Onions

Yellow or white? What is the difference that dictates how they should be used, or is it just a matter of taste? Which kind do you use for what, and why?

I should add that I usually just pickup a 3 LB bag of dry yellow onions for most of my needs, whether it be for a hotdog topping, chili, stews, or whatever. I think this is sort of a 'force of habit' effect, held over from my childhood, as my Mother used to shop like that. But I see a lot of folks buying the larger white onions and started wondering.

I was just talking to an amateur gourmet cook about this very subject. I have "re-discovered" white onions the past few years, especially for chopping up raw on homemade tacos. The gourmet told me as if it was common knowledge (and likely it is!) that white and red onions tend to be preferable for raw purposes and yellow for cooking. It makes sense--raw white and red onions have an appealing texture and sweetness that seems to diminish with heat and moisture.

I was like you, defaulting to yellow onions when the grocery list said "onions." Then I noticed that my favorite taquerias topped their tacos with cilantro and white onion (and lime) and it all clicked.

Yeah, I've also noticed that the taquerias and hotdog stands use white onions. Click click click.

I love Mayan, Maui, and O-so Sweet onions for sauteeing and paellas - they make big, beautiful curved petals, and the extra sugar content makes for beautiful caramelization and a more heavily bodied fond for sauces. Very nice for grilled or steamed onion piles for bratwurst or hot dogs when feeding a crowd; they also seem to be less tearjerking. They are not as good raw or in salsas / ceviches since their flavor profile and texture tends to melt more like shallots.

The one thing about the sweet onions such as the Maui, Vidalia, 1010 etc. is that they are NOT appropriate for building Indian sauces.

Those sauces expect a dry, pungent onion. A white will probably work, but ordinary yellows are the norm. These onions have enough fiber to them to form a thick sauce as they are cooked down. A Vidalia-type will just turn into a lot of liquid and be far too sweet. As the onions form the body of many Indian sauces (dopieza, masala, and many others), you've got to have the bulk from the dry onion.

I've just always used yellow for cooking, white for chopped raw & red for slices on sandwiches. White onions seem to have a cleaner, milder taste to me, and yellow have that heavy onion flavor that holds up to cooking but is too overpowering if raw. Red have a good texture & crispness for slicing on sandwiches, plus they are decorative.

I like the sweet yellows for raw slices too, but mostly on burgers. I love them grilled, too, as they carmelize nicely.

Cogito wrote:But I see a lot of folks buying the larger white onions and started wondering.

I am one of those who favor white onions more than anything else because of its versatility. It works equally well raw or cooked. In Mexican cooking it is more noticeable in its raw state, but it is also always called for in stews, sauces, moles, etc.

JoelF wrote:A white will probably work, but ordinary yellows are the norm.

I use whites as the base for indian gravies and it works quite well, although probably not traditional. It seems to take a bit longer to caramelize, though.

Using Vidalias and other sweeter varieties should work as well since deep browning from caramelization is the reason for using onions as the base but I've never tried it. I'd use less of the sweeter onions for indian sauces to account for the higher sugar content, though.

kanin wrote:Using Vidalias and other sweeter varieties should work as well since deep browning from caramelization is the reason for using onions as the base but I've never tried it. I'd use less of the sweeter onions for indian sauces to account for the higher sugar content, though.

That's only part of the problem, though, as the sweet onions have a much higher water content: you'll end up with a loose, sweet sauce. Too much water, too little solids/fiber.

On the other hand, I love the sweet onions for sautees and grilling: fajitas, shrimp veracruz, kabobs, etc.

JoelF wrote:That's only part of the problem, though, as the sweet onions have a much higher water content: you'll end up with a loose, sweet sauce.

By the time the onions get the deep caramel color called for in indian gravies (frying while constantly stirring for ~30 minutes), almost all of the water would've evaporated anyway.

Brown-fried onions are mainly used to sweeten and counteract the spice heat level in gravies, so vidalias should work in smaller quantities to keep balance. Onions are never used to thicken and many intentionally thin sauces call for copious amounts of it. Thickness in indian sauces usually come from the addition of heavy cream or yogurt, and sometimes toasted whole wheat flour.

kanin wrote:

JoelF wrote:That's only part of the problem, though, as the sweet onions have a much higher water content: you'll end up with a loose, sweet sauce.

By the time the onions get the deep caramel color called for in indian gravies (frying while constantly stirring for ~30 minutes), almost all of the water would've evaporated anyway.

For much of Indian cooking, I too find that Vidalias and other sweet onions end up being too sweet without the onion flavor. Actually even the yellow onions have less onion-y flavor and more 'water' in them that has to be 'sweated' away (shouldn't take the 30 mins. that kanin notes, but often times it does). Depending on how much one is doing, this sometimes results in the onions almost getting 'boiled' in it's own juices rather than frying – and that's a different flavor. I don't know that there's any way around this issue – the onions one gets here are the ones one gets*. For Indian style dishes, I try and get small yellow onions – and sometimes add in a bit of red onion for the flavor.

*For reference, here are onions at a small neighborhood market in Kolkata (Eastern part of India). AFAIK, while there are other varieties of onions available and used, these are typical throughout the country. ETA: These are about the size of small yellow onions. The flavor is not as assertive as the big red onions available here.


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I favor yellow onions, but I didn't know about the white=fresh, yellow=cooked distinction, so I'm glad this thread was started. A lot of the Indian recipes I was trying a little while ago called for red onions, so I dutifully bought and cooked them. I gradually concluded that I don't much care for red onions (except of course in guacamole).

