Pearl onions come in many colors and varieties; great for boiling and pickling. Bianco di maggio are Italian heirloom cipolline with white, sweet flesh. More demure than European varieties, Thai shallots are great for spice pastes.

Spicy yellow storage onions , or common onions , are workhorses of the kitchen. Italy's famed, zesty Tropea lunga turn fragrant and luscious when grilled.

Grill or pickle tender, fresh torpedo onions , which have a concentrated sweetness. Teardrop-shaped owas are slightly spicy and excellent for sauce bases.

Baby red Creole onions are so named because of their surprising spice. Mayan sweets are fresh, juicy mild onions available in the States in fall and winter. Texas sweets are descendants of Bermuda onions, brought here in Cipolline onions are flat Italian varieties that turn buttery when roasted.

The supersweet candy hybrid is the ideal dried onion for caramelizing. Large Red Bull onions keep longer than most dry onions and have a muted spice. Inca sweet is a mellow variety from Peru sold fresh in the States during the winter. French gray shallots are coveted by chefs for their creamy texture and refined flavor.

Use them in vinaigrettes. The humble onion is as indispensable to the culinary arts as butter or eggs—or for that matter, knives or plates. It's the rare food that can be sweet, savory, pungent and aromatic all at the same time, but that's what onions do. In a real sense, onions are what make food food —going beyond mere sustenance and making it enjoyable.

Making it taste good. Onions don't contribute much in the way of nutrition. A few vitamins and minerals, sure, but nothing that isn't far more abundant in other commonly available foods like rice or broccoli. Nor are onions functionally necessary for any recipe.

If you took them away , everything would still work, it just wouldn't taste as good. 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.

Onions can be roasted, grilled, pickled, caramelized, battered and deep-fried, sliced thinly or chopped and served raw in salads, sandwiches, dips, or as a garnish for tacos , making them among the most versatile and ubiquitous ingredients in the culinary arts.

Onions make up a third of the classic mirepoix , a basic mixture of onions, carrots, and celery used to enhance the flavor of soups, stocks, and sauces, appearing under different names in different cuisines, such as the Italian soffritto , or the so-called "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking which substitutes bell peppers for the carrots.

Onions are part of the genus Allium , and they're related to garlic , chives , shallots , and leeks. Both the bulb and the shoots are edible. Slicing onions release a sulfur-based vapor that irritates the eyes.

China produces the most onions of any country on earth, but they have 1. Interestingly, the world's top onion exporter happens to be the Netherlands. 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. Its heavy brown parchment skin surrounds ivory white flesh with a strong, sulphury, pungent flavor and aroma. If a recipe says onion without specifying what type, it's assumed to be a yellow onion.

Use them for making French onion soup or a batch of classic caramelized 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. The flaky skin is tan-colored and the flesh is crisp white. It is less pungent than other varieties and does taste sweet as suggested by the name. The delicate flavor is a great choice if you do not want to overwhelm the other ingredients.

The popular application includes onion rings, salads, and sandwiches. Yellow onion is what they called brown onion, Spanish onion, or all-purpose onion. It is usually round with light brown, pale golden skin, and ivory white flesh. Yellow onion has a pungent flavor when raw and becomes sweeter the longer it cooks.

It holds up well in cooking and is ideal for caramelizing and building a base flavor for soup and sauce. French onion soup calls for yellow onion. Caramelized yellow onion in a rich beef broth will make the perfect French onion soup. In addition, they can serve as a substitute for almost any variety.

Red onion is another name for purple onion. Red onion is a mild onion with dark purple papery skin and white and purple layered crisp flesh. It tastes similar to yellow onion when cooked, and tastes mild and less tender when raw.

Red onion can be eaten raw or cooked as a burger topping, roasting, and pickling. Cooking the red onion will wash out some of the red color during the cooking procedure.

Red onion works well for pickling and consuming raw which adds a burst of color to the dishes it accompanies. Red onion can be stored in any cool and dry space as you would a yellow onion.

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What Are Sweet Onions? A Guide to Buying, Using, and Storing Sweet Onions. By Molly Watson Molly Watson. An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1, recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients.

Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process. Trending Videos. In This Article Expand. About Sweet Onions. Growing Season. Tip Sweet onions have thinner skins than other onions, are juicier than other onions, and don't keep in storage as long as other onions.

For these reasons, look for sweet onions that feel heavy for their size and without any bruises or blemishes so they keep as well as possible. Regional Food Basics. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page.

These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data. Accept All Reject All Show Purposes. Gourmet onions form the basis of numerous dishes, be they raw, baked, sautéed, boiled, or steamed onions.

It would be hard to imagine hundreds of dishes without these marvelous veggies. But if you prefer a milder onion flavor, sweet onions are the way to go. You can buy onions in many different sizes, colors, and flavors.

Some have milder taste, others more pungent, while some taste sweet. Larger and slightly flatter than yellow onions, sweet onions have lighter, more translucent skins and contain more sugar than yellow onions, making them good for caramelizing.

Their larger size and sweeter flavor make them ideal for making onion rings. A nice, thick slice of sweet onion can also add wonderful flavor to a hamburger or sandwich.

In salads, sweet onions add onion flavor without overpowering the rest of the ingredients. These sulfuric compounds are also the reason why our eyes sting and cry when we chop onions. You may have noticed many different names of sweet onions when shopping at the grocery store.

While most sweet onion varieties have different attributes in common like the higher sugar content and lower sulfuric compound content , that are different varieties of sweet onions. Here is a list of the finest sweet onion options:.

Buying onions need not be complicated, so start ordering your sweet onions online today! You probably already know to store yellow onions in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. If you can, keep your sweet onions in the fridge. While it may at first seem like an odd idea to send onion gift boxes to friends and family members for holidays or other special occasions, think again.

For one thing, onions last awhile when stored properly. Discover our year tradition of sourcing the best tree-ripened fruit and exquisite gourmet gifts. From juicy, naturally sweet fruit selections to specialty items like smoked meats, artisanal cheeses, pastries, and more, we aim to delight your taste buds.

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