I had a whole post typed up but my app crashed. Lol.
America's Test Kitchen has a video on this and it's pretty interesting: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rzL07v6w8AA
At 2:12 she caramelizes onions in a pan. I like ATK because they explain the science behind it.
edit: I'd suggest watching the whole video because it's pretty dang interesting. Hope this helps! :-)
Awe I'm on SNAP. You're right, you don't get a lot and it is complicated AF. I downloaded your cookbook. Thank you. The recipes look great!