Onions

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

It would seem that the humble onion is the most wildly grown vegetable in the world with a history going back more than 4,000 years and with all members of the onion family being very well known (garlic, leeks, onions and shallots).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30549150

I think what surprised me the most though was how little onion some people must eat!

I know for a fact that this household of 2 gets through that UK annual figure each month! Onions are in almost every meal we make outside of breakfast!

 

[welsh dragon]

I'm not a fan of onions. I like them in stews and casseroles, but that's about it.

 

[Ella]

I never used to like onions, but that's because they were never cooked properly when I firs ate them. They are a a cheap way to season a dish and apart form peeling and chopping them, they are easy to cook. These days I do buy them, then freeze them if I can't use them all, otherwise I do buy frozen onions too, for economy reasons if I only need a handful.

 

[Food4thought]

I like onions fried, boiled, steamed, baked and sliced raw in salad. I eat at least one onion every day because I use them in cooking for all my main meals. I think most dishes are bland without using any onions, leeks, shallots or garlic.

 

[Caribbean girl]

I use onions in my cooking on a daily basis. They always add flavour to whatever I am cooking. This is one of those food items that I like to keep handy at all times. I mostly like them steamed or fried, but could also eat them raw when mixed into a toss salad. They are also good for making sandwiches, like tuna sandwiches and cheese sandwiches, for instance. Another good thing about onions is that they are very reasonably priced and can be bought in bulk.

 

[winterybella]

If onions are not in my kitchen the kitchen has to be shut down. Onions go in almost everything I make from my eggs in the morning to whatever I am having for lunch and dinner. Unlike some folks I am happy to see it as well. I had a girlfriend who told me she had to grind it so that her boyfriend couldn't see it in what she was preparing.

 

[OhioTom76]

Onions are essential to just about everything I cook from sauces to roasts and even burgers and dressings. I cannot imagine cooking without them to be honest, food would be so bland and flavorless. Plus I love how dramatically they can change in flavor depending on how you prepare them - they can be bitter and pungent or mild and sweet. They also add a fantastic texture to foods as well as moisture.

I often criticize Scott Conant on the show Chopped for being so nit picky over raw onions in dishes - I've seen him eat stuff far worse on that show, such as eyeballs, and other offal, yet he goes bonkers over onions for no good reason.

I would like to start hunting down some more obscure types of onions as I can find them at local farmers markets, and experiment with them in my recipes. I've been hearing a lot about ramps for example, but can never seem to find them when I am out looking for them. I also very much under utilize shallots, and really need to start buying them more often as well, because they have a very distinct and wonderful taste.

 

[Arch]

Quite often I just reach for an onion and start chopping it while I'm still working out what's going in my sauce or risotto or curry or whatever. Whatever I'm cooking, I probably need an onion to start off...