Do I need to brown the onions in a pan first?

[hugoagogo]

I want to make soup, without stinking the kitchen out, can i do it all in the slow cooker?

[IWouldPreferNotTo]

It won't taste as nice
The point of browning is to kick off the maillard reaction and caremalise the sugars in the onions

[HollowTalk]

This is why those soup makers can't make proper soup. You have to cook certain ingredients in certain ways.

[JayeAshe]

Onions will brown OK with a lid on the pan to contain the aroma

[UnaOfStormhold]

I batch caramelise onions (the bags of chopped frozen onions are very handy for this) and freeze in single onion portions - very handy to chuck straight into soup and other dishes. I originally came across this idea in Miss South's slow cooked so it can be done in the slow cooker but takes a while.

[AnemoneAnenome]

You can do it straight in the slow cooker. It won't be quite as nice but will be perfectly edible. If skipping the browning, put them at the bottom.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

I love the smell of fried onions!

[hugoagogo]

I like the smell too, for a while, but we don't have an extractor and it tends to linger.

[BiscuitDrama]

If you put them straight in, or a slow cooker, it’s a bit raw onion-y tasting.

[hugoagogo]

I was thinking of cooking the onions in a just a bit of oil first so they are softened. It's worth a try I think.

[BiscuitDrama]

That’s exactly what you need to do.

[RichardYeager]

I love the smell of brown onion.