There are many types of onions to use as culinary accents. Added in small amounts they’ll make a dish come alive with aromatic undertones. When used raw they add a punch to salads and salsas. But the real magic takes place when onions are cooked: A light sauté or slow roast mellows their pungent flavors and coaxes out their natural sweetness. Read on to find out the differences between 11 different onion varieties and their uses.
1. Yellow Onion
Characteristics:Round, with a thin brownish papery skin, yellow onions are the most common type of onion in the United States and are easily the most versatile cooking onion. Popular varieties include yellow globe onions and slightly larger, slightly sweeterSpanish onions。The two are interchangeable in recipes. With a balanced flavor that’s not too sweet and not too sharp, yellow onions work well in a variety of cuisines and dishes, including an Indianstir-fry, an Italian-stylered sauce, and, yes, a Spanishpaella。If a recipe simply calls for an onion, a yellow onion is the one to use.
Yellow onions are perhaps at their very best when cooked down into a jammy pile ofcaramelized onions—not the quick-cooking kind but the kind that are deep mahogany throughout. Cooking them this way concentrates their mild onion flavor into something both deeply sweet and wonderfully savory. It’s an essential skill to learn if you ever plan to masterFrench onion soup。
2. Red Onions
Characteristics:The bright reddish-purple skin makes this onion hard to miss; it’s a favorite ingredient in salads. To many palates, red onions have the sharpest flavor in the family, so use uncooked red onions sparingly. To soften the taste, chill raw onions in ice cold water for 20 minutes before serving orrinse them under cool running water。
Red onions are a popular choice forpickling, where the color diffuses throughout the onion slivers, turning them a radiant magenta (slice them pole to polefor optimal visual impact). Pickled red onions are a wonderful condiment to keep on hand to add a bright pop of color and vivid flavor to any number of dishes.
3. White Onions
Characteristics:This onion is named for the color of its thin skin and white flesh and has a taste that’s more mild than red or yellow onions. Raw white onions are notable for their juicy crunch, which is why they’re so often used as a finishing garnish in Latin and Central American dishes, especially Mexican food, where they add a pop of savory freshness to things liketacosandenchiladas。出于同样的原因,这个洋葱是一个很好的选择for raw sauce preparations like salsa andguacamole。
4. Sweet Onions
Characteristics:These onions are sweet because they have a lower concentration of sulfur, allowing the sugar content to stand out. People who want to like onions but dislike the strong taste of some varieties will find sweet onions to be a good choice. Some people even consume them raw, biting into them like a ripe apple. Besides the onion varieties mentioned above, you may find Bermuda onions (whose name refers to a time when most onions imported to the U.S. weregrown in Bermuda), Sweet Imperial, Texas Spring Sweet, and others. Sweet varieties don’t keep as well as other onions, so try to use them up as soon as possible—and unlike most other kinds of onions, you should store them in the fridge.
As for cooking applications, sweet onions are another great candidate for caramelizing and will do just as well in a stew or sauté as any of the onions above. But the thing that they truly do better than any other variety is transform into classic diner-styleonion rings。
5. Scallions
Characteristics:In the grocery store scallions are usually packaged in a bunch. They consist of long hollow round green leaves shooting up from a small bulb, which may be plump or narrow and white or purple, depending on the time of year and variety. This onion’s flavorful, savory-fresh bite makes it a popular ingredient in East Asian cooking, as exemplified in the classic Korean pancakepajeon。Some recipes may specify using only the green section or the bulbous ends, but the scallion is edible in its entirety, right down to the root. Recipes usually require that scallions be chopped or sliced on the bias—which just means at an angle—into oblong ribbony slivers.
While the terms scallion and green onion refer to the same variety, spring onion is a misnomer. While they do resemble scallions in appearance and usage, in actuality, spring onions are immature storage onions (such as yellow and red onions). Available primarily in their titular season, spring onions are harvested early to make growing room for their larger brethren.
Treat scallions as you wouldfresh herbs。Store them in the refrigerator, wrapped in a damp paper towel, and placed in asealable bag; use them soon after buying.
6. Shallots
Characteristics:With its thin coppery-brown skin, the shallot somewhat resembles a small red onion. Within that skin though is a bulbous cluster more akin to garlic in appearance, but with just two large cloves instead of garlic’s eight to 10.
They have a sweet but mild flavor with a pungent, almost garlicky kick and a bite that is still sharp when uncooked. While the French incorporate the shallot into many dishes, it's also popular throughout Southeast Asian cuisine, as inGoreng Bawang, an Indonesian recipe for fried shallots.
Shaved or finely diced raw shallots often find their way into vinaigrettes where the flavor permeates the dressing with delicate savoriness.
