ONIONS

All about Onions

Cooking with Onions adds nutrition, great flavour, colour and texture to a variety of dishes. Onions are a staple ingredient to most savoury dishes.

Onions are a nutritious choice

250 mL (1 cup) of chopped onion contains 56 calories. They are a source of fibre and potassium, and a good source of vitamins B6, C and the mineral manganese.

Preparing

Bunching onions are easily peeled by gently sliding off the outermost paper-thin layer after trimming. Onions are best chopped by hand (food processors easily reduce them to mush). Cut in half, place flat side down, hold at root end and make a series of parallel cuts. Turn 90 degrees to make several close cross cuts to produce finely chopped onion. To make thin, even onion rings, peel and carefully slice off a thin piece halfway between root and tip end along one side. Roll onion onto newly cut side to rest flat, hold steady at root end, and slice.

Tips for Cooking

Bunching onions are well suited to use raw and thinly sliced in salads, or as additions to cooked foods, especially Oriental and Asian dishes. They're also a delicious garnish for vegetable soups and with eggs, cheese and fish. Never overcook these delicate onions. Cooking onions know no limitations. Use in stir-frys or slow-cooked casseroles. They can be baked, braised, boiled, grilled, and made into classic onion soup. They are completely cooked when the flesh is moderately tender. Slow, gentle cooking seems to bring out their sweet flavor.

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