Why do you need to fry onions and garlic before adding other ingredients to a dish?
I've been using an online Paella recipe that instructs you to sweat some onions for 5 minutes, then add garlic for a few minutes, followed by the vegetables, tomatoes, rice and stock.
Is there a reason the onions need to be added and fried first (and before the garlic)? Does it affect the taste at all?
Recipe was Saffron Seafood Paella
Best Answer
It's not so much the taste as the texture. If they haven't been sauted first, the onions stay relatively crunchy during the rest of the cooking. The same is true of the garlic, but you'd usually have cut the garlic into much smaller pieces so it doesn't take as long to soften up, hence kicking the onion off first and adding the garlic a bit later.
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Quick Answer about "Why do you need to fry onions and garlic before adding other ingredients to a dish?"
Onions and garlic must be cooked first so that it adds flavor to the oil. This way, the taste is absorbed better by the food that's being cooked, such as pork or beef. As stated earlier, onions go first and garlic later. The last-second inclusion of garlic in the cooking process allows for a more robust garlic flavor.Why do you fry onions before cooking?
Saut\xe9ing onions concentrates their natural sugars so they take on a glorious sweetness as the onions soften. Cook them longer, and they eventually caramelize into a golden brown. When you know how to saut\xe9 onions to bring out that natural sweetness, you'll start adding them to your cooking much more often.Why do we fry garlic?
If you don't fry Garlic, it can have a very bitter acrid taste to it. Frying it help sweeten the taste. Doesn't the subsequent cooking also sweeten the taste, though?Why do you saute onions before adding to soup?
Saut\xe9ing the onions before adding them to the slow cooker is a good way to ensure they will cook thoroughly. Onions and other dense vegetables can also be saut\xe9ed for added color, flavor, and firmness before adding them to the soup, whether it is cooked in a slow cooker or on the stovetop.Is it necessary to fry onions?
The longer the exposure to low heat, the more such molecules are produced\u2014and the greater complexity the onions can add to a sauce. High heat, on the other hand, deactivates the enzymes, so that fewer of these flavor molecules are produced. Slowly cooking the raw onions in oil is also important to better flavor.How to Replace Onions and Garlic in Cooking
More answers regarding why do you need to fry onions and garlic before adding other ingredients to a dish?
Answer 2
When you prepare the onions first you bring out the sugars of the onion by carefully caramelizing it. The same with the garlic, but it needs less heat (and therefore is added after the onions) If you put it in with the other vegetables the onion will be cooked. It will still be sweet, but not caramelized.
This method is not especially for Paella, it is used in countless recipes.
Answer 3
Well, I'm Spaniard myself and have never used onions to cook Paella or eaten one with it.
The thing about frying onions is not only the texture change but the sugar and juices it releases, that makes the fat where you fry it have a more "sweetness" taste.
Answer 4
If you don't fry Garlic, it can have a very bitter acrid taste to it. Frying it help sweeten the taste.
Answer 5
If the recipe calls for onions then it's not paella. A real Spanish paella never ever contains onion. The reason given is that the onion will make the rice pass the desired point of done-nes. Personally, I don't believe that, as other vegetables can form part of a paella (like bell peppers).
Anyway, Vicky's answer is correct, you want the onions (or bell peppers) to be crunchy and that's why they have to be added first.
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