KITCHEN PRACTICE 2 — Real Ratio vs. a Typical Western Ratio
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Chapter: Hungarian Cookery 2 — Onions: The Real Foundation

TASK
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Weigh out onion equal to a planned portion of meat, and cook two
batches of onion base — one at that real, near-1:1 ratio, and one at
a much smaller, more typical Western ratio (roughly a quarter as
much onion). Simmer each briefly with a splash of water and compare
the body and thickness each produces.

WHAT TO DO
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1. Decide on a portion of meat you might use for a stew (weigh it,
   even if you're not cooking it in this exercise).
2. Weigh out an equal amount of onion for Batch A, and roughly a
   quarter of that weight in onion for Batch B.
3. Cook both batches separately in lard, using the same low-and-slow
   technique from Kitchen Practice 1, until soft.
4. Add a similar small splash of water to each and simmer briefly,
   as if you were about to add liquid for a stew.
5. Compare the two side by side — how thick each looks, and how much
   body each has.

WHAT TO EXPECT
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- Batch A (near-1:1) should look noticeably thicker and more
  sauce-like once simmered, with the melted-down onion visibly
  providing real body.
- Batch B (a quarter as much onion) should look thinner and more
  watery by comparison, with less of that natural thickening effect.
- Both should still taste like onion, but Batch A should feel much
  closer to an actual finished sauce base than Batch B.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
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This exercise makes the chapter's own central claim — that a large
proportion of onion functions as real sauce body, not just
background flavour — something directly seen and tasted, rather than
just described.