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Question:
I was recently preparing a bread sauce
from one of Michel Roux's recipes and it asked me to "melt the butter in a
small saucepan, add the chopped onions and sweat them gently for 1 minute."
Can you please tell me what "sweating" means? Thank you so much! - J.
Smith (9/14/99)
Question:
I am
wondering what difference there is, if any, between sautéing onions and
"sweating" them. - Nancy (7/11/05)
Answer:
Sweat:
Sweating
is the process of releasing flavors with moisture and low temperatures. Fat,
in this case, is used just to hold the non-volatile flavors as they're
released from the onion. No browning takes place. The pan is covered so the
lid traps steam, which condenses and drips back on to the onions. Some cooks
cover the onions directly with a piece of foil or parchment, than add a lid
as well.
Sautéing: Sautéing uses a small
amount of fat, and it's done in an uncovered pan. As fat reaches higher
temperatures than water, cooking usually occurs quickly, and you can easily
see the onions become translucent as they move from raw to cooked.
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