Why Marcella Hazan Always Cooked Her Onion And Garlic Starting With A Cold Pan

Italian cooking icon, Marcella Hazan, did more than give rise to popular Italian cooking ingredients, like introducing balsamic vinegar to Americans. The , is widely  After — and her culinary tips persist. One such technique was . Despite the common method of sautéing alliums in sizzling hot oil or butter, Hazan preferred a cold pan for a gentler, slower cooking method.

In one of her , " Add  before turning the heat on " By cooking them low and slow, onions won't burn on the outside before the inside becomes sweet and succulent. The same rule applies to garlic, especially due to its fine chop size, which  and . 

Do you walk away from your stove when food is cooking? What no one tells you about cooking garlic properly is you only need to sauté it for about 30 seconds on low to medium-low heat to accentuate its sweet, caramelized notes (though ). By starting in a cold pan, the heating process is more gradual. Since garlic cooks quickly, you want to stir it as it cooks once the oil or butter has heated. Some chefs say starting with cold oil helps the garlic flavor infuse the dish, too. 

If you're cooking both onion and garlic for a recipe, like Marcella Hazan's signature , give the onion a good head start, beginning with a cold pan and cooking gently on low. Then, right before you add other ingredients like tomatoes or tomato puree. Hazan also instructed as they sauté. This leads to sweet, caramelized onions perfect for sauce, topping a Rueben sandwich, or including in a baked sweet onion tart. . If you want more caramelization or a crisp finish to your onion or garlic, however, you can leave the lid off. This generates less steam and .