Ingredient: Onions
Category: Vegetables
Season: All
Many plants in the genus Allium are known by the common name onion but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the 'garden onion' or 'bulb' onion and 'shallot'.
Uses
Onions, one of the oldest vegetables known to mankind , are found in a bewildering array of recipes and preparations, spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures; they are nowadays available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, and dehydrated forms.
Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced , in almost every type of food, including cooked foods and fresh salads, and as a spicy garnish; they are rarely eaten on their own but usually act as accompaniment to the main course.
Depending on the variety , an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.
Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack . These are often served as a side serving in fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom.
Onions are a staple food in India , and are therefore fundamental to Indian cooking.
They are commonly used as a base for curries , or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish.
Tissue from onions is frequently used in science education to demonstrate microscope usage, because they have particularly large cells which are readily observed even at low magnifications
Where would cooks be without onions?
One of the principal flavour-makers in the kitchen, stews, soups, casseroles, quick salads and sauces are all enhanced by this most humble but wonderful of vegetables, together with its tiny, milder cousin the shallot, which also plays an important role.
How to prepare onions:
Slicing: To slice them, cut off the root end, then peel away the skin. Slice in whole round slices and separate into rings, or else cut the onion in half first and then slice into half-moon shapes.
Chopping: rough chopping is as above, making about 3 cuts vertically across each onion and then 3 horizontally.
Chopping small (without a processor): Leave the root intact, then peel away the skin from the top end. Now cut the onion in half and place each half on a flat surface, round-side up. Next, make cuts vertically from the root end but leaving the root intact to hold it together. Then make horizontal cuts across the vertical cuts whilst you hold on to the root end firmly. The last cut will be the little root bit and this can be discarded. |