Onions Vegetables
Onions vegetables have been a flavoring element in almost every part of
the world. They are hardy, easily transported, and store well. They can
be eaten raw or cooked, cold, warm, or hot and they make almost any
savory food palatable. Monotonous fare, even on the run, will be
livened up by adding some variety of onion. In fact, onions held such
an important place in parts of the ancient world that the Egyptians
even felt them worthy to carry into the next world, and onions are
frequently represented in the hieroglyphics on their tombs.
All onions vegetables are members of the alliums family, along with
their cousins garlic and leeks. Onions range from large bulbs to
pencil-thin stalks, from pungent to nearly sugar sweet, from sturdy
preserves to more delicate varieties.
Bulb onions – white, yellow and red – are the most readily available
members of this family. These are the “storage” onions that we buy in
sacks or in bulk. They tend to be fairly strong-flavored, because of
the high concentration of sulfur compounds in their cells. (it is the
sulfur that gives onions their “bite”) large yellow onions, sometimes
called Bermuda or Spanish onions are much sharper tasting, although
long cooking will make them somewhat sweeter. Red onions are not quite
as mild as large yellow ones, but they are still sweet and very
attractive to eat raw. They do lose some of their deep maroon coloring
when they are cooked, sometimes turning yellow. All of these onions can
be used for cooking.
For eating raw, I suggest taking advantage of the super sweets, which
are becoming more widely available. The best known is the Vidalia,
grown in a small corner of Georgia. But there are also Walla Walla,
Texas Super Sweets and Maui, to name a few. All of them are the same
basic onion; they are just grown in different localities, in similar
low-sulfur soil. These slightly squashed-looking, thin-skinned bulbs
contain much more water than ordinary storage onions, and have less of
the offending sulfur compounds. They are actually so sweet you can eat
them out of hand like an apple and are dynamite in salads and
sandwiches. Some cooks feel these super sweets lose much of their
flavor when cooked, but I love the taste in some dishes. They tend to
be very fragile, though, and spoil very quickly if mishandled or stored
too long.
Boiling, or pearl, onions are small bulb onions of various colors that
are delicious added to soups, stews or casseroles or when creamed or
pickled. These are almost always used whole. They are available with
red, white, or yellow skins and can be very sweet.
Green onions (scallions) are simply bulb onion shoots, young versions
of the familiar onion. They are milder than in their larger stages
(although some are very sharp if eaten raw). Green onions are delicious
in salads and I love to use them in cooked dishes when only a hint of
onion flavor is wanted. I often use them in sauces instead of bulb
onions and sometimes in place of shallots when I cannot find good ones
in the market. Green onions are also delicious added to stir-fries,
cooked whole, or combined with other onions in savory dishes.
The shallot, an onion relative, forms a head somewhat like garlic. The
individual cloves range in color form grayish white to tan to red
skinned. They can be very sweet or slightly sharp and offer a delicate
onion flavor. They can be difficult to peel, but the effort is well
worthwhile. The gray variety of shallot has a finer taste – especially
when minced raw and mixed with vinegar as a mignonette sauce for raw
oyster – but it is hard to find. If shallots are not in the market, are
in bad condition, or not at hand when you need them, substitute green
onions or a little minced sweet onion. |