All onions and similar bulb vegetables belong to the genus ALLIUM.
WHY DO I CRY WHEN I CUT ONIONS?
Alliums contain a high concentration of organosulfur compounds. If you cut it with a newly sharpened knife, you will minimize these compounds. A dull knife “squeezes” these compounds out of the onion cell walls.
WHAT TYPE OF ONION TO BUY?
- RED: More peppery than potent. Red onions, which are actually a bit purple, are often eaten raw in salads and sandwiches. With an undertone of mild sweetness, they provide an excellent counterbalance for stronger herbs and dark leafy greens.
– If you don’t mind an extra step, cut them thinly, then soak them for 60 seconds in 1/2 water 1/2 rice or white vinegar to take even more bite out of them. Let them drain a few seconds before putting onto your food. - VIDALIA: This was originally bred in Vidalia, Georgia – hence the name. The cultivation of Vidalia onions started in the early 1930s. The different varieties are unusually sweet compared to other onions due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil in which Vidalia onions are grown. They are widely produced these days, but the true Vidalia is from Georgia.
– This is one of the sweetest onions, with mild potency and slight sweetness is excellent for both cooking and raw uses, especially in salads, relishes, sandwiches and salsas. - WHITE: This is a strongly flavored onion, but one with a milder after-taste. White onions are great for peppering aromatic dish bases and in non-green vegetable salads to pep up blander flavor profiles.
- YELLOW: This is what you would call the “Standard Onion.” They are yellowish with a mild pungency and good for almost all cooking uses, including standing in for other varieties when needed.
- CHIVES: White onions harvested while still extremely young. Cut off above the ground, and they will continue to grow.
- SCALLIONS aka GREEN ONIONS: Both the long, slender green tops and the small white bulb are edible, and are good either raw or cooked. They have a similar flavour to onions, but are much milder.
- SPRING ONIONS: Another name for Scallions that are very young and mild. They are harvested before the bulb has had a chance to swell.
- SHALLOTS: Shallots have a delicate and sweet flavor with a hint of sharpness, while onions bring a more intense heat. You can substitute shallots in nearly any recipe that calls for onions—just make sure you’re using the same volume.
- LEEKS: Leeks are a member of the onion family. The edible part of the leek plant is a long cylinder of bundled leaf sheaths which is sometimes called a stem or stalk. As the leek grows in height, soil is pulled around the base of the plant, blanching the stem- making it white and tender. These must be cut apart and washed thoroughly. Only the white is edible, not the green.
- GARLIC: Garlic is in the same genus, but is not an onion. Its flavor is different and stronger. Great in cooked soups, but not so much raw on a sandwich.
