavor of a shallot.

Shallots are bulbs that look like a cross between garlic and onion, which is remarkable given that their taste is similar to a sweet onion with a hint of garlic. They have a golden or reddish-brown, papery skin, like that of an onion that should be smooth when fresh and a slightly pink interior. The bulbs can sometimes be divided into "cloves", but when a recipe refers to a number of shallots, it is referring to the whole bulbs.

Fresh shallots should be slightly firm to the touch, with no soft spots. Smaller shallots will be slightly sweeter than larger ones. The complex flavor of a shallot makes it a popular ingredient in French cooking. Shallots caramelize like onions, but can become bitter over too high a heat, like garlic does. Approximately three shallots will equal one medium onion, in terms of size. Try substituting shallots in place of the garlic and onions in a recipe to compare the flavor, or try one of these recipes:

• Crispy Potato Cake topped with Caramlized Shallots
• Grilled Steak with Spicy Shallot Sauce
• Balsamic Glazed Garlic and Shallot Tart
• Shallot Compote

Rachael, the talented chef responsible for Fresh Approach Cooking, has started a “Kitchen Project” series. In installments, she is sharing some important kitchen basics with her readers. She began with Roasted Peppers, then Roasted Garlic and, most recently, Caramelized Onions. Possibly because I really enjoy raw onions in many dishes, I have usually favored the quick and dirty method of caramelizing onions, by cooking them over a relatively high heat until they are tender. This usually takes about 20 minutes and must be the preferred method of recipe writers, since the vast majority of recipes tell you that it takes 20 minutes to caramelized onions. The ones in my picture took about 2 hours. Rachael’s took nearly 3 hours and are a bit browner. It takes about the same time no matter how many onions you use, so you may as well do a lot. They taste meltingly sweet and just fantastic.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

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