A different way of addressing traditional French Onion Soup was recently
presented on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Basically you roast the sliced
onions at 400F covered. Then you brown them severely until you have a "fond"
on the bottom of the pan. You do this several times, then cover with broth
and serve. I tried this and came up with a mushy mess, though it tasted OK.
I think preparing onion soup is probably better done in the traditional
fashion, with a one step bowning of the ovens before adding the broth. If
any try this I would certainly suggest "dice, rather than slice". For what
it's worth here's the URL for the recipe:
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/r...4746&iSeason=9

Ther

On Feb 11, 1:28*pm, "Theron" > wrote:
> A different way of addressing traditional French Onion Soup was recently
> presented on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Basically you roast the sliced
> onions at 400F covered. Then you brown them severely until you have a "fond"
> on the bottom of the pan. You do this several times, then cover with broth
> and serve. I tried this and came up with a mushy mess, though it tasted OK.
> I think preparing onion soup is probably better done in the traditional
> fashion, with a one step bowning of the ovens before adding the broth. If
> any try this I would certainly suggest "dice, rather than slice". For what
> it's worth here's the URL for the recipe:http://www.americastestkitchen.com/r...4746&iSeason=9
>
> Ther

Thanks for the timely post!

Theron wrote:

> A different way of addressing traditional French Onion Soup was recently
> presented on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Basically you roast the sliced
> onions at 400F covered. Then you brown them severely until you have a
> "fond" on the bottom of the pan. You do this several times, then cover
> with broth and serve. I tried this and came up with a mushy mess, though
> it tasted OK.

So you would prefer it if the onions in your onion soup were CRISP?


> I think preparing onion soup is probably better done in the traditional
> fashion, with a one step bowning of the ovens before adding the broth. If
> any try this I would certainly suggest "dice, rather than slice". For what
> it's worth here's the URL for the recipe:
> http://www.americastestkitchen.com/r...4746&iSeason=9

Hm. Well, our tastes differ, because I disagree with almost everything you
said there. Fond is LOADED with flavor; that's why so many pan sauces have
you scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Diced onions have more broken
cell walls, so they disintegrate when cooked for the long period of time
necessary to achieve very deep caramelization.

The history of that particular recipe was given on the episode of America's
Test Kitchen where they made the soup. A visitor from France wanted to show
how *he* made onion soup, which was in similar fashion to the recipe Cook's
Illustrated published, i.e., lengthwise slicing of the onions and multiple
deglazings. The test kitchen was astounded at the results, and set out to
refine and document the procedure. I made onion soup following their recipe
just a few weeks ago, and both Lin and I *loved* it. Were you using
less-than-stellar broth, perhaps?

The final result does have an unparalleled intense flavor of caramelized
onions, but yes, it is mushy. A friend of ours from another forum likened it
to onion confit, which I suppose is not too far from the mark.

The bottom line is that you didn't like it, and so you won't make it that
way again. I *did* like it, so that's the onion soup recipe I'll follow on
the once-a-year occasion that I make onion soup. That's the way kitchen
experimentation goes.

Bob

On Feb 11, 2:17*pm, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> Theron wrote:
> > A different way of addressing traditional French Onion Soup was recently
> > presented on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Basically you roast the sliced
> > onions at 400F covered. Then you brown them severely until you have a
> > "fond" on the bottom of the pan. You do this several times, then cover
> > with broth and serve. I tried this and came up with a mushy mess, though
> > it tasted OK.
>
> So you would prefer it if the onions in your onion soup were CRISP?
>
> > I think preparing onion soup is probably better done in the traditional
> > fashion, with a one step bowning of the ovens before adding the broth. If
> > any try this I would certainly suggest "dice, rather than slice". For what
> > it's worth here's the URL for the recipe:
> >http://www.americastestkitchen.com/r...4746&iSeason=9
>
> Hm. Well, our tastes differ, because I disagree with almost everything you
> said there. Fond is LOADED with flavor; that's why so many pan sauces have
> you scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Diced onions have more broken
> cell walls, so they disintegrate when cooked for the long period of time
> necessary to achieve very deep caramelization.
>
> The history of that particular recipe was given on the episode of America's
> Test Kitchen where they made the soup. A visitor from France wanted to show
> how *he* made onion soup, which was in similar fashion to the recipe Cook's
> Illustrated published, i.e., lengthwise slicing of the onions and multiple
> deglazings. The test kitchen was astounded at the results, and set out to
> refine and document the procedure. I made onion soup following their recipe
> just a few weeks ago, and both Lin and I *loved* it. Were you using
> less-than-stellar broth, perhaps?
>
> The final result does have an unparalleled intense flavor of caramelized
> onions, but yes, it is mushy. A friend of ours from another forum likened it
> to onion confit, which I suppose is not too far from the mark.
>
> The bottom line is that you didn't like it, and so you won't make it that
> way again. I *did* like it, so that's the onion soup recipe I'll follow on
> the once-a-year occasion that I make onion soup. That's the way kitchen
> experimentation goes.
>
> Bob