7. Pearl Onions
Characteristics:These very small onions can be white, yellow, or red; are valued for their sweet, delicate flavor; and are usually served as an accompaniment. Pearl onions can bestewed,creamed,roasted, orglazed(Italians favor balsamic vinegar; Middle Easterners may apply tamarind). Pickled pearl onions make a great garnish to the classicmartini(thereby rendering it aGibson). Peeling even a small handful of such small onions can be a chore, but home cooks need not worry: frozen, prepeeled pearl onions are widely available andwork well in many recipes。
8. Leeks
Characteristics:Leeks look like scallions for giants, but the two aren’t quite interchangeable. The upper dark green leaves of a leek are usually tough and often discarded—though they make a great addition to yourstock pot。Their pungent flavor is earthier than other onions and makes them a unique option.
Leeks are grown in sandy soil, which means you’ll need to cut them first andwash them secondsince that sand can get trapped between the tightly-coiled leaves. If you’re cutting the leek into rings, simply drop the slices into cold water, swish them around, and give the sand a little time to settle before scooping out the floating bits of leek. For stuffed leeks or a braised dish such asleeks vinaigrette, where you’ll want to slice the leek in half vertically, hold the cut side under cold running water, using your fingers to separate the leaves and rinse all of the crevices.
9. Ramps
Characteristics:This North American native spring onion is edible in its entirety, from the tops of its lily of the valley–like leaves and stems, all the way down to the bulb. Eaten raw, as in apesto, a ramp tastes strong and more like garlic than scallion, but if cooked, its flavor turns mildly sweet.
Ramps have a very short growing season and don’t do well in storage, so you’ll most likely only find them at farmers markets for a short window in the spring. Use them in your cooking similarly to scallions, sautéing the slender purplish-white ends and saving the green leaves for a garnish. They also make an exceptionalfried snack。
10. Cipolline
Characteristics:This Italian onion doesn’t look like cousins thanks to its flat top and squat shape, but it does boast papery yellow skin reminiscent of many sweet onion varieties (though a red variety exists too). And, in fact, its tasteisless acrid than that of its relatives, making it ideal for a side dish of creamed orglazedonions. And because of the cipolline onion’s small size and shape, they're easy to cook and serve whole. Try them roasted or grilled on skewers.
11. Garlic
Characteristics:Garlic is also part of the onion family (chivesare technically related to onions, as well, but are generally treated as an herb in cooking). A truly international vegetable, garlic is sold many ways: whole bulb, already-peeled cloves, pre-sliced, and minced—you can even find garlic purée, individually portioned,in the freezer aisleof many grocery stores. When shopping for whole garlic, look for a tight cluster of cloves held together by a papery white skin (sometimes with purple veining) that feels heavy for its size. Lighter bulbs indicate the cloves have dried out.
At a farmers market, newly harvested garlic is sometimes sold with the curled green stems still attached to the bulb, the ends of which are called "scapes."Scapescan be prepared and consumed in a myriad of ways: finely chopped, sautéed, and served like chives and scallions. You may also seegreen garlic, the immature shoots of the more common bulbs. These can be used in the same manner you cook with scallions.
An unpeeled garlic clove doesn't have a very strong scent, but once the clove's body has been damaged—by smashing, slicing,pressing, or cooking—a pungent odor is released. To get garlic that's sweet and fragrant, either sauté or roast it until golden. Or, submerge sliced garlic in cold oil and place over moderate heat. Stir frequently until crispy for delicious garlic chips that make an excellent garnish for soups, stews, and porridges such as the Filipino dishArroz Caldo。(You can also “fry” garlicin the microwave。) With any cooking method, watch closely—garlic can burn quickly and burnt garlic can impart an acrid smell and taste to your dish.
小贴士有限公司oking With Onions
When choosing onions, look for bulbs that are firm. Steer clear of any onions with bruises, mold, or soft spots. Keep in mind that onions are grown in dirt and the skins can be spotty with dried on mud, which is fine. Brush or rinse and dry dirty onions quickly, just before slicing. Green onions and the like should be neither limp nor brown. The shoots should be bright green. Rinse them well—as they may be dusty—and dry shortly before using. If the hollow tips of green onions appear dry, trim ¼- to ½-inch off the tops before slicing the remaining stem and bulb.
Different types of onions can be categorized as "storage" bulbs or "spring" bulbs. Storage onions are round and thin-skinned, such as Spanish, white, and sweet onions. These should be kept in a dark, dry place such as a closed bin or pantry. The onion's greatest environmental foes are humidity and exposure to light. Do not keep them in plastic bags where moisture can be trapped; moisture encourages mold as well as sprouting. Kept well, storage onions can last for several weeks.
"Spring" bulbs, such as scallions and ramps, need refrigeration to stay fresh and vibrant. Before placing them in the crisper drawer of your fridge, wrap them in paper towels and place them in a sealable plastic bag.
If you cry while cutting onions, here are two tricks to try: 1) Freeze them for a few minutes beforehand; 2)Wear goggles。And if your hands retain that pungent odor after handling these vegetables, run your hands under cold water and then rub them against anything stainless-steel, such as the kitchen faucet or a piece of silverware.
