Caramelised onions will cook twice as fast if coated in 65p ingredient

Caramelised onions are delicious but they can be a real labour of love. This easy addition makes them cook in half the time without sacrificing flavour.

With autumn fast approaching, now is the perfect time to start thinking about hearty evening meals and making sure you have a good supply of onions to hand — a staple ingredient in so many warming dishes. Onions are at their very best when caramelised, adding richness and sweetness to almost any recipe, though cooking them properly demands a fair amount of patience.

The caramelisation process can take well over an hour, and while the results are undeniably worth it, few of us want to spend that amount of time hovering over the hob every night just to prepare a single ingredient.

Journalist Katherine McPhillips has discovered the secret to speeding up the process. She said: “I’m fond of incorporating caramelised onions into my soups, stews or even serving them with pasta, so I set out to experiment and discover whether there might be a simpler approach.

“Following numerous attempts, I’ve found a method to achieve that sticky, golden result in half the usual time – requiring nothing more than a small amount of bicarbonate of soda.”

Bicarb might seem like an unlikely addition, but when introduced to onions, it triggers a chemical reaction that significantly speeds up the cooking process.

Under normal circumstances, onions take so long to cook because their natural sugars need considerable time to concentrate enough for caramelisation to take place.

Bicarbonate of soda, however, is alkaline by nature, meaning even the tiniest amount will raise the pH level of the onions as they cook, allowing those sugars to break down far more quickly.

Adding bicarbonate of soda will leave your onions soft, glossy and golden in as little as 20 minutes rather than an hour, all while preserving their gloriously rich flavour. Plus, the baking ingredient typically costs just 65p at supermarkets including Aldi, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

How to make caramelised onions quickly

Ingredients

• Two large onions
• One tablespoon of butter or olive oil
• Half a teaspoon of salt
• One eighth teaspoon of baking soda (a pinch)
• White wine or balsamic vinegar (optional)

Method:

1. Begin by placing the butter or oil into a frying pan set over a medium heat on the hob. Finely slice the onions and add them to the pan once it has warmed up sufficiently.
2. Season the onions with salt and cook for five minutes until they start to soften and turn a pale yellow colour. Remember to stir occasionally to stop them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
3. Once the time is up, sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over the onions and stir well to combine. Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking the onions for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Keep cooking until the onions turn a deep golden-brown and take on a lovely jammy texture. Once fully caramelised, a splash of white wine or balsamic vinegar can be added to deglaze the pan and intensify the flavour.
5. Your caramelised onions should be looking absolutely perfect within just 20 minutes, providing a truly mouth-watering addition to your meal without keeping you tied to the kitchen all evening.