Onion or garlic as flavoring for oil

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Hey all,

I've recently been coming across more recipes that call for ingredients such as onion or garlic to be cooked for a few minutes in oil at the start, then discarded before the recipe continues. I understand this concept, to get some of the flavour into the oil without being too strong or having chunks in the final dish, but I would love to hear some thoughts on when you choose to do this, why, etc.

I think it's a more 'sophisticated' technique, aiming for subtlety in the dish. Usually I have some onion and garlic in pretty much every savoury dish I make, as a starting base for flavours, so the idea of not using them, or infusing then discarding, makes me wonder how much it would affect the taste of the dish. For example, my tomato-based pasta sauces inevitably have finely diced onion and garlic, but Marcella Hazan recommends this oil-infusing technique. I feel like a "regular" amount of onion adds to the dish without being obviously onion-y so to me, discarding the onion would take nearly all of that flavour away, leaving only a hint of it at best in the oil.

Which of course may be the whole point - I guess top chefs are looking for nuance and subtlety, and can pick that just a hint of onion would help the overall dish without being noticeable. Perhaps I've been clumsy and overzealous all this time, and my dishes are often too brazen with the flavours?

Thoughts?

[David A. Goldfarb]

I might flavor the oil for stir frying with garlic and ginger and maybe some dried chili pepper, then remove the whole spices so they don't burn in the wok while the food is cooking.

[djyee100]

I like the taste of onion and garlic, lots of it depending on what's cooking, so any effort towards subtlety would be lost on me. Consider also what makes something taste good--not necessarily an intensity of some flavors, but how all the flavors balance or enhance each other. So a brazenly garlicky oniony dish with matching strong flavors could be very good (and usually is, in spaghetti sauce).

I would use the oil-infusing technique you describe if the onion or garlic was in danger of burning with prolonged high heat, then turning bitter. Most people don't like that flavor, myself included.

Otherwise the technique might be useful to control texture, e.g., attain a very smooth texture in a sauce. You could also grate onion or press garlic with the same result. Chill the onion first, then grate it against the medium-shredder side of a box grater. It goes quickly, TG, as long as you don't have a lot to do. Chilling the onion will lessen the volatile compounds that cause the tears.

[Alcuin]

One way I use it is for pan roasted potatoes. Cut fingerlings in half, crush some garlic, then add butter and olive oil to the pan with the garlic. Brown the garlic to infuse with the flavor, then add the fingerlings cut side down. Put the top on and roast for 15 or so minutes depending on the thickness of the potatoes. Discard the garlic, season with salt and pepper.

This way, you get a hint of nicely toasted garlic but none of the chunks which don't look good and can be bitter when they brown. There's a nice garlic flavor here, but you might not notice it if you didn't know it was there--it just tastes better than potatoes normally do without revealing why. Plus, these potatoes are meant to be quick and easy--its easier than chopping garlic, and little bits of garlic on potatoes wouldn't work pan-roasted anyway.

[OliverB]

I think the burning is the main reason for this. You get the flavor, but no burnt bitter bits. Same reason I think why often garlic is added towards the end of cooking something on high heat, once the garlic burns there's no return, you can't get the flavor out. And it doesn't taste much like garlic anymore. Like recipes that call for browning onions for a while, then add garlic and stir for an other 30 sec or so before adding tomatoes etc and then continuing with a slow simmer where the garlic won't burn.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Thanks for the replies... some good sense coming through here. I hadn't really thought about using the technique for things like roast potatoes, Alcuin, but i like the sound of it.

I recently made a risotto from a well-regarded chef's recipe, which involved flavouring the oil with onion at the start and then discarding it, but I can't really see why it would be necessary, even with these explanations given. The onion wasn't going to burn, even though it was added at the start, and the long cooking time would have mellowed the flavour well. Don't know if I would have noticed the difference had it been left in (or perhaps even omitted entirely). I should probably do an experiment with each different option to test, that's a lot of risotto though

[Snadra]

My mother used to fry garlic and ginger in oil for certain chinese dishes, then discard them before continuing.

I have made a basic italian tomato sauce (is sugo the correct term?) which calls for simmering the tomatoes with half an onion. The onion is discarded before the sauce is put through a mill. I think it's from an Anna del Conte book. It's quite subtle and lovely on fresh pasta.

And the beef stroganoff I make from a Pellaprat book does something similar: the beef strips are sauteed with onion in a few batches, then the onion is discarded before adding the beef back to the sauce. Again, it's a nice subtle onion flavour (and delicious aroma) and it enhances the beef without overpowering.