That's exactly the source of the confusion, and this is an argument that has gone round in circles so much in the past decade it drives me up the wall.
"This recipe says caramelize the onions for 5 minutes, then add some stock. That's ridiculous, it takes at least 45 minutes to caramelize onions, so I need to add 40 minutes to this recipe."
No, this issue isn't with the timing, it's simply with the word "caramelize." Yes, cookbook authors are guilty of incorrectly using the word "caramelize" when they mean brown and soften. No, they are not guilty of simply pretending that they didn't spend half an hour gently caramelizing onions when they write "for five minutes."
People learn that caramelization takes a half hour or more, and then they incorrectly assume that this is what you should do with all recipes that brown onions.
I grew up and continue to cook classic Italian and classic French recipes (grew up in Italy and France, my family is still in Italy). There are very few Italian recipes that require caramelizing onions, and few French recipes, except those where caramelized onions are a specific feature. For heaven's sake, don't caramelize onions for 45 minutes when making a pasta sauce.
"This recipe says caramelize the onions for 5 minutes, then add some stock. That's ridiculous, it takes at least 45 minutes to caramelize onions, so I need to add 40 minutes to this recipe."
No, this issue isn't with the timing, it's simply with the word "caramelize." Yes, cookbook authors are guilty of incorrectly using the word "caramelize" when they mean brown and soften. No, they are not guilty of simply pretending that they didn't spend half an hour gently caramelizing onions when they write "for five minutes."
People learn that caramelization takes a half hour or more, and then they incorrectly assume that this is what you should do with all recipes that brown onions.
I grew up and continue to cook classic Italian and classic French recipes (grew up in Italy and France, my family is still in Italy). There are very few Italian recipes that require caramelizing onions, and few French recipes, except those where caramelized onions are a specific feature. For heaven's sake, don't caramelize onions for 45 minutes when making a pasta sauce.