All about onions - part 1

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The onion comes from the large lily family and the extensive Allium genus. How can you identify one? If you crush it and you cry, it's an allium. Sulfur compounds concentrated in the tissue of the onion are responsible for this notorious reaction. Of the several hundred alliums in the world, most are wild species that have from time to time been gathered and eaten. The cultivated alliums the ones sold in our markets need no further introduction. They are onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, and chives; and they each belong to a different species. Onions alone make up a species called cepa.

Eat an onion and you will get no fat, few calories, a jolt of vitamin C, and enough fiber to do your digestive system some good.

Basically there are two categories: the storage or hot-onion type and the fresh or sweet-onion type. (The onions are rated according to this heat index; ****=hot/sharp; ***=hot; **=moderately hot; * sweet/mild.)

Storage onions, which you find loose and in mesh bags at the market year-round, do most of the seasoning work in the world's kitchens.

They are sturdy, high in sulfur, low in water, and their taste range from hellishly to moderately hot. They have a natural resistance to molds and bacteria. Grown mainly in California and northern states, they are usually planted in the spring. As the early fall harvest approaches and the onions have stopped growing, the tops of the onions fall over and are allowed to dry in the fields for a few days.

When the onions are gathered, the tops drop or are cut off. Before they are bagged and shipped, the onions are stored for at least a week and up to six months in huge ventilated sheds until their papery skins are tough and dry. The grouping includes the following: ~ Yellow storage onions (****), the most common cooking variety, range from very small to moderately large. As strong, lusty, hot, and tear provoking as they are, they lose their heat when cooked. this is an all-purpose onion, good in any raw or cooked dish and well suited for stuffing because they don't fall apart.

~ White storage onions (****) have sharp, crisp flavor, and proportionately more water than the yellows (which make them a little more perishable). Small to very large (as much as 1 pounds), whites taste sweet in first bite, but then the pungent sulfur flavor kicks in. They are great for sauting and stewing.

~ Spanish onions (***) are very large, round, yellow storage onions.

Since they have a slightly higher water content, they are generally crisper, more perishable, and not so hot. Use them raw, sauted, or caramelized. Bermuda onions, another variety of large yellows, which were popular in the past and commonly mistaken for Spanish onions, are no longer being grown.

~ Red onions (**), similar to Spanish ones except for their hue, have a coarser flesh and are slightly sweeter but still pungent. Like all onions, the larger ones are usually a tad less sharp and hold more moisture than their smaller siblings. These are best used raw because they get watery and lose these impressive color when cooked.

~ Boiling onions (**), about 1- to 2-inches in diameter and pearl onions (**), about 1- to 1-inches, are smaller versions of ordinary storage onions. There are some cultivars, or horticultural varieties, that are naturally small, but most boilers and pearls are created by deliberately crowding: farmers plant the fields so densely that the onions just don't have room to grow. They are machine harvested and dried in sheds until their outer protective leaves are crisp. Pearls, which can be white, red, or gold, are sold by the pint. They are sweet, with a sharp bite, great for marinating or pickling. Boiling onions, white or yellow, are closer in taste to large storage onions and just the right size for using whole in stews. They are sold in bulk.

~ Specialty Italian cultivars (**), variations on the storage onion, are appearing with increasing frequency in summer farmers' markets.

These include the purple, torpedo-shaped Red Bottle onions, also called Florence long-red onions; the intensely flavored crisp, small, flat button-shaped Borettana onions, also called Cipollini; and the newly bred mild-flavored Simiane. Cook and serve whole, or cut up and use in salads.

Fresh or sweet onions, the second major category, consists of the large, juicy, sexy cultivars that are high in water and sugar and low in the sulfur compounds that irritate the eyes and mouth. Extremely crisp and relatively perishable, they are usually sold individually and weigh from one-third to one pound each. Mostly grown across the South, they are planted in the fall or winter and harvested in the spring or early summer. Some are picked before they mature and are shipped with their green tops. But most fresh onions are harvested by hand after the tops have fallen and dried. They are cured very briefly in big bins to dry the outer skins, but these onions are not keepers and are meant to be used quickly. Sweet onions generally have perfectly concentric center, which make them ideal for onion rings, and because of their high sugar content, they caramelize easily. They are great on burgers and in salads.

by Linda and Fred Griffith Food and Wine June 1995 Submitted By DIANE LAZARUS On 06-18-95

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