Caramelized Onion Jam | Tasty Yummies Paleo Jam Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you need sugar to caramelize onions? ›

You'll see some people add sugar to the recipe, which is done to speed it up. Doing this is caramelising the sugar, not the onion. The onions get plenty sweet enough on their own if you take your time with it. From a health perspective it's much better not to add extra sugar.

This is sometimes referred to as 'onion marmalade' but I think jam is a more accurate description, and it's the perfect partner to cheese, sausages and left-over stuffing. The onions are first caramelised in butter, before simmering in a syrup of red wine, dark muscovado sugar and top-drawer vinegar.

I usually stick with balsamic vinegar because the flavor complements the onions perfectly. Not only will deglazing pull up tasty sticky bits, it will add even more flavor to your caramelized onions. Continue stirring the onions until they have reached the color you like.

Our Test Kitchen likes to use butter when caramelizing onions, as it offers the richest flavor. If you avoid dairy or don't have butter, you can caramelize onions in other fat such as margarine or olive oil. Add the onion slices. It's okay if they overlap a bit here because they'll shrink as they cook down.

Tip: the vinegar serves to deglaze the pan, adds acidity, and brings this recipe together by boosting the tangy and savory flavors of the caramelized onions. If the onions stick to the pan, that's fine.

Baking soda makes the onions more alkaline, which speeds up the browning reactions necessary for properly caramelized onions.

Salting caramelized onions is like the icing on the cake. They must have salt but don't make the mistake of salting the onions too early. Instead, salt them at the very end of the recipe. Salt makes the onions release moisture which can slow down the caramelization.

Unlike mushrooms, which shouldn't be salted until after they've browned, you should always salt onions before you start cooking them. Onions won't begin to caramelize until all the water in them has evaporated, and using salt will speed up that process, Caicedo explains.

Not cooking the onions long enough.

→ Follow this tip: Cook times will vary depending on the number of onions you're cooking and the type of onion (its sugar content and age), but plan to cook caramelized onions for 40 to 50 minutes (at least) until they have a dark-brown, rich color.

Why is my onion jam runny? ›

If the onion jam is too runny: This may be the case if you've reduced or substituted the sugar. You could add some cornstarch slurry or pectin if preferred. For more flavor: For a more “caramelized onion” jam, I recommend fully caramelizing the onions before adding the herbs and sugar and continuing with the recipe.

Pickled onions are a food item consisting of onions (cultivars of Allium cepa) pickled in a solution of vinegar and salt, often with other preservatives and flavourings. There is a variety of small white pickled onions known as 'silverskin' onions; due to imperfections they are pickled instead of being wasted.

Is marmalade healthier than jam? Both jam and marmalade are marginally healthier than jelly, which is made with fruit juice, so doesn't have any fibre from the fruit pieces. Marmalade and jam have similar nutritional properties making them pretty much the same in terms of healthiness.

Yes, you can use natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar to caramelize apples without using refined sugar. These alternatives add a touch of sweetness and help the apples caramelize beautifully.

Technically, the only ingredient you actually need to make caramel is sugar (although many recipes for caramel sauce also call for water, butter, cream, and a bit of salt to cut down the sweetness). The process itself seems simple.

And adding sugar will make your onions sweeter. So if sweetness is what you're going for, do it my friends!