I have a question about shallots. Whenever I've bought them (at the nearest grocery store, Dominick's) for use in a recipe, I've been dismayed with their poor quality. They're often dusty, bruised, spoiling, or look like they've been chewed on a little by rodents. Where do I have to go to get good-quality shallots?

Hi,

IN the summer, I buy shallots from a local farmer. I do buy bags of shallots at Costco of good quality and relatively inexpensive.

Regards,

Katie wrote:
I have a question about shallots. Whenever I've bought them (at the nearest grocery store, Dominick's) for use in a recipe, I've been dismayed with their poor quality. They're often dusty, bruised, spoiling, or look like they've been chewed on a little by rodents. Where do I have to go to get good-quality shallots?

That's an interesting question. I have had the same problem in the past. A couple months ago I bought a bag...somewhere. And there were wonderful. I just used the last few tonight in a stir fry. Just lovely, they were.

If I could only remember where Since I do most of my shopping at Whole Foods, that is one option. I do some at Costco, so that is another. And, once in awhile I get to some of the smaller stores. That leaves too many options

Hi,

A lot of shallots are sold either loose or in small bagged quantities. The Costco shallots are sold in at least a 3 pound bag made of white cotton string. It is by far the cheapest option available at retail stores.

Regards,

sazerac wrote:Depending on how much one is doing, this sometimes results in the onions almost getting 'boiled' in it's own juices rather than frying – and that's a different flavor. I don't know that there's any way around this issue – the onions one gets here are the ones one gets*.

I know exactly what you mean with the boiled flavor. It happens when there's either not enough heat or not enough oil. I use much higher heat than your typical saute (med-hi) and much more oil than what seems to be necessary and never get this problem. It needs to be constantly stirred since it can easily burn, though, so at this point I have all the other ingredients prepped on the side as if I was doing a stir fry.

Some Indian cookbooks specifically point out that cutting back on oil is usually the culprit in failed sauces.

HI,

In May, I often see vidalia onions sold on the road as fundraisers. Not wanting to miss it this year, I found Shriners selling next weekend in Arlington Heights.

Peoples' Bank of Arlington Heights will make space on its lot at 1104 South Arlington Heights Road for the sale of the sweet onions. Members of the [Northwest] Shrine organization will set up in the bank parking lot on Friday, May 14, and Saturday, May 15, with 10-pound bags of onions delivered directly from the fields in Georgia.

Sales will begin at 9 a.m. each day

Has anyone bought these? What did you make with them?

edit: They are $11.00 per 10# bag.

Regards,

Hi,

A few miscellaneous thoughts on onions:

- Vidalia onions must have sold fast last week. jygach very kindly tried to pick up 30 pounds for me, but nobody was at the appointed location.

- Watching a lot of Julia Child French Chef episodes lately. In one episode, she began by sauteing onions in butter. She made a comment that made a lot of sense, though I have yet to implement it: "If you use as many onions as I do, you might consider cooking a larger batch than you need. Store the rest in the refrigerator for use in another meal."

If many meal preps begin with 5-10 minutes cooking onions, this makes a lot of sense. Usually at this step, I am assemblying ingredients. However for a major holiday meal, this could really save some time.

- My youngest sister can wax poetic about the care and feeding of horses and dogs. When it comes to herself, she eats to live.

A few months ago, she surprised me by commenting she was making shrimp and grits. To make this, she had purchased frozen pre-cooked shrimp and frozen chopped onions. I told her she should buy raw shrimp, because the flavor is really enhanced by the shrimp's juices mingling in there. I then inquired, "Why in blue blazes do you buy frozen chopped onions?" "Onions hurt my eyes."

Last week, I visited my sister bringing along two pounds of brined uncooked shrimp, 10 pounds of white onions and pint sized ziploc bags.

I made shrimp and grits for breakfast. When I asked for some garlic (I forgot it at home), they had dehydrated and refrigerated minced garlic in oil. Not enthusiastic about either, I drove 20 miles round trip for 50 cents of garlic. That will teach me not to forget.

After breakfast, I proceeded to medium dice all those onions, then package and freeze in 2 cup bags. I was cheerfully cutting away, when my two sisters walked into the room gasping. "Those onions are affecting our eyes. Please do something about it."

I was not bothered in the least. I came to the conclusion if either one cooked just a bit more than they do, they would have long gotten over the onions odors.

The jury is out whether or not this gift of 10 pound of onions medium diced to approximately 38 cups will be used. I did just look to find I should have blanched them before freezing.

I asked my sister yesterday how are the onions working out. She didn't quite know, because she is still eating all the food I brought.

I'm very welcome there, especially when I bring food.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Watching a lot of Julia Child French Chef episodes lately. In one episode, she began by sauteing onions in butter. She made a comment that made a lot of sense, though I have yet to implement it: "If you use as many onions as I do, you might consider cooking a larger batch than you need. Store the rest in the refrigerator for use in another meal."

Good advice. A very large percentage of Catalan dishes start with a "sofregit" which is essentialy just cooked onions, though in the tradition these are not a 5-10 minute cook, but a long, slow cook that softens the onions to mush and gives them a sweet, toasty flavor. Sometimes tomoatoes or herbs are added, but they are not required. Since a sofregit is so important to so many dishes - and takes so long to cook - I'm told that no decent Catalan home or restaurant kitchen is without a large, pre-cooked batch in the fridge.