HANG ON—Don’t Add the Garlic So Soon!
Throw garlic into the pan with the other alliums or seasonings, and it will quickly burn and turn bitter. Here’s a simple, strategic fix as reported by Liz Bomze, researcher and editor for America’s Test Kitchen (ATK).
It’s tricky sauteeing garlic and onions together at the same time. Either you find that by the time the onions are transparent and soft, the garlic has burned, or the garlic is soft but the onions aren’t cooked thoroughly.
This simple fix Liz is referring to is one that the Test Kitchen pros routinely build into their recipes: Wait until the onions or other vegetables are almost completely softened—and then stir the garlic into the mix. Allow the garlic to cook for just 30 to 60 seconds before adding liquid or other ingredients to the pot.
The folks at ATK call this their “best practice” when cooking just about anything with minced garlic—from chili to pasta sauce to vegetable soup.
Liz emphasizes that just one minute, tops, is all it takes for the garlic to turn fragrant and for its raw bite and crunch to soften a little. If it goes much longer without the addition of liquid or other ingredients, there’s a good chance it will turn acrid and bitter and likely burn.
There are reasons why garlic burns more readily than do onions. One obvious reason for taking more care when sautéing garlic: if you’ve minced it, the smaller bits will burn more easily than bigger pieces of chopped onions. Also, garlic also contains much less water than onions, which must release their water before they can break down into sugars. Lastly, garlic contains more sugar, which starts to brown and then scorches as soon as it gets hot.
And note, too, that cutting garlic seriously impacts its flavor. Garlic’s characteristic flavor comes from a compound called allicin, which is produced when the walls of garlic are broken down. The more you slice, chop, or crush garlic, the more allicin is produced and the more pungent the garlic will be.
Sautéing garlic increases its flavor complexity. Heat softens its pungency by converting its raw-tasting compounds into mellower ones called poly-sulphides. And even just a minute’s exposure to the heat of a pan allows its sugars and amino acids to undergo the Maillard reaction, turning and sweetening garlic’s flavor. If you skip the sautéing and add raw garlic directly to a bubbling pot of stew or soup, it wouldn’t impart the same complexity to your dish.
Liz closes her garlic cooking tutorial with two tips for cooking with minced garlic and onions (or other vegetables that require softening), make sure to:
And she says there’s a bonus perk to waiting: If you let cut garlic sit, more and more allicin will be produced and evolve into other compounds, making it taste more complex as well as stronger. Even a 10-minute rest before cooking will increase garlic’s complexity.
I’ll conclude with a wonderful spaghetti recipe that calls for sauteed garlic and onions. This is from www.allrecipes.com and the chefs there say this creamy sauce is what knocks this recipe out of the park!
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 white onions halved and thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) package spaghetti
1/2 cup dry Chardonnay
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper to taste
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
It’s tricky sauteeing garlic and onions together at the same time. Either you find that by the time the onions are transparent and soft, the garlic has burned, or the garlic is soft but the onions aren’t cooked thoroughly.
This simple fix Liz is referring to is one that the Test Kitchen pros routinely build into their recipes: Wait until the onions or other vegetables are almost completely softened—and then stir the garlic into the mix. Allow the garlic to cook for just 30 to 60 seconds before adding liquid or other ingredients to the pot.
The folks at ATK call this their “best practice” when cooking just about anything with minced garlic—from chili to pasta sauce to vegetable soup.
Liz emphasizes that just one minute, tops, is all it takes for the garlic to turn fragrant and for its raw bite and crunch to soften a little. If it goes much longer without the addition of liquid or other ingredients, there’s a good chance it will turn acrid and bitter and likely burn.
There are reasons why garlic burns more readily than do onions. One obvious reason for taking more care when sautéing garlic: if you’ve minced it, the smaller bits will burn more easily than bigger pieces of chopped onions. Also, garlic also contains much less water than onions, which must release their water before they can break down into sugars. Lastly, garlic contains more sugar, which starts to brown and then scorches as soon as it gets hot.
And note, too, that cutting garlic seriously impacts its flavor. Garlic’s characteristic flavor comes from a compound called allicin, which is produced when the walls of garlic are broken down. The more you slice, chop, or crush garlic, the more allicin is produced and the more pungent the garlic will be.
Sautéing garlic increases its flavor complexity. Heat softens its pungency by converting its raw-tasting compounds into mellower ones called poly-sulphides. And even just a minute’s exposure to the heat of a pan allows its sugars and amino acids to undergo the Maillard reaction, turning and sweetening garlic’s flavor. If you skip the sautéing and add raw garlic directly to a bubbling pot of stew or soup, it wouldn’t impart the same complexity to your dish.
Liz closes her garlic cooking tutorial with two tips for cooking with minced garlic and onions (or other vegetables that require softening), make sure to:
- Chop or mince the garlic ahead, and then wait to add it until the last 30 to 60 seconds of cooking these components.
- Keep the heat moderate or low to avoid burning the garlic.
And she says there’s a bonus perk to waiting: If you let cut garlic sit, more and more allicin will be produced and evolve into other compounds, making it taste more complex as well as stronger. Even a 10-minute rest before cooking will increase garlic’s complexity.
I’ll conclude with a wonderful spaghetti recipe that calls for sauteed garlic and onions. This is from www.allrecipes.com and the chefs there say this creamy sauce is what knocks this recipe out of the park!
Creamy Onion and Garlic Spaghetti
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 white onions halved and thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) package spaghetti
1/2 cup dry Chardonnay
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Melt butter with olive oil in a saucepan over low heat. Stir onions, garlic, sugar, and salt into the hot butter and oil. Cover pan and cook until onions are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 7 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
3. Pour Chardonnay into onion mixture and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer until evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir heavy cream into mixture and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
4. Transfer spaghetti to a serving bowl and pour onion sauce over pasta; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Toss to coat.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 7 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
3. Pour Chardonnay into onion mixture and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer until evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir heavy cream into mixture and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
4. Transfer spaghetti to a serving bowl and pour onion sauce over pasta; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Toss to coat.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
