Why are my onions so crunchy?

[Crunchymum]

I make a tomato sauce and I have a little gadget that very finely dices onion (DC1 isn't a fan) but once again the onions - minute as they are - are still very crunchy.

I saute the onions in a little olive oil and garlic before adding before adding the other ingredients and then I simmer the sauce for at least an hour. Yet the weeny bits of onion are still crunchy.

Am I dicing them too small? Overcooking?

Can't seem to figure it out.

I think what I do is 'sweating them off'. Diced small. Small frying pan on a low heat. A little oil. Covered with a saucepan lid. Cook until soft but not caramelised. Garlic goes into the tom sauce. Works for me.

I know what you mean OP! I make homemade turkey burgers and I always precook the onion. I can never seem to make it go soft.

I find thar cooking for longer than you think is key - at least 10 mins but up to 20 depending on how soft you want them. You can a tiny amount of water every so often to stop them catching and browning.

You're not cooking them for long enough before adding the wet ingredients. They need a good 10 to 15 minutes on a medium heat. Adding some salt whilst they're cooking helps draw out the moisture and makes them soften/caramelise quicker.

I “sweaten” them as well. Just a bit oil and then quite long on very low heat. They have to be completely milky looking, like really old windows.

Only then add the rest of the ingredients.

A little bit of butter in with your onions will soften them right up in a few minutes on low. Do this before you add the rest of the ingredients.

You need to cook the onion for longer, probably on a lower heat, than you currently are before you add other ingredients. Onions always take waaaaay longer to cook than any recipe says. 'Sweating' them with the lid on at a low heat can help too. You want them properly transluscent. I cook the onions for ages before adding garlic even (as garlic burns very easily and then tastes bitter)

You need to sauté, sweat, whartever them for a good 15 - 20 minutes at least. Recipes never build this into the timings.

Low and slow

you need to cook them longer, and add the garlic once the onions are soft already. garlic burns quickly, it should never be added at the start with the onions.

As above double the time you are cooking them before you add anything else.

A tip from Nigella that I swear by- add salt to onions as you cook them. They come out lovely and soft.

Recipes always say 'gently fry onions for a few minutes until they are soft' 😂
As PP have said, it takes much longer than a few minutes.

It's because you're cooking with/in tomato. It slows down the cooking of other ingredients. So you need to sweat down your onions/mirepoix/whatever quite well, the add your garlic for the last couple of minutes on a gentler heat (I usually cook the tomato purée down at the same time, but separately IYSWIM). Then add tomatoes and continue the recipe.

I believe the acidity of tomatoes can impede onions softening. They ned a much more thorough saute first, 5 mins won't cut it.

Agree with all the above. Crunchy onions in Tom sauce- revolting. We've alla done it though, I would wager.
Cook them in butter and add salt- cook for longer than you think , until translucent.
Only then add the garlic as it will burn and then you have a bitter taste as well!

I was reading something a while ago about how writers of recipes at the best are extremly over-optimistic or at the worst fib. Every other comment was about how misleading recipes are about frying onions until they are soft and it takes a hell of a lot longer than they say.

I have been known to just microwave the onions in a tiny bit of liquid until soft and then give them a quick saute.

I always find onions need more oil than recipes call for. And I add a little knob of butter because they soften better, in my opinion. Salt helps, too, and they always need way longer than a few minutes no matter what the recipe says! I just made a chili, and cooked the onions for just over ten mins on low. Taste them in the pan! If they're still crunchy then leave it a bit longer.

Thanks all.

Will try the butter next time.

They were cooked low and slow for almost 30 bloody minutes today. So annoying as yep its not making for a particularly nice sauce.

A cheat trick is to put the chopped onions in a small bowl, add about 10ml of water, cling film them, then microwave for around 2-3 mins, then you can use them as normal.

Cooked for 30 minutes in the sauce or on their own?

Once you add the tomatoes the onions aren’t going to get any softer. Butter or olive oil, a good pinch of salt and cook them down for at least 10 minutes before adding anything else.

Adding a cartouche (covered with a a piece of baking parchment in the frying pan, or putting a saucepan lid loosely over it) and cooking at a lower heat is another approach - tajj K ea longer but less likely to burn.

Onions become translucent when cooked until they are soft. Low heat, with a lid on unless you want to caramelise them. 15-20 minutes.

Cooked in extra virgin olive oil over a very low heat for 20 minutes, then garlic added then everything else added 10 minutes later.

Was in a large pan if that makes any difference.

I didn't think to try them as they'd had half an hour on the hob!!

Also - always throw away more outer layer than you think needed. I find the outer layers won't cook properly.

Too low a temperature, then, it sounds like.
If your garlic could be in it for 10 minutes without overcooking there wasn’t enough heat to cook onions.

Were they golden brown? Completely translucent? Still