May I ask what brand of beef broth you used, or was it home made? When
I made mine, I used Wolfgang Puck's boxed stuff...

merryb wrote:

> May I ask what brand of beef broth you used, or was it home made? When I
> made mine, I used Wolfgang Puck's boxed stuff...

It was homemade, following the recipe for brodo which was posted here some
years ago:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.f...561d4cdfbe2a06

Bob

On Feb 11, 2:38*pm, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> merryb wrote:
> > May I ask what brand of beef broth you used, or was it home made? When I
> > made mine, I used Wolfgang Puck's boxed stuff...
>
> It was homemade, following the recipe for brodo which was posted here some
> years ago:
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/rec.f...561d4cdfbe2a06
>
> Bob

I'm sure using homemade made all the difference...

"merryb" > wrote in message
...
On Feb 11, 2:38 pm, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> merryb wrote:
> > May I ask what brand of beef broth you used, or was it home made? When I
> > made mine, I used Wolfgang Puck's boxed stuff...
>
> It was homemade, following the recipe for brodo which was posted here some
> years ago:
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/rec.f...561d4cdfbe2a06
>
> Bob

I'm sure using homemade made all the difference...

I wonder how beef stock became part of the recipe. There isn't any beef in
the dish. If you read the classic French cookbooks about onion soup, there
is a fair variation of what "broth" is used with the onion. Almost all use
some chicken stock, which we almost always use when we want to enrich
something. Any French brown stock is more veal than beef. I'm going to make
onion soup with a vegetable stock next time which will include dried porcini
mushrooms. We'll see what happens.

Ther

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:38:15 -0800, Theron wrote:

> "merryb" > wrote in message
> ...
> On Feb 11, 2:38 pm, "Bob Terwilliger" >
> wrote:
>> merryb wrote:
>> > May I ask what brand of beef broth you used, or was it home made?
>> > When I made mine, I used Wolfgang Puck's boxed stuff...
>>
>> It was homemade, following the recipe for brodo which was posted here
>> some years ago:
>>
>> http://groups.google.com/group/rec.f...561d4cdfbe2a06
>>
>> Bob
>
> I'm sure using homemade made all the difference...
>
> I wonder how beef stock became part of the recipe. There isn't any beef
> in the dish. If you read the classic French cookbooks about onion soup,
> there is a fair variation of what "broth" is used with the onion. Almost
> all use some chicken stock, which we almost always use when we want to
> enrich something. Any French brown stock is more veal than beef. I'm
> going to make onion soup with a vegetable stock next time which will
> include dried porcini mushrooms. We'll see what happens.
>
> Ther

Let me predict: it will be a very tasty soup, though not the classic
French Onionsoup. But what's in a name? The soup by any name would taste
as good..

--
Groet, salut, Wim.

On 12 Feb 2009 03:43:36 GMT, Wim van Bemmel >
wrote:

>On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:38:15 -0800, Theron wrote:

>> I wonder how beef stock became part of the recipe. There isn't any beef
>> in the dish. If you read the classic French cookbooks about onion soup,
>> there is a fair variation of what "broth" is used with the onion. Almost
>> all use some chicken stock, which we almost always use when we want to
>> enrich something. Any French brown stock is more veal than beef. I'm
>> going to make onion soup with a vegetable stock next time which will
>> include dried porcini mushrooms. We'll see what happens.
>>
>> Ther
>
>Let me predict: it will be a very tasty soup, though not the classic
>French Onionsoup. But what's in a name? The soup by any name would taste
>as good..

It's nice to know what a traditional version is but that doesn't mean
that you'll like it and can't produce something you'll like better.
As long as you and those you cook for enjoy it is all that matters.

