all onions

There are many types of onions that can add flavor and wonderful aromas to any dish. The main different types of onions are the common yellow onion, red onions, and white onions. However, other kinds of onions such as scallions

, leeks, and shallots are widely used in the kitchen.

Full Answer

Which onion is mildest?

• Storage Onions
• Softies
• Little Guys

Which onion is best for storage?

With a few simple storage solutions, you can extend the life of those beloved bulbs for up to 2 months. Whether you have red onions, Vidalia onions, Spanish onions or even shallots, they're best stored whole. Their papery exterior serves as natural protection from outside elements.

What are the different types of onions?

Types of Onions listed

• Bermuda onions – sweet flavour, great for salads or when stuffed and baked.
• Boiling onions – mild flavour, perfect for boiling in soups, stews or casseroles.
• Chives – very mild flavour, use to add tang to potatoes, salads, cream soups and eggs.
• Cipollini onions – rich and sweet, ideal for roasting or caramelising in salads or tarts.

More items...

Which onions are mild?

White onions are a large type of onion with mild taste White onions are a large type of onion that have white papery skin and white mild flesh. Although white onions have a high sugar content just like red onions have, they still retain a pungent flavor.

How many types of onions are there?

Read on to find out the differences between 11 different onion varieties and their uses....11 Types of Onions and the Best Way to Use ThemYellow Onion. ... Red Onions. ... White Onions. ... Sweet Onions. ... Scallions. ... Shallots. ... Pearl Onions. ... Leeks.More items...•Jan 7, 2022

What are all the different types of onions?

Here's what you need to know about the different types of onions:(1) Storage Onions. ... Yellow Onions. ... Red Onions. ... White Onions. ... (2) Softies. ... Sweet Onions. ... Green Onions. ... Spring Onions.May 17, 2021

What are the 6 types of onions?

The Six Basic Types of OnionsYELLOW ONION: Best All Around Cooking Onion.SWEET ONIONS: Best Frying Onion.WHITE ONIONS: Best Salsa Onion.SHALLOTS: Best Vinaigrette Onion.GREEN ONION: Best Stir Fry Onion.LEEKS: Best Soup Onion.

How many colors of onions are there?

There are many onions out there, each with their different purposes, but typically they fit into two categories, green and dry onions. This post discusses the dry onions (red onions, yellow onions, and white onions). Although there are many types of each of these dry onions, the general rules for them are as follows.Mar 30, 2009

Which onion is best for cooking?

Yellow onionsYellow onions are your go-to cooking onions. This onion has yellow skin and a strong flavor due to its high sulphur content, which mellows out during cooking, becoming sweet and flavorful. Its ability to hold up to heat makes it great for caramelizing and roasting.Sep 28, 2021

What is the strongest onion?

Red OnionsWhite Onions: A stronger, spicier, more pungent flavour than yellow onions. More oniony, for lack of a better term, than yellow onions. They don't hold up as well when cooked, as they tend to fall apart. Red Onions: The salad onion.

Are yellow onions and Spanish onions the same?

Spanish onions are a type of yellow onion and are often displayed as “yellow onions” by many supermarkets. That's the key to substitute: if you don't see Spanish onions in your market's allium section, grab yellow onions.Oct 25, 2016

Is a shallot an onion?

While they are related, shallots differ from onions in some basic ways. First of all, unlike regular onions, which grow as single bulbs, shallots grow in clusters, more like garlic. They are a bit sweeter than regular onions, and their flavor is more subtle.

Are chives onions?

Chives are in the lily family, but they're related to onions. Like onions, they are bulbous perennials, but you'll likely never see the bulbs unless you're a gardener. The bulbs are typically removed before they're packaged for the grocery store.Jul 23, 2020

Is red onion stronger than white?

Sweetness is the red onion's greatest strength. The sharpness of its flavor and the intensity of its smell are slightly more potent than that of the white onion, but the sugar content is much higher.Jan 15, 2022

Which onion is sweetest?

Sweet Onions – Walla Walla and Vidalia are the most common kinds of sweet onions. These onions lack the sharp, astringent taste of other onions and really do taste sweet. They are fantastic thinly sliced and served in salads or on top of sandwiches.Jun 4, 2019

Why do tears come out of your eyes while chopping onions?

When an onion is sliced or diced, the onion's cells release these compounds into the air. When this occurs, "enzyme" works to alter the amino acids into lachrymator compounds. This form of sulfuric acid irritates the nerves around the eyes making them tear.

1. Sweet onions: Bermuda Onions

These onions are great for stuffing and baking, they're also delicately sweet which means they won't overpower the ingredients you combine them with. Their size makes them the go-to choice for stuffing.

2. Chives

Everyone forgets chives, but they are a perfect seasoning for numerous dishes. They provide a sharp kick to any recipe and they're particularly great for spicing up soups and salads. Stop underestimating the chive.

