Need to add sugar to caramelize veggies in gas oven?

[JEDI]

defrosted broccoli/brussel sprouts sliced in half
and maybe fresh sliced onion

my plan:
mix veggies in salt, pepper, garlic powder spice mix
place on tinfoil lined baking sheet (or just tinfoil)
400F for 20 min

do i need to add sugar to my spice mix?
or will the veggies caramelize under their own natural sugars?

 

[herm0016]

Add some olive oil to your mix, toss in bowl. No sugar.

 

[JEDI]

Add some olive oil to your mix, toss in bowl. No sugar.

why would olive oil help caramelize the veggies?

 

[JEDIYoda]

why would olive oil help caramelize the veggies?

Olice oil will not help them caramelize, but it will help the brown better!

 

[herm0016]

When you say carmilize, what you mean is the maillard reaction. Fat helps that along.

 

[mindless1]

I do this with brussel sprouts all the time and they brown but don't carmilize because there isn't enough sugar in them to notice. You could add some red peppers or carrots to the mix to sweeten it up, but I just go for tart by putting balsamic vinegar over them when finished baking and it does have a "little" natural sugar in it too.

However I just throw them in a seasoned baking pan, usually in the toaster oven on high so maybe 400F pre-heated, for about 15 minutes.

 

[JEDI]

I do this with brussel sprouts all the time and they brown but don't carmilize because there isn't enough sugar in them to notice.

would adding some sugar to the olive oil help with caramelizing?

 

[mindless1]

Sugar doesn't dissolve in oil. If you've just rinsed it so it's wet, that'll dissolve a little, but personally I'd rather add sugar from additional veggies than resort to straight table sugar... if going that direction, I'd as soon use maple syrup but balsamic vinegar is sweet enough for me. If I wanted to get fancier than that, I'd throw in some garlic cloves and (3/4ths pre-cooked) bacon but for the garlic to get done *right* it needs to be wrapped in foil and bake a lot longer.

 

[JEDI]

Sugar doesn't dissolve in oil. If you've just rinsed it so it's wet, that'll dissolve a little, but personally I'd rather add sugar from additional veggies than resort to straight table sugar... if going that direction, I'd as soon use maple syrup but balsamic vinegar is sweet enough for me.

ok, instead of sugar/olive oil, coat the spouts in maple syrup for caramelization?

 

[mindless1]

^ I can't account for your taste. That'd be too sweet for me but it's not going to kill you to try it.