Onion Caramelization

A natural sugar called sucrose is stored in the cells of onions. Heat transforms the naturally occurring sugar sucrose in onions into the more palatable glucose and fructose. Caramelization is the method used to achieve the very sweet flavor of caramelized onions. When using a low and slow method of caramelization, a half teaspoon of baking soda can cut the time needed from 40 minutes down to roughly 20.