I agree with the folks saying that caramelized is poorly defined in popular cooking. What I think most recipes really mean is "sweat the onions until soft". W

I agree with the folks saying that caramelized is poorly defined in popular cooking. What I think most recipes really mean is "sweat the onions until soft". What many people end up with is "dried-out onions that are burnt in spots". While caramelize is definitely a slow process that has several phases. I think the real point is- there's a lot of stuff where people are stirring things in a pan on a stove. Try the toaster oven- it's much more set-and-forget, has better heat control, and if you're lucky, it has a fan that recirculates the air, which greatly improves the results. Properly caramelized onions are more like fruit jam than anything else.