YumSugar

Know Your Ingredients: Onions

Laura Marie Given — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:50:23 PDT

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 most common being yellow, red, white, and green. They can also be bred to create hybrids with different levels of maturity. Depending on the size and intended purpose, these are generally referred to as either pearl, boiler, or pickler onions. On top of all these different types are several forms, too, including fresh, frozen, canned, caramelized, chopped, or dehydrated, as in onion powder.

Taste
The most common is the yellow onion, which has brown skin, white flesh, and a strong, pungent taste that gives French onion soup its unique flavor. Red onions, on the other hand, tend to be best either fresh or grilled to maintain their sweet and spicy taste. The traditional onion of Mexican cuisine, the white onion, is generally mild but becomes sweet when sautéed. Green onions are a small, less mature version that's harvested while the shoots are still green, and since their taste is rather light, they tend to be used as a topping.

Storage
As a general rule, all fresh onions should be stored away from other produce so that they don't soak up the odors. Green onions need to be refrigerated, while the other types can usually be kept at room temperature in a cool, dark space for two to three weeks. Since sweet onions contain more sugar and water, it's smart to leave them in the refrigerator, too.

If you tend to get teary while cutting onions, check out this video and learn how to chop an onion correctly. Looking for a tasty onion-based dish? Try this caramelized vidalia onion dip recipe, or make some butter-braised onions to toss on your favorite dishes.

How to Chop an Onion

Susannah Chen — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:53:04 PDT

Hate chopping up a storm in the kitchen? Don't let the act of cutting an onion frustrate you to tears. There is, in fact, an efficient way to cut small, evenly sized pieces every single time. Watch this video to learn the right way to chop an onion - then grab a sharp knife and your favorite onion variety to try out our foolproof method yourself!

Rainy Day Roast Chicken With Sweet Potatoes and Onions

YumSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:25:18 PDT

This weekend was nothing but rain and the perfect time for comfort food. Browsing through Tyler Florence's Dinner at My Place, I found myself drooling over a whole roasted chicken recipe. Since the weather was bad, I didn't want to leave the house, thus I improvised his recipe with items I already had on hand. Rather than Meyer lemons and fingerling potatoes, I substituted regular lemons and sweet potatoes. I also had a couple of onions, a shallot, fresh thyme, and rosemary lying around, so I threw those into the mix.

With my adjustments and additions, I was thrilled with the final result: a succulent, flavorful chicken and scrumptiously caramelized sweet potatoes and onions. Prep for this delicious dinner is quick, but cooking an entire chicken does take time, be sure to get started early. To brighten your day with this comforting classic,

Roast Chicken With Sweet Potato and Onions
Adapted from Tyler Florence Dinner at My Place

Ingredients

Roast Chicken
1 5-7 pound organic chicken
1 lemon, quartered
5-7 garlic cloves, cleaned
4 to 5 fresh bay leaves
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of sage
1 shallot, cleaned
Extra Olive Oil
Kosher salt and ground pepper
Sweet Potatoes
2 pounds sweet potatoes, 2 inch chunks
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 fresh rosemary spring, leaves only
1 to 2 lemons, cut in quarters
2 onions, quartered

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Rinse chicken with cool water and pat dry with paper towels.
Season cavity with kosher salt and pepper. Stuff cavity with lemon, garlic, bay leaves, shallot, rosemary, and thyme. Rub outside with oil and season with salt pepper.
Wash sweet potatoes and cut into 2-inch chunks. Toss potatoes and onions with oil. Toss with rosemary, thyme, and lemon wedges in a roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken on top of the sweet potatoes.
Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes or until the juices run clear. (180 Fahrenheit)

Serves 4-6.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 8 Photos ›

Soup's On: Easy French Onion Soup

Susannah Chen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:36:00 PST

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 not be an exact replica, but this fast soup hits the spot on a cold Winter day, and it's an easily transportable work lunch, too. Read on for the recipe.

12 Days of Edible Gifts: Butter-Braised Onions

Susannah Chen — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:52:49 PST

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 depth to what would be an otherwise-blasé meal. Eight-hour butter-braised onions may sound fancy, but in reality, all you need are three ingredients and a slow cooker.

I love to package these in quaint French terrine jars, with a little note that offers up easy serving suggestions. Some of my favorites? This fast French onion soup or a caramelized onion tart. These sweet, creamy-soft onions are wonderful as a crostini topping, too. Eager for the recipe yet? Then keep reading to make your own butter-braised onions.

Good-For-You Reasons to Love Red Onions

Heather Dale — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:44:07 PDT

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 about the health benefits associated with red onions.

Stop the Tears: Chop an Onion Without the Waterworks

Lizzie Fuhr — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:01 PDT

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 make those painful, pesky tears stop and allow the chopping to ensue. Keep reading to learn how to stop crying and start chopping.

What's Your Go-To Onion?

Susannah Chen — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:44:22 PDT

Onions are the ultimate aromatic and always in my larder. I add them to everything, from scrambled eggs to sautéed greens. But I confess to having allegiances. When a recipe doesn't call for a specific onion, I always use the yellow varieties; in my opinion, the golden-skinned beauties are softer, sweeter, and not as harsh as their red and white counterparts. What's your personal favorite?

Irish Onion Soup Is a St. Patrick's Day Must Make

Katie Sweeney — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:00:29 PST

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 complexity, and the cheese adds a delicate nuttiness. It's so good that it might just be my new favorite French onion soup recipe! I highly recommend you serve it tonight or on St. Patrick's Day. Learn how to make it now.

How to Prepare Onions the Scott Conant Way

Susannah Chen — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:44:11 PST

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 straight: he's not raising any stink over red onions.

"I don't hate red onions . . . I have a lot of them on my menu," he explained. "There are big things that get edited out of these [TV] shows. When I explain my thought process on red onions, all too often, what happens is, is that it's not interesting - what's interesting is the reaction."

You heard it from Scott Conant himself: he doesn't dislike onions. A few ways chef Scott likes to prepare onions, when you read more.