They're not lying, they're just using the word in a more imprecise manner.
Recipe authors have probably been using the word "caramelize" to mean "soften and turn brown and sweet" for longer than food nerds have been nitpicking the exact definition of caramelize.
This irritates me (I know it's a silly thing to be irritated by). I'm far from a food nerd. I'm not a cook. I rely on following recipes to turn out decent dishes (I'm good at following recipes).
It would have been nice if someone had clued people like me in to their special definition of the word before now. I'd have saved a whole lot of time and frustration.
But now I'm presented with the other problem: when a recipe calls for caramelized onions, how am I supposed to know if they mean caramelized onions or "cook until translucent"?
If you followed the recipe as written without overthinking it, you would have had translucent onions after ten minutes and a complete and tasty dish.
You aren't supposed to interpret a recipe. You are supposed to follow it. If you have enough skill, practice, or ability to order pizza, THEN is the right time to make decisions about whether this recipe actually needs REAL caramelized onions.
Recipes have been vague and don't make sense out of context for millennia.
I do follow the recipes without overthinking them, because I don't have the skill required to make judgement calls. But also, I know that any time a recipe gives is highly suspect, so don't judge if something is done based on times in recipes.
So when a recipe says to "carmelize onions", that's what I do. To do anything else is to deviate from what the recipe is plainly telling me.
> Recipes have been vague and don't make sense out of context for millennia.
True. But the fact that this is true means it's essentially impossible to follow a recipe without some degree of interpretation.
I'm just irritated that there was a secret definition to "carmelize onions" that nobody clued me in to.
All of this is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I'll get over this minor irritation. :)
Recipe authors have probably been using the word "caramelize" to mean "soften and turn brown and sweet" for longer than food nerds have been nitpicking the exact definition of caramelize.