HFF 4.26: Hindsight Is 2020

That challenge title hits a bit differently than it did this time last year. 

The Challenge: Hindsight is 2020

The Recipe: Revisiting the Onion Sauce (A New System of Domestic Cookery) from challenge #12.

The Date/Year and Region: 1844/1805, Philadelphia/London

How Did You Make It: I chopped one onion fairly fine, and put it to boil in 1 cup of skim milk for about 10 minutes. I then strained the onion, and mashed it (with a potato masher). I brought it to boil again in 4 Tbsp of butter with a spoonful of the milk, and stirred in a little white wine vinegar when I took it off the stove. 

Time to Complete: ~30 minutes 

Total Cost: About $2

How Successful Was It?:  The texture's still a little chunky, but it's a pleasant onion flavor that is delicious on mashed potatoes. I'm tempted to try it through a food mill one of these days, though the potato masher was at least less frustrating to use (milk-logged onions just tend to squish instead of breaking down).

I did use a white onion, and the flavor was fine, but had forgotten how strong they can be to cut.  I default to sweet yellow onions (which are always the cheapest option in this area), and they don't have quite the eye-hurting power. I didn't notice a huge difference in taste either way, so I'm tempted to just use yellow onions for this recipe in the future.  

How Accurate Is It?: I don't think I've substantially improved the accuracy on this dish. The proportions seem to be working out, but the one thing I'd still like to nail down is how best to crush the onions. Clearly I need to buy a huge mortar and pestle...

Onion sauce, take II.