3. Red onions: Red Wing

This is a mild onion type, great for eating raw which make them the perfect choice for sandwiches and salads. You can cook with them but we suggest consuming raw.

4. Leeks

Another type of onion that people often overlook, leeks are one of the most versatile onions - they make great soups and if you cook them slowly with meats in a stew, you're in for the real treat.

5. Sweet onions: Vidalia Onions

Vidalia onions are super sweet. We're talking eat it raw and don't even blink. The Vidalia is the perfect choice in the family of sweet onions, you really don't need to cook them, for us they are the perfect onion to be sliced and served raw on top of a juicy burger.

6. Welsh Onions

Perfect for making stir fry, they closely resemble green onions, though they're usually bigger, and, despite the name, they're mainly used in Asian cooking and have nothing to do with Wales. They're actually native to China.

7. Sweet onions: Spanish Onions

Often confused with yellow onions, Spanish Onions are sweet and have a lower water content than many onions, making them the perfect choice when wanting to cook onion rings - see, we told you a little onion knowledge goes a long way. You can stuff them, with great results, but we'd always choose Bermuda onions for that job.

A Culinary Luxury

Thus, onions are a luxury, yet these small, brown, sulfurous orbs are cheap and plentiful and will grow just about anywhere, as evidenced by the fact that every style of cooking on earth features them.

Yellow Onions

The workhorse, the staple, the everyday brown beauty, yellow onions are suitable for any conceivable use, other than perhaps as a garnish for your martini (use a pearl onion for that). You could easily live a rich and fulfilling life even if this were the only onion you ever tasted.

Sweet Onions

Larger and slightly flatter than yellow onions, with lighter colored, less opaque skin, sweet onions contain extra sugar, making them good for caramelizing . Their larger size and sweeter flavor make them ideal for making onion rings. Sweet onion varieties include Walla Walla, Maui, Vidalia, as well as others with the word "sweet" in the name.

White Onions

White onions have a papery white skin, and their flavor is milder and sweeter than yellow onions, making them good for serving raw in fresh salsa or homemade guacamole .

Red Onions

Sweet and mild enough to be eaten raw, both the exterior skin and the flesh of red onions are a deep magenta color, which makes them particularly good additions to salads or anywhere else a splash of color will enhance the appearance of the dish. I love to use red onions in salads and on sandwiches and burgers .

Shallots

Shallots are small, brown-skinned onions with purplish flesh, and their bulbs are made up of multiple lobes, a little bit like the way garlic bulbs are divided into individual cloves.

Green Onions

Green onions are immature onions that have not yet formed a bulb, or only partially. The entire plant is usually used, including the tall green shoots, and they make a wonderful garnish for soups, omelets, tacos, as well as color and crunch.

Types of Onions (With Pictures and Names)

Onions are a type of bulbous vegetable from the Allium genus, and the general botanical name for them is Allium cepa. Onions are related to other bulb vegetables in the Allium genus such as garlic, leeks, chives, and Chinese onions.

Yellow Onions

Yellow onions ( Allium cepa) have a strong rich flavor, papery brown-yellow skin, and are one of the most common types of onions in the world.

Spanish Onions

Spanish onions are a type of large yellow onion with a mild taste and are also commonly used for frying, adding to stews, or soups.

Red Onions

Red onions are a type of medium to large-sized onion with deep purple-red skin and white and red onion rings.

White Onions

White onions are a large type of onion that have white papery skin and white mild flesh.

Sweet Onions

Various types of sweet onions are very popular due to their mild taste and lack of pungent onion flavor.

Shallots

Shallots are a type of small onion that has papery yellow, red, or gold skin and have a sweet crisp taste when eaten raw or cooked.

Many recipes from soups to savory pies call for an onion. Here's a simple guide to picking the right variety for every dish

Many recipes from soups to savory pies call for an onion. Here's a simple guide to picking the right variety for every dish.

Yellow Onions

If a recipe doesn’t specify what type of onion to use, your safest bet is a yellow onion. “Yellow onions are your standard cooking onion. I always reach for a yellow onion unless I have some other reason to reach for something else,” says Kim Reddin, the director of public and industry relations for the National Onion Association.

Sweet Onions

Popular sweet onions include Vidalias, Walla Wallas and Mauis. “These well-known varieties have a pale yellow skin. The inside may look white but they are yellow,” says Reddin, who fields questions about onions as The Onionista. If you’re looking for an onion that tastes amazing raw in salads, relishes or chopped as a garnish, go for sweet onions.

Red Onions

Red onions are ubiquitous on salads, sandwiches and other raw preparations partly because of their appealing deep-purple color. Reddin warns, however, “Red onions, specifically, can have a really peppery, spicy flavor to them.” This variety is sweetest from March to September.

White Onions

White onions it the type of onion you’ll usually find in prepared salads (potato and macaroni salads, for instance) and traditionally in Mexican cuisine. “White onions can be strong but they tend to have less aftertaste,” Reddin says. Their slightly sweet taste adds to fresh salsas, guacamole, ceviche and tacos.

Shallots

Shallots have a mild onion flavor. These bulb-shaped alliums taste like a garlic-onion hybrid. In French cooking, shallots are used in vinaigrettes and sauces, as well as on top of steak. When a recipe calls for a shallot and you don’t have one, you can likely substitute another type of onion for it. Try some of our savory shallot recipes.

Scallions

These two-tone onions can be eaten cooked or raw. Scallions are popular in Chinese and Mexican cuisine. In Chinese cooking, scallions are used in stir-fries, soups, stews and braised dishes. Scallions or green onions have a milder flavor than regular onions. Use your scallions up in one of these scallion recipes.

Onion Nutrition Chart

Onions are one of those super vegetables. Not only are they good for you, but they provide so much robust onion flavour to our favorite dishes.

What is an Onion?

Though most of us just call it an onion, it should more appropriately be called a bulb onion, bulbing onion, or common onion. They can be grown as a biennial (usually living 2 years) or a perennial plant, but when cultivated, they are mostly treated as an annual plant and harvested after their very first growing season.

26 Different Onion Types

Bermuda onions are great for both stuffing and baking, mainly because of their large size. They have a slightly sweet flavor that won’t overpower the rest of the ingredients, and they are a favorite on certain holidays. If you need a replacement for either Spanish onions or shallots, the Bermuda onion is what you should choose.

Taxonomy and etymology

The onion plant ( Allium cepa ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, : 9-10 is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. It was first officially described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum. A number of synonyms have appeared in its taxonomic history:

Description

The onion plant has been grown and selectively bred in cultivation for at least 7,000 years. It is a biennial plant, but is usually grown as an annual. Modern varieties typically grow to a height of 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 in). The leaves are yellowish- to bluish green and grow alternately in a flattened, fan-shaped swathe.

History

Because the wild onion is extinct and ancient records of using onions span western and eastern Asia, the geographic origin of the onion is uncertain, although domestication likely took place in Southwest or Central Asia. : 20-21 Onions have been variously described as having originated in Iran, western Pakistan and Central Asia. : 1

Cultivation

Onions are best cultivated in fertile soils that are well-drained. Sandy loams are good as they are low in sulphur, while clayey soils usually have a high sulphur content and produce pungent bulbs. Onions require a high level of nutrients in the soil.

Production

In 2019, world production of onions and shallots (as green produce) was 4.5 million tonnes, led by China with 22% of the world total, and Japan, Mali, and South Korea as secondary producers.

Storage

Cooking onions and sweet onions are better stored at room temperature, optimally in a single layer, in large mesh bags in a dry, cool, dark, well-ventilated location. In this environment, cooking onions have a shelf life of three to four weeks and sweet onions one to two weeks. Cooking onions will absorb odours from apples and pears.

Varieties

Most of the diversity within A. cepa occurs within this group, the most economically important Allium crop. Plants within this group form large single bulbs, and are grown from seed or seed-grown sets. The majority of cultivated varieties grown for dry bulbs, salad onions, and pickling onions belong to this group.

Rich and Simple French Onion Soup

A slice of French bread layered with three varieties of cheese is broiled on top of this decadent but simple French onion soup.

How to Caramelize Onions

Making caramelized onions is easier than you think, and you likely have the all the ingredients in your pantry right now.

Grilled Cheese, Pickle and Vidalia Onion Sandwich

I came up with this recipe because I always enjoy pickles on the side with my basic grilled cheese sandwich. So one day I decided just to put my pickles on the sandwich in addition to some other favorite ingredients. I think it turned out really delicious!

Onion Jam

A family favorite. Expect a few wrinkled noses maybe at the title, but result is worth the effort. Maybe not for beginning cooks since there's a couple potentially tricky steps. Serve a cup of jam over a bar of cream cheese with crackers, or as a spread for meat sandwiches. Keep in refrigerator in covered container for up to two weeks.

Grilled Mushrooms and Onions in Foil

Onions and mushrooms are sliced, seasoned, and wrapped inside a durable packet of foil, crimped to seal, and placed on the grill. Super easy with big, bold flavor. A fantastic topper for steaks, potatoes, etc.

Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Potato Bake

A hearty old-style Italian dish, New York City style, has browned chunks of sausage, potatoes, red and green peppers, and onions baking together with wine and seasonings.

Air-Fried Roasted Sweet Peppers and Onions

Serve these sweet peppers and onions with grilled steak, chicken, or fish. They also work well with tacos and fajitas.