It’s hard to find a person who doesn’t know about the onion. In every kitchen, onion is the most essential vegetable or spice that is needed almost in every dish you want to cook. The use of onions can change the taste of any dish. Different types of onions have different health benefits and different tastes. And various types of onions can add immense flavour to any dish. You may hear the name of red onion which is the most common one, but have you heard the name of yellow onion, white onion, sweet onion, shallots, Spanish onion, pearl onion, leek onion, green onion and the list goes on. To ensure the best outcomes for your dish, you must choose the right one for your cooking.
Red Onion
Because of its deep purple colour, it is commonly used in salad, sandwiches and other raw foods. In some situations, the colour of the onion may depend on other ingredients. It’s a bit spicier and sharper than yellow onion. Red onion is our first choice when it comes to the grill. Red onion is one of the best natural sources of quercetin. It has a flavour that is quite juicy but not the best compared with green onion.
Yellow Onion
Yellow onion is a common culinary onion. It is a long, steady heat, the yellows hold up incredibly well during the caramelizing process. One bite of yellow onion can make your eyes wet in a second. If you keep eating, you may detect a faintly sweet yoghurt aroma. After a long, slow sweat spiciness morphs into syrupy sweetness. A yellow onion would be your best choice when you are not sure about the right onion to use in your dish.
White Onion
The exterior layers of the white onion have been coated with a fresh pop of green as it is peeled back. This thin and papery-skinned onion is softer and milder than yellow and red onions. White onion has a nice flavour with a sweet and fruity start. It has a similar crunch as a red onion but it is less crispy and has a rough texture. Because of their sweetness, you can enjoy them as a salad. White onion has blood-thinning properties.
Sweet Onion
Vidalias, Walla Wallas, and Mauis are all popular sweet onions. The skin of these well-known types is pale yellow. It may appear white on the inside, but it is yellow. Sweet onions are a great choice if you want an onion that tastes great raw in salads, relishes, or cut as a garnish. They have a light onion flavour with a hint of sweetness that may be used in a variety of dishes. We don’t need to cook the sweet onion. It can be served raw on top of the juicy burger.
Onion is healthy and it is a great source of vitamin C. Raw onion contains more organic sulfur compounds than cooked onion but both of them have numerous health benefits. The sulfurs in onion may act as an anti-inflammatory agent. Onion contains polyphenols, which function as antioxidants and protect our bodies from free radicals. A strong immune system develops when free radicals are eliminated from our body.
Shallots
Shallots are smaller than even the tiniest onion, with cool lavender-tinged flesh. When eaten raw, they’re sweet with a tangy, spicy caramel curve and when cooked, they’re incredibly aromatic. They are deliciously minced and combined into vinaigrette sauce, thinly sliced in a pea and bacon salad, roasted with ginger and garlic and cooked in coconut curry chicken, or fried into fragrant shallot chips to use as a garnish for anything.
Spanish Onion
This golden yellow-skinned Spanish onion is easily recognizable for its large size. It doesn’t have any specific flavor like spicy or sweet. Spanish onion tastes best when they are lightly cooked.
Leek Onion
Most people ignore this onion because it is quite different than others. Also, people don’t know its good qualities and health benefits. With the use of leek onion, the soup tastes magical but you have to cook it slowly. Leek onion and bacon are the perfect combinations as well.
Pearl Onion
The specialty of this small and sweet onion is that instead of chopping, we can just peel it and then use the whole onion in our dish. They will enhance the gravy texture of your dish. Pearl onion is good for pickling in a jar.
Colorectal, laryngeal and ovarian cancer risk is reduced by eating one to seven servings of onions each week. It helps with some side effects from cancer treatment as well. It also helps with digestion. Onion is high in fibre that aids digestion. Onion has chromium that works for blood sugar regulation. It could be useful for persons who have diabetes. Red onions were found to reduce glucose levels in those who have Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Women who completed menopause are benefit from eating onion daily. Hip fracture rate also decreases if anyone consumes onion regularly.
This daily necessary item perhaps makes us cry in the form of sulfuric acid which irritates the nerves around the eyes but it is a good friend of our body. Again, if anyone talks about taste, words will be less for some people. Thus, avoiding tears and their smell, onions are always welcomed in the world of taste.