7 Types Of Onions And Their Uses
By Niveditha Kalyanaraman
October 3rd, 2023
Image Credit: Unsplash
Onions are a humble additive to most dishes. They come in various types. While the purple bulb is its most common version used, there are many others used for various dishes. Here are 7 types of onions and their uses.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Brown Onions
Heavy brown parchment skin surrounds ivory white flesh with a strong, sulphury, pungent flavor and aroma. If a recipe says onion without specifying what type, it's assumed to be a yellow onion. It's mostly used in French onion soups and for daily dishes.
Image Credit: Unsplash
Sweet Onion
Larger and slightly flatter than yellow onions, with lighter colored, less opaque skin, sweet onions contain extra sugar, making them good for caramelizing. Their larger size and sweeter flavor make them ideal for making onion rings.
Image Credit: Unsplash
White Onions
White onions have a papery white skin, and their flavor is milder and sweeter than yellow onions, making them good for serving raw in fresh salsa or homemade guacamole.
Image Credit: Unsplash
Red Onion
Sweet and mild enough to be eaten raw, both the exterior skin and the flesh of red onions are a deep magenta color, which makes them particularly good additions to salads or anywhere else a splash of color will enhance the appearance of the dish.
Image Credit: Unsplash
Shallots
Small, brown-skinned onions with purplish flesh, their bulbs are made up of multiple lobes. They impart a very intense flavor, and because they're smaller, composed of thinner layers, they can be minced very finely and used in salad dressings and sauces.
Image Credit: Unsplash
Green Onion
Popularly called spring onions, they are immature onions that have not yet formed a bulb, or only partially. The entire plant is usually used, including the tall green shoots, and they make a wonderful garnish for soups, omelets, tacos, as well as color and crunch.
Image Credit: Unsplash
Leek
Shaped like overgrown scallions, leeks are lovely in soups and sauces. Baking them mellows their flavor and softens them.
Image Credit: Unsplash
