The 411 on Onions

Yellow onions are the most commonly used onions in cooking.  When reading a recipe, unless specified otherwise, yellow onions are the default.   They have a strong, but not overpowering flavor and generally have a subtle sweetness.  While I don’t recommend eating this onion raw, yellow onions are great caramelized, and break down well in stews and sauces.  

Red onions are my personal favorite and can be used in many raw preparations.  Red onions are sharp, spicy and pungent with a nice bite.  While you can cook with red onions, their flavor is not as strong as a yellow or white onion.  Red onions are best served raw but are also great for pickling and grilling.  You’ll typically find red onions in salads and sandwiches.  Soaking your sliced red onions in a bath of ice water crisps them up and also makes their flavor a bit less assertive.

White onions are just slightly milder in flavor than the yellow onion.   White onions are pungent, spicy and strong in flavor.  But they also have less of an aftertaste.  Typically seen as a garnish, white onions are often found in salsas, guacamole, potato salads, or in flash cooking preparations like stir-frying or grilling.

Shallots are just *chef’s kiss* a great onion variety.  Shallots are mild and sweet but still possess the signature onion flavor.  They hold up well in cooked and raw preparations.  Shallots are delicious.  Period.  They are great raw, fried, sauteed, you name it, a shallot can do it.  I tend to put shallots in my salad dressing for a nice subtle bite. 

Scallions (green onions) are a milder version of onion but very versatile.  The greens tend to be the most mild and work great as a garnish or in raw preparations.  While the whites of the scallions have a more intense onion flavor and benefit from cooking.  If you want to cook the whole scallion, add the white to the heat first, before the green – just like you add your onion before garlic to avoid burning.