Forum newbie question - undercooked onions
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Is there a time limit to saute onion? What is the max.time and temp.one can saute onion safely .I have thermomix for 2 weeks now and wondering whether I did the right thing buying it. It still takes an hour to cook and still not get the desired
taste.
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I microwave the onions/garlic til very well done, with a little olive oil. Then use as the recipe says. Nobody would eat the furst few thing I cooked because of the horrible raw onion taste. Think I can still taste it!! Have passed this idea on to friends and they are all very happy with it! Happy cooking!
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Hi Sharon
Thanks for this tip on making browned onions. I will give it a try and if happy with the results will pass it on to my Indian clients for whom browned onions are an important part ot their cuisine and perceived inability to do this has been a sticking point for potential sales.
Greatly appreciated
Cheers
Margaret A Williams (Consultant Hobart)
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I always cook my onions at 100 deg for 5 minutes with the mc off and find it works for me. Don't go back to the stove top - cook for longer!! Also, if you think your machine isn't heating, you are probably setting the temp before you set the timer. Always do the timer first - it's a safety feature.
Hope this helps.
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I guess it's personal taste as to what we all like. 100C or Varoma temp, MC on or off, oil or butter. I've found for my household it's extend the cooking time and use Varoma. The Thermomix is just an appliance with a cook book as a guide - we are still the cooks in the kitchen....Sharon 
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My husband is the same, he doesn't like the flavour of lightly cooked onions so I either cook for longer on 100 or cook them a few minutes at Varoma temperature which seems to work better for us. I do the same for my spices etc too - the Indian and Asian books also recomend using Varoma temperature. However, don't cook for too long at Varoma as you can end up with caramellised onions and that is not desirable for many dishes - it imparts a distictive flavour.
If you DO want a small volume of browned onions I found a recipe on UK Thermomix that works well. 200g onions : pinch salt, pinch bicarb soda and cook 15 minutes , reverse, low speed, Varoma temperature.
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Hi Everyone
I think that cooking and eating are a very personal thing, that is that we all like things cooked and to taste differently. I must say that I am on the same page when it comes to onions. I always add a few minutes to the recipes when I am cooking my onions as I dislike the raw onion taste that can sometimes come through.
Adjust it to suit you I say.
Hope that helps. Fiona
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I totally agree with you. I've had my thermo 3 weeks and I have cooked a heap of things and everything with onion tastes like raw onion. I also find when chopping the onion it all goes to the side and doesn't chop propperly bu thats another matter. I made pumpkin soup the other day and it tatsted differenet..almost raw...I'm struggling with the new taste of things and was starting to think it was just me..glad others thing the same!
I also thought maybe my heating element was not working but custard etc seems to work....
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Hi Karen!
I have just joined this group and you have the honour of being the first person I have followed up with a comment! I have been trying pretty unsuccessfully on blog searches and googling to find info on sautéing using the thermomix. My wife an I are loving te thermomix journey we hav been on, but both feel the general cooking of onions in recipes is insufficient to eliminate the raw onion aftertaste that sometimes follows. I am surprised not to have tracked down more on the topic and notice there were only a couple of respondents to your posted query. I would b most grateful if you and any readers have guidance or knowledge on the topic.
Many thanks, John
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The mushroom soup recipe looks like it should be right, I haven't cooked it. My sister feels the same way as you about onions, you may need to just saute them a bit longer, personally I like the taste from only lightly sauteing, but do in some recipes increase the saute time.
Have you made something like custard?
I'm wondering if perhaps you missed hitting the temp on the 100C setting, or maybe forgot to set the time and were just watching. I know I have come back to custard a few times that I forgot to set the temp and I just have slightly frothed eggy milk. Add the temp and reset the time and it turns out lovely. Was it reading that it had reached 100C??
Sometimes I find in my very very cold kitchen that I need to add an extra minute or two for things to reach the temp.
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Hi everyone,
I am proud new owner of thermomix (1 week this afternoon). I have been having a ball trying out recipes in my thermomix and all are working so far EXCEPT any that have onion in them.
The mushroom soup I cooked this morning just tastes undercooked and worst is the horrible raw onion taste. I followed the recipe exactly except that I doubled the time on 90C to 8 minutes because the soup was barely luke warm after the first part of 8 minutes on 100C.
I also noticed this raw onion taste in the mushroom risotto that our consultant did at the demo. She didn't say anything and neither did anyone else. I thought perhaps its just me that thinks onions should be sauteed until they are nice and sweet and all the sharp sulfury rawness is cooked away.
I am trying to work out if there is something wrong with the heating element of my thermomix, the mushroom soup recipe is just not right or if there's a general tendency towards raw onion type flavours in thermomix recipes.
Any advice from more seasoned users?
I managed to cook rice and hollandaise perfectly earlier this week. Mushroom soup is my first epic fail.
Karen