Consumer Information

How to Select Your Onion

There are two types of dry onions; spring/summer (fresh) onions and storage onions. They are sold either in prepacked sacks or in bulk. Choose onions that are free of cuts and bruises. They should be firm and reasonably free of blemishes. Storage onions should feel hard; spring/summers onions should feel less so. Both should have short necks and dry, papery outer skins.

Spring/summer onions are available in March or early April and can be purchased until August. These onions have a higher water and sugar content than the storage onion which makes them sweeter and milder. They have a lighter color and thinner skin than a storage onion. All these characteristics make them more susceptible to bruising. These onions are available in red, yellow, and white colors. They are often sold under the name of their region: Mauis, Texas Spring Sweets, Sweet Imperials, Vidalias, Walla Walla Sweets and Carzalia Sweets.

Storage onions are available from the beginning of August, through the winter months, until late March. They should be firm, almost hard, and compact. Their hardness and lower water content make them much less susceptible to bruising and shipping damage. They have a darker skin that is much thicker than that of a fresh onion. The storage onion is known for its intense flavor and higher percentage of solids. They are available in red, yellow and white. Each has their desirable cooking characteristics.

Boiler onions are very small white or yellow storage onions, usually about two inches in diameter. They should be firm; have short necks; dry, papery outer skins; and be free of blemishes.

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Uses

Here is an overview of the different storage onion varieties and uses.

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Onio n Sizes

Sunspiced ® onions are known for their high-quality. And our sister company, Basic Vegetable Products ® , grows boiler onions. We know our onions!

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How to Store Your Onion

Spring/summer (fresh) onions are fresh onions. They are more delicate than storage onions and will not keep as long. They should be stored in a well-ventilated, cool dry place, or refrigerated for a short period, to sustain their quality.

Storage onions are much easier to keep. They can be kept for weeks, or even months, in a cool, dry well-ventilated place, without loss of vitamins or minerals. Don't store them in a sack though; separating onions by storing them in a single layer will ensure a longer storage life.

Avoid sunlight as it can cause green sun spots. Onions will freeze at 30.6 F.

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How to Prepare Your Onion

Onions are more versatile in their impact on a dish than almost any other vegetable. They can be used both as a vegetable and as a flavoring; they can sweeten a dish, or heat up a dish. They can either be eaten raw or cooked. They can be braised, boiled, steamed, baked, sautéed, scalloped, fried or grilled. Sautéing onions softens their texture and intensifies their flavor while lessening their bite, as does most other cooking methods.

Variations in their preparation can change their impact on any dish. Take, for example, a hamburger with onions. A raw, diced storage onion can be added to the raw hamburger patty. The resulting patty will have more texture, and the onion flavor will be sharper, than if the diced onion was first sauteed. Using a yellow storage onion rather than a white will result in a softer flavor. Using a sweet onion would vary this even further. Or you could change the impact by sautéing onion rings until soft; then putting them on top of the hamburger patty. In this version, both yellow and white storage onions would taste sweeter and less pungent. As you can see, the possibilities are numerous.

Be sure to use very sharp, high-carbon stainless-steel knives in handling onions. Pure carbon steel will tend to discolor the onions.

Slicing: Make a small slice across the neck end of the onion and peel the skin off towards the root. If you divide the onion, divide it in half lengthwise (from neck to root), not through the equator. Turning the onion face down, slice across the onion from neck to root. By not cutting the root off until the end, it is easier to hold the onion. A food-processor can be used for slicing.

Dicing of Chopping: Again, peel the skin from the neck end after cutting off the neck. Cut the onion lengthwise, from neck to root. Place onion halves cut side down and make even parallel cuts through the onion from neck to root, but do not cut through the root. Then make parallel flat cuts parallel to the countertop surface, again not cutting through the root. Then, carefully cut across the onion from the neck end to the root end. The onion will be diced. The closer the parallel cuts at each step, the smaller the dice. Do not use a food processor for this; the onions will tend to turn to mush.

Grating: Peel the onion as described in previous steps. Keeping the root intact while using a grater will keep your fingers intact. Do