by Debra Menager

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

A large juicy hamburger topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms; threads of sweet, golden onions interweaving delicate strands of pasta under chunks of Italian sausage and al dente vegetables; a comforting bowl of French onion soup hidden beneath cheese-encrusted sourdough toast. Delicious, mouth-watering visions of amazing transformations a big bag of onions can take. So easy, and so inexpensive!

Slice a large quantity of onions. (You can do this with only one or two, but why? Leftover caramelized onions improve with a few days rest in the fridge. And those stragglers added to leftovers create interesting meals in minutes.)

Select a large, heavy pot. (Or any you can locate. But a large pot will hold all those onions, and a heavy one will hold the heat better.) Adjust the stove burner to medium-low. (If using a heavy pot, as suggested, low heat setting may suffice. Slow, steady heat cooks more efficiently and caramelizes onions with less chance of burning.)

Drizzle oil over onions in that pot. (Use a teaspoons olive oil for each cup onions, or vary type and amount, as desired. As long as onion slices all become coated, it's a matter of individual preference. Fixing food to your tastes is an advantage of being the cook!)

Select a long-handled wooden spoon; stir until onions are uniformly coated with oil. (A long handle is useful when reaching into a large pot; it keeps hands further from heat. I prefer a wooden spoon: it's nonreactive, unlike metal ones. A heat-resistant spatula also works well.)

Stir in salt, pepper, other spices. (Again, it's the cook's prerogative. Consider what spices agree with foods using these caramelized onions, and with people eating them. To accommodate recipes or dietary restrictions, add spices later.)

Cook slowly, stirring occasionally. (Patience: "Rushing it" with high heat will only yield disappointment. At worst it might burn, at best it won't be as sweet or flavorful.) Caramelization is a chemical reaction, requiring a series of events. Heat and time in proper proportions transform starches within onion to sugars. As moisture in fresh onion juices evaporates, sugars condense. Continued heat acts upon these sugars, further transforming through carmelization. Chemical bonds reorganize. (Similar to how crystalline table sugar melts, then darkens with slow heating to create caramelized dessert topping.)

Stir occasionally, but not constantly at first. (Benign neglect, a useful gardening principle with plants eschewing over-tending,

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