Using liquid thrown from onions?

Question

I'm following a method from America's Test Kitchen for caramelizing onions large batch in a crockpot. The first step is to microwave the onions and discard the liquid thrown. I'm going to make onion soup, so should I reserve this liquid? I's about 2 cups. I'm wondering if it will flavor the broth or it is not worthwhile. Now that I write this, I realize I'm just using carton beef stock, so this will only dilute the broth. But if I make from scratch in future shall I use it in place of some water?

cookbookchick · Answer

If it's very water without much flavor, it might not be worth the energy expended (gas or electricity) to reduce it.

Kary O. · Answer

I would totally keep it.  If you don't want it to dilute the flavour you can reduce it first.  Bringing it to a boil, and reducing it will concentrate any of flavour.  Or, you can add it to the soup and reduce the soup (lid off) if it the flavour tastes diluted.

Meaghan F. · Answer

I believe that liquid is essentially water that would have just evaporated if the onions were caramelized slowly in a pan, so you can probably ditch it. That said, try a small spoonful of the liquid while you're cooking - if it has flavor, use it; if not, discard.

Using liquid thrown from onions?

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