The salt helps bring the moisture out of the onions. It will help them cook down and brown up a little bit faster, so you get a nicer, deeper, browner flavor. They sweat a little bit with the salt.
Salt the onions right before you start cooking to help draw out moisture. Unlike mushrooms, which shouldn't be salted until after they've browned, you should always salt onions before you start cooking them.
The adverse effect of salt stress on onion morphology includes reduced bulb weight, bulb diameter, plant height, leaf number per plant, root growth, and crop cycle [6,10]. High salinity decreases the production of large bulbs and maximum decreases were observed at 2.8 dS m−1 [11].
How to prevent onions from burning? You have to sprinkle salt on the onions at the beginning of the cooking process as salt will free the onion's vegetation water. This way it's not worth adding tons of fat and onions won't stick to the pan or burn.
Salting (and leaving uncovered) allows the exterior to dry, which reduces the amount of steam created when cooking, promoting browning and that tasty caramelization.
Re: Salt water and apple browning
The most likely reason why you saw that the salt water did better is because salt water has the ability to pull away the water from a sample, thus exposing the sample to less oxygen, so less oxidation occurs.
“Salt, and more precisely, sodium ions, activate salt receptors on our palate.” Sodium ions bond to the salt receptors on the tongue, inhibiting our perception of bitterness to balance flavours.
If your heat is too high, the onions will burn. Heat your pan over medium-low, then add your onions. Keep it on that temp for the whole process. No cheating!
Add sugar: some cooks swear by adding a pinch of sugar to enhance the onions' sugar content and help them caramelize faster. Add baking soda: dissolve a 1/8 teaspoon baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water and add the mixture to the onions toward the end of cooking (about 15 to 20 minutes in).
Onion shouldn't be fried on low flame as they will soak excess oil. * After the oil is heated, put some of the slices first so that the oil settles down after sputtering. Fry on medium to high flame but do not forget to stir it continuously.
Onion is classified as salt-sensitive with a low tolerance threshold (EC = 1.2 dS·m–1)(Mass and Hoff- man, 1977). For comparative purposes to our study, this level is equivalent to ≈12 mM NaCl/L concentrations (Marschner, 1995).
It is possible to observe the plasmolysis of cells under the microscope. When salt water is added to onion cells, then the cells will lose water due to osmosis, this can be observed.
Regulates Blood Pressure
The abundance of potassium in dehydrated onion effectively helps to regulate blood pressure. Potassium is a key mineral that helps the body significantly in controlling blood pressure as it facilitates to balance out the negative effects of salt.
A clean and smooth surface, and rubbing salt on it will clean and smooth a metal surface, will also help to prevent food from sticking. Sprinkling your pan with salt immediately before frying fish or meat is pointless.
This is optional. Soaking onions in water for 15-20 minutes helps to neutralize the flavors of the onion and lessen the “bite”. It also brings out a sweet flavor and makes them a bit crunchier.
Keep the heat on medium high.
Don't go higher or the onions will burn before they're tender!
While you can make caramelized onions with only one of either butter or oil, the best result will be if you use a bit of both. If you have to choose just one, choose a high quality oil (extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil). Cooking in only butter may burn the onions too quickly because it has a lower smoke point.
This is our secret ingredient to make the best caramelized onions. Vinegar adds a touch of acidity and sweetness to the onions. It elevates their flavor wonderfully. We recommend balsamic vinegar if you use red onions and apple cider vinegar if you use white or yellow onions.
Do you need to add sugar when caramelizing? No! Onions already contain natural sugars, which is why they're so perfect for caramelizing. This process brings out those sugars to make them more prominent.
“A little bitterness goes a long way in combatting fattiness and oiliness,” he says. “That sort of thing is helpful in preventing palate fatigue, which is particularly important in multicourse tasting meals.”
The main difference between sauteed onions and caramelized onions is the cooking time. Caramelized onions are cooked at a lower temperature, for a longer period of time, resulting in super sweet, tender onions. This is my favorite way of making onions if I have the time.
Your onions have to be sliced just right to make perfect caramelized onions. If they're too thick, the outsides of the onions might get mushy before the middle is cooked through; if they're too thin, they might burn too easily or cook before they have attained the right flavor.
Salting coffee did the trick to reduce the bitter flavor and made the brew more palatable. But that's not the only reason sailors of that era grew accustomed to salty coffee, bringing the preference home with them when the war ended.
It tames the bitterness and supercharges the flavor.
Salt in coffee can enhance a brew's sweetness, making it less bitter and more mellow — even when sugar hasn't been added. And salt can enhance the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed black coffee.