With so many different types of onions, a full, comprehensive guide would be more than a little tedious, so we've put together a short, simple list of all the must-know points — from taste variation to shelf life to quick cooking tips. Not sure which onions to use in which dish? Learn these basics to boost your knowledge: Colors Onions come in a large variety of types, tastes, and colors, the Read more

My new favorite weeknight meal is a soup recipe that comes together in minutes. It's a very abbreviated version of French onion soup, which traditionally begins with yellow onions, cooked down and reduced for hours until dark and sweet. This quick and dirty version begins with our butter-braised onions, which I always keep on hand, and calls for little more than broth, bread, and cheese. It may Read more

It's nice to imagine a perfect world in which everyone's a meticulously detailed home cook, but the truth of the matter is, even a frequent kitchen dweller like myself is often simply looking to make the speediest dinner possible. So when it comes to homemade edible gifts, I'm fond of gifting my friends what Thomas Keller has called "lifesavers" — those flavor-filled building blocks that add Read more

Onions may stink up our kitchens, give us bad breath, and make us cry when cutting them, but despite these minor annoyances, they are actually full of healthy goodness. Onions contain a high amount of polyphenols, a type of phytonutrient, which includes disease-protecting flavonoids and tannins. In fact, onions are one of the most polyphenol-packed foods you can eat. Keep reading to learn more Read more

Chopping an onion is one of the most basic skills every home cook should have under her belt. If you're interested in a simple method, be sure to check out our onion chopping tutorial. While no tears are shed in the video, I know this problem plagues more than a handful of folks. I, for one, used to see my tears well up in mere anticipation of the task at hand. Here are a few tips and tricks to Read more

You're probably scratching your head wondering why this picture, which looks strangely like French onion soup, is labeled Irish onion soup. Well, let me explain. It's a jazzed up variation of the classic onion and bread-topped soup that uses two important Irish ingredients: Guinness and cheddar cheese. It has the same flavors as the traditional rendition, but the beer provides a delicious Read more

When I met Scott Conant of Food Network's Chopped and 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, the first question out of my mouth had to be about the onions. The chef and restaurateur's notorious criticism of raw, red onions is so well-documented that even Facebook runs rampant with pages like, "Shut up, Scott Conant, we don't care if you have an aversion to raw onions!" But Conant wants to set the record Read more