Good things come to those who wait. Making French onion soup is relatively easy, but it can't be rushed. The key to the soup is the onions, which are slowly caramelized in butter, a process which can take upwards of 45 minutes. A tiny bit of sugar can help with the browning. The base of the soup is beef broth and it is topped with a thick piece of French bread and a layer of melted cheese. To melt the cheese the soup is baked in the oven or placed briefly under the broiler in a ceramic or earthenware bowl. Of course there is the other French onion soup—of the instant variety. Made famous by Lipton, it doesn’t promise the same thick, melt-in-your-mouth slices of onion with every spoonful, but it still tastes pretty good and makes a brilliant onion dip when stirred into sour cream.