Lou

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>
> Theron wrote:
>
> > A different way of addressing traditional French Onion Soup was recently
> > presented on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Basically you roast the sliced
> > onions at 400F covered. Then you brown them severely until you have a
> > "fond" on the bottom of the pan. You do this several times, then cover
> > with broth and serve. I tried this and came up with a mushy mess, though
> > it tasted OK.
>
> So you would prefer it if the onions in your onion soup were CRISP?
>
> > I think preparing onion soup is probably better done in the traditional
> > fashion, with a one step bowning of the ovens before adding the broth. If
> > any try this I would certainly suggest "dice, rather than slice". For what
> > it's worth here's the URL for the recipe:
> > http://www.americastestkitchen.com/r...4746&iSeason=9
>
> Hm. Well, our tastes differ, because I disagree with almost everything you
> said there. Fond is LOADED with flavor; that's why so many pan sauces have
> you scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Diced onions have more broken
> cell walls, so they disintegrate when cooked for the long period of time
> necessary to achieve very deep caramelization.
>
> The history of that particular recipe was given on the episode of America's
> Test Kitchen where they made the soup. A visitor from France wanted to show
> how *he* made onion soup, which was in similar fashion to the recipe Cook's
> Illustrated published, i.e., lengthwise slicing of the onions and multiple
> deglazings. The test kitchen was astounded at the results, and set out to
> refine and document the procedure. I made onion soup following their recipe
> just a few weeks ago, and both Lin and I *loved* it. Were you using
> less-than-stellar broth, perhaps?
>
> The final result does have an unparalleled intense flavor of caramelized
> onions, but yes, it is mushy. A friend of ours from another forum likened it
> to onion confit, which I suppose is not too far from the mark.
>
> The bottom line is that you didn't like it, and so you won't make it that
> way again. I *did* like it, so that's the onion soup recipe I'll follow on
> the once-a-year occasion that I make onion soup. That's the way kitchen
> experimentation goes.
>
> Bob

It would seem that you could follow the mega-flavor recipe, run the
result through a sieve and serve with some separately browned onions to
provide the desired texture while disposing of the now spent onion mush.
Given the low cost of onions I don't think that would be a bad option.

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:20:59 -0600, Pete C. wrote:

> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>
>> Theron wrote:
>>
>> > A different way of addressing traditional French Onion Soup was
>> > recently presented on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Basically you
>> > roast the sliced onions at 400F covered. Then you brown them severely
>> > until you have a "fond" on the bottom of the pan. You do this several
>> > times, then cover with broth and serve. I tried this and came up with
>> > a mushy mess, though it tasted OK.
>>
>> So you would prefer it if the onions in your onion soup were CRISP?
>>
>> > I think preparing onion soup is probably better done in the
>> > traditional fashion, with a one step bowning of the ovens before
>> > adding the broth. If any try this I would certainly suggest "dice,
>> > rather than slice". For what it's worth here's the URL for the
>> > recipe:
>> > http://www.americastestkitchen.com/r...4746&iSeason=9
>>
>> Hm. Well, our tastes differ, because I disagree with almost everything
>> you said there. Fond is LOADED with flavor; that's why so many pan
>> sauces have you scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Diced onions
>> have more broken cell walls, so they disintegrate when cooked for the
>> long period of time necessary to achieve very deep caramelization.
>>
>> The history of that particular recipe was given on the episode of
>> America's Test Kitchen where they made the soup. A visitor from France
>> wanted to show how *he* made onion soup, which was in similar fashion
>> to the recipe Cook's Illustrated published, i.e., lengthwise slicing of
>> the onions and multiple deglazings. The test kitchen was astounded at
>> the results, and set out to refine and document the procedure. I made
>> onion soup following their recipe just a few weeks ago, and both Lin
>> and I *loved* it. Were you using less-than-stellar broth, perhaps?
>>
>> The final result does have an unparalleled intense flavor of
>> caramelized onions, but yes, it is mushy. A friend of ours from another
>> forum likened it to onion confit, which I suppose is not too far from
>> the mark.
>>
>> The bottom line is that you didn't like it, and so you won't make it
>> that way again. I *did* like it, so that's the onion soup recipe I'll
>> follow on the once-a-year occasion that I make onion soup. That's the
>> way kitchen experimentation goes.
>>
>> Bob
>
> It would seem that you could follow the mega-flavor recipe, run the
> result through a sieve and serve with some separately browned onions to
> provide the desired texture while disposing of the now spent onion mush.
> Given the low cost of onions I don't think that would be a bad option.

The way Bob does make this thing seems more to produce Onion Confit than
soup. Which I like very much, as a side dish. And if diluted to become
soup, well, yes, there are onions as the main ingredient, so it is onion
soup. And it may taste wonderful. But, don't give it the name "Real French
Onion Soup", it simply is not. It is "Bob's Onion Soup", and there is
nothing wrong with that.

--
Groet, salut, Wim.