Onions!!! Two questions.

I love onions. I pretty much think no meal is complete without them. Lately though, I notice that they are always rotten at Kroger. I've the issue with St. Matthews and Dirty Kroger. Has anyone else noticed this?

Second, why can't I caramelize them? They end up french fried. What am I doing wrong?

I stopped buying onions at K quite a while ago- felt like I wasting too much money. I bought two apples there on Sunday and two were brown inside so apples are out too.

Are you carmelizing your onions really slowly-12-20 minutes at very low heat? They get meltingly sweet that way, at least for me.

Honestly, we pretty much stopped buying any produce at Kroger. We live in Clifton and have just made it a routine to go to the Kroger on Hubbards Lane (we skip dirty kroger all together unless in a pinch) and then we swing by Pauls - or sub the farmer's market a bit later in the season - for our produce.

Second, why can't I caramelize them? They end up french fried. What am I doing wrong?

I find that I need to start with what seems to be way too many onions. Really pile them up in the pan,they cook down in a similar way as greens do. Three or four big sweet onions will only leave you with a small handful of finished product. I have tried the brown sugar addition and found that if I cooked low and slow I didnt need it.

i agree that you need ALOT of them.......and longggggg and slow is the way to go for them.......as for adding sugar.......never heard of it.....and i dont think i would like it.......

I use butter not olive oil and sugar is not necessary

Anyone else buy onions at Aldi? 3# yellow=$.99 most times; 3# red=$1.29 I only buy onions at Kroger if I'm realy desperate.

I only use sweet onions and I've noticed all that I've bought this Spring are very strong...I've learned to use less. I've bought them all over town at different stores and it does not seem to make a difference. My mother in law noticed the same thing.

Anyone else buy onions at Aldi? 3# yellow=$.99 most times; 3# red=$1.29 I only buy onions at Kroger if I'm realy desperate.

You bet! But we buy almost everything at Aldi!

Are you carmelizing your onions really slowly-12-20 minutes at very low heat? They get meltingly sweet that way, at least for me.

Yep, that's the key (and a good bit of salt to pull the moisture out).

Also, to really get the sweet caramelized flavor, after the low and slow and everything cooks down, crank the heat way up for a minute or so and give them a solid saute. That will give the already somewhat concentrated sugar in the onions a nice toast.

Just a random FYI on the subject of produce:

Since moving, we've been shopping at the Middletown Kroger and are amazed at the quality of produce.

And when I say amazed... I mean that (generally speaking) the quality of much the produce is much much nicer than the stuff we receive in from Creation Gardens for use at the Oakroom. We literally went as far as going to Kroger and picking up produce ourselves (Rhubarb in particular) at Kroger rather than having it delivered from Creation.
Honestly, the cost of produce wholesale vs. retail varies very little unless you're buying by the case.

We tend to order produce by the each or by the pound instead of by the case at the Oakroom, so we tend to see less of the cost difference... but the quality difference? Miles apart.

Brown, limp mushy rhubarb from Creation?
Or pink/red crisp rhubarb from Kroger at only 35 cents more per pound?

We'll eat the cost for the difference in quality.


If you have the time, and don't mind driving... check out Kroger in Middletown... I thought the Highland location had pretty nice selection/quality, but the Middletown store is shades apart.

Very interesting, Ethan. Maybe that's why I haven't gotten that excited about Creation Gardens at least for produce. You see I am a far East Ender and It's but minutes for me to get to the Middletown Kroger at Eastgate, Paul's on Shelbyville Road or Fresh Market.

Ethan's right - sometimes produce - that you can BUY at a grocery - is better, and even cheaper, at the grocery. What I find Creation great for is specialty products like sauces and extracts and a million little things you can't get almost anywhere else. Even duck and foie gras and little chocolate cups for desserts and a whole host of cool things. They also have specialty produce that there's no way Kroger is going to carry. But I personally buy bananas for my banana pudding at Lou Lou, for instance, at the grocery - and sometimes berries and whatnot. However, heirloom tomatoes are great from Creation later in the summer.

It's all about being a smart shopper and factoring in your time spent at the grocery vs. them delivering it right to your restaurant.

I'd still encourage anyone who hasn't been to Creation to go check it out. Check the hours of their retail operation carefully, though (although if you buy yourself a chef's jacket you might be able to breeze right in the back door when the front's closed and nobody'd be the wiser) - and be aware they don't take plastic for payment - cash or check only.

I totally agree with you, Marsha.

I haven't gotten that excited about Creation Gardens at least for produce

And sometimes I get my produce there, too. For example, I have yet to find fiddlehead ferns at Kroger, Paul's, or Fresh Market. All I was trying to get across, is that cost-wise it doesn't pay for me to make a trip to downtown Louisville for my usual produce needs and I did a lousy job of getting my point across indeed.

I totally agree with you, Marsha.

I haven't gotten that excited about Creation Gardens at least for produce

And sometimes I get my produce there, too. For example, I have yet to find fiddlehead ferns at Kroger, Paul's, or Fresh Market. All I was trying to get across, is that cost-wise it doesn't pay for me to make a trip to downtown Louisville for my usual produce needs and I did a lousy job of getting my point across indeed.

Oh, shoot, Gayle - I hope you didn't think I was scolding you! I wasn't!