Onions, Red, Yellow, White, Sweet -- What's The Difference? Back to Vegetable Menu History Of Onions Measuring Equivalents Selecting Onions Storage Time Charts Crying My Eyes Out Over You How To Chop An Onion Bad Company Onion Varieties Those Crafty Onions Smell Something? Freezing Onions CREAMY HAM AND ONION SOUP RECIPE Try more of my Onion Recipes Every kitchen should be stocked with onions at all times, but how do you know what kind of onion ito use? There are more than 300 different kinds of plants in the onion family -- Alliums -- include onions, garlic, chives, leeks, shallots, and green onions. Onions form the backbone of cooking all over the world. They sting when you bite into them and make you cry because of their strong sulfur compounds. Colors range from white to yellow, and almost copper colored, and green or red. Onion varieties are eaten raw, used to flavor all kinds of savoru recipes and add pizzazz to salads .This plant family is one of the most important culinary ingredients used in cooking. We value their flavors , taste, aroma, and appearence. History of Onions Dating back to 3500 BC, the onion is believed to have originated in Asia. The ancient Egyptians praised the onion, believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternity. Egyptian artists often crafted the onion in gold, and the humble onion was buried with each of their Pharoahs. Greek physicians around 60 AD, prescribed them for medicinal reasons. In medieval Europe, bunches of onions were hung over doors with the idea that they’d ward off the plague. Richard II, King of England, had many recipes using onions in his 1390 ‘cookbook’. Onions were thought to be powerful medicine during the American Civil War in the 1860’s. General Ulysses S. Grant would not move his army without a good supply. He thought they could cure many different sicknesses. Onions do have some health-promoting phytochemicals as well as quercetin, a flavonoid (one category of antioxidant compounds), and allium. Measuring Equivalents 1 small onion = 1/3 cup chopped 1 medium Onion = 1/2 cup chopped 1 lb = 3 large onions OR 2 to 2 1/2 cup chopped OR 3 cups sliced 1 teaspoon onion powder = 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes, rehydrated   Selecting Onions Most onions are sold loose by the pound, although some types are sold in bags or small boxes. Look for onions that feel dry and solid all over, with no soft spots or sprouts. The neck should be tightly closed and the outer skin should have a crackly feel and a shiny appearance. Onions should smell mild, even if their flavor is not. Avoid selecting onions with green areas or dark patches. Storage Dry onions should have a firm, tight skin without soft spots, blemishes, or sprouting. The skin will often have a brittle, papery feel. Onions kept in a cool, dry open space away from bright light may keep for up to 2 months. Because onions absorb moisture, do not store onions in damp areas like below the sink as they will not keep as long. If the onions show signs of sprouting, cut away the sprouts and use them immediately. Crying My Eyes Out Over You Onion lovers throughout the world are weeping, and they simply can't help it! What is this phenomenon all about, you wonder, how can a mere vegetable bring us to tears?. Onions contain unstable, complex sulphur compounds. When you cut into an onion, two chemical reactions take place. First, when a knife cuts through the cells of an onion, ihe enzymes release a strong odor. Second, the onion releases allicin, a volatile sulfur gas that irritates the eyes. No More Tears? We haven’t yet found a foolproof way of avoiding the ‘streaming eyes’ syndrome, but many a cook has devised a favorite method for avoiding those inevitable tears while peeling onions, and here's some tips that may work for you: Make sure that the knife you use is sharp so that it will chop quickly, minimizing tears. (That applies to almost anything you cut in the kitchen, tears or no tears.) Cut from the top and peel down without trimming off the root or the bottom end until the last possible moment. There is a theory that most of the tear-causing compounds are stored in the root end of the onion, and that may explain why chopping the root end last, helps to minimize watery eyes. Use a food processor, although it may no't always be as good as chopping by hand, its fast and efficient, and makes lot of uniformly chopped onions in record time. Peel and cut onions under running water. While peeling them under running water actually does wash away the irritating allicin, it may not always be convenient. A method that does work successfully is to plan ahead and put the onion in the refrigerator until it is quite cold. Seems it has a chilling effect on the volatile sulfur oils. Voila! No tears! Smell Something? How do I remove the smell of onions from my hands? Remove the smell of onions from your hands or cooking equipment by rubbing them with lemon juice (or salt, if the pots or pans are made of aluminum, cast iron, or carbon-steel).   How To Chop An Onion To chop an onion efficiently, place one of the halves, cut side down, on a cutting surface. Make two or three (depending on the size of the onion) horizontal cuts to the root end but not quite cutting all the way through the root. This will give you two or three stacked slices. Then make even lengthwise vertical cuts down through the slices toward the root but again, not cutting through the root. Finally, cut crosswise down through the onion. The width between cuts is partially determined by how big a dice you want. When you get to the root end, you'll have a very small piece that can be dispatched with several quick cuts. Repeat with the other half. The food processor is not a bad choice if you're chopping a lot of onions. It requires a little practice, as it only takes a few seconds to go from chopped onions to a soggy purée. Peel and quarter the onions and place them in the bowl of the processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse (turn on and off) three times with each pulse lasting no more than one second. This will give you coarsely chopped onions. Scrape down the work bowl and repeat once or twice for more finely chopped onions. Even under the best circumstances, onions chopped in a food processor will be "wetter" than those chopped by hand, but with some care, you can still achieve the desired result. SLICING For slices, halve onion vertically, then slice crosswise. Recipes usually specify the thickness of slices, but 1/4- to 1/2-inch is the general rule. To cut onions in half-moon slices, put the peeled onion half cut side down, and cut crosswise. This shape is good for caramelizing onions to use in onion soup. For onion rings, peel the onion without halving it, but be careful to get the onion as stable as you can on a cutting surface, and keep your fingers tucked in. When an onion is difficult to separate, hold the slab under very warm water; the layers will become more pliable and easier to separate. Sliced onions are used in onion soups, salads, sandwiches, sautés, and for French-fried onion rings. DICING Halve and slice onions vertically into 1/4- to 1/2-inch strips. Continue slicing across the strips to form small, evenly shaped pieces. Diced or chopped onions are called for in a host of recipes, including casseroles, soups, stews, sauces, and salads. MINCING Halve and slice onions vertically into 1/8- to 1/4-inch strips. Continue slicing across the strips to form very small pieces. Minced onions are used in salads, salsas, sauces, soups, tarts, mixtures of cooked vegetables, and salad dressings. Freezing Onions Onions can be frozen for 3-6 months. Best suited for use in cooking, they will become highly flavored so you will want to use less than called for in your recipes. As an alternative to chopping onions by hand, make fast work out of large quantities of onions by using a food processor to make this task easy and with less tearing. Place onions on in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, divide into sealed freezer containers for later use. Package in plastic freezer bags and express all of the air out so the package is flat. Freeze these packages on cookie sheets until frozen and then restack to take up less room. This makes it easy to break off sections as needed. Measure 1/2 ot 1 cup portions into muffin pans and freeze. Pop the portions out when they are frozen solid and package in plastic freezer bags for ready to use, premeasured amounts. Freezing green onions may be chopped and frozen but they will not be crisp when thawed.   Bad Company Do not place onions near potatoes because potatoes give off moisture and produce a gas that causes onions to spoil more quickly. To even the score, onions release gases that will alter the flavor of a potato. Pressure Cooker Time Chart for Onions and Leeks Leeks, Whole, large (white part only) 3 to 4 minutes 1/2 cup Leeks, Whole, small (white part only) 2 to 3 minutes 1/2 cup Onions, whole 7 - 9 minutes 1/2 cup Onions, quartered 3 minutes 1/2 cup Steam onions and leeks on a rack or braise them in a flavoring liquid such as meat broth or vegetable juice. Use the quick or cold water release method. ONION VARIETIES NAME DESCRIPTION Bermuda A large, ivory-colored dry onion, formerly native to Bermuda. Incidentally, Bermuda onions no longer exist, so if your retailer is advertising Bermuda onions they are most likely Spanish onions. Boiling A type of dry onion that is a small, red, yellow or white onion, usually measuring about an inch or less in diameter. It is most often used whole in dishes that are slowly cooked, such as stews. Brown See Spanish onions. Chives Chives are among the mildest culinary alliums. Chives vary from grass-fine to pencil-thick. The thicker the chive, the more flavor it packs. Use them primarily as an herb or garnish, and they are especially delicious with potatoes, eggs, rice, and fish. The edible lilac-pink flowers of homegrown chives are attractive scattered over salads or omelettes. If you cook with chives, add them at the end of cooking and keep it brief to preserve their flavor. Garlic There are many types of garlic, some purple-skinned, others pearly white. Some produce huge, fat cloves with more subtle flavor than smaller-cloved garlics. So-called "elephant" garlics, has a huge, but mild-tasting bulb up to three inches long. Garlic is the most pungent of all alliums, and the more it is chopped, the stronger it tastes. For subtle garlic flavor, add whole unpeeled cloves to pot roasts and vegetable dishes. Sliced garlic, adds warm, toasty flavor. Finely chopped and crushed garlic add strong, "hot" flavor, especially when uncooked. Garlic stores well -- you can keep it hung on a rope or braid in a cool place for several months. Green A spring or green onion are just immature onions that are pulled from the ground while their tops are still green and harvested during the early stages of growth before a prominent bulb has formed. Green onions are sold in bunches, they should have a miniature bulb. Both the small bulb and the leaves are edible raw or cooked. Generally, the white part is cooked, and the green part is used as a garnish or in cold preparations. Leeks Although leeks resemble large green onions, they're milder and sweeter, and they don't cause any tears when they're chopped. Leeks are served cooked, and provide a sweet and somewhat earthy flavor that is much milder than an onion. Recipes may call for either the tougher, green part which has more flavor, or the milder white part, but save and freeze the green part to flavor soups and stocks. Leeks are grown in sandy soil, which gets trapped within the leafy layers of the leek, so they need to be washed thoroughly before using. To clean, cut off the root end and slice the leek lengthwise down the center of the stem. The layers of the leek can then be separated to be washed thoroughly to remove any remaining grit. Pearl These little onions are small onions the size of marbles and come in red, yellow (or gold), and white, which is the most widely available. They are mild with a crunchy texture and add a nice accent to vegetable dishes such as fresh peas. Pearl onions are sometimes called pickling onions because they pickle well. Creamed pearl onions are a favorite Thanksgiving side dish. Pearl onions are usually sold in pint containers. Sweet Sweet onions include Walla-Walla Sweet onions which originally came from Corsica at the beginning of the 20th century and arrived in Walla-Walla, Washington where they are grown today. Texas Sweets 1015: available mid spring through early summer. Also the Vidalia which come from Vidalia, Georgia. Maui onions come from the island of Maui in Hawaii where the volcanic soil contributed to their sweetness. Red; Purple This colorful onion has a deep purplish red skin and the flesh ranges from white tinged with red., to nearly all reddish purple. They are medium to large in size and have a mild, sweet flavor. Red onions are good to eat raw, used to add color to salads, and grilled or lightly cooked with other foods. Cooking them, however, ruins that gorgeous purply-red hue. Scallions Scallions are a younger than a green onion and they should not have a bulb. Shallot This is one of the smallest varieties of the onion family. It has a pear-shaped bulb that separates into cloves. The shallot has a purplish white flesh which has a mild flavor that is a cross between a sweet onion and garlic and is used to flavor meats, stews and soups. When used raw for salads and vinaigrettes, it provides a subtle yet distinct flavor not equaled by an onion. Shallots are available throughout the year. To select, choose those that have well formed heads and avoid those that have started to sprout. They can be stored in a cool dry place of up to a month without refrigeration. Shallots are also delicious cooked or in salads. Shallots don't have the tearing effect on the eyes that onions have Spanish; Brown The Spanish onion is the variety that is most often found in the grocery stores. It is the largest, most popular onion for slicing and eating raw because of its mild sweet taste. They can also be baked, sautéed, or fried and they store well. Spanish onions are merely a type of yellow onion. Spring; Mexican Some people use the name spring onion as a synonym for all green onion, but these have a larger, partially formed bulb. Both the green tops and the bulb are eaten either raw or lightly cooked. White These are the most common large, white onions. With a pure white skin and flesh, they are somewhat mild and a little bit sweeter and less pungent than yellow. Commonly used in salads, it can be sautéed to a golden brown color to provide a sweet delicate flavor to other foods. It is widely available in most supermarkets and can be substituted for yellow onions. Yellow A round dry onion, which is generally yellow-skinned but may also be white, these are generally the cheapest onions. This onion also has the strongest flavor and can be quite overpowering raw. Cooking mellows their flavor nicely, and their inexpensive price makes them a fab choice for most of your cooking needs. Those Crafty Onions Onion-skins are usually considered the discards of the vegetable, but not always. Some people have discovered their powerful ability to lend a rich golden color to soups and to dye yarn and fabric. The Greeks traditionally use red onion-skins to dye their Easter eggs a bright pinkish red. Try This Recipe CREAMY HAM AND ONION SOUP 2 Tablespoons butter 4 cups sweet (Walla-Walla, Maui, Vidalia or Texas 1015) onions, halved and thinly sliced 3 leeks, white part only split lengthwise, washed well and chopped 1 cup diced celery 2 cups diced cooked ham 2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth 1/2 cup cream 1 cup milk 1/3 cup instant potato flakes 1/3 cup finely chopped green onion tops for garnish Heat the butter in the pressure cooker and saute the onions until they begin to soften, add a bit of water as needed, but do no allow them to brown. Transfer half the onions to a food processor, add 1/2 cup broth and puree to a smooth, creamy consistency. Return the pureed onion to the pressure cooker and add the leeks, celery, ham and broth. Lock the lid in place. Bring to 15psi over high heat, immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to stabilize and maintain that pressure. Cook 4 minutes. Remove from heat and use the quick or cold water release method before opening the lid. Add the cream and milk and stir in the potato flakes. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, but do not boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, ladle into individual serving bowls and top with a sprinkling of chopped green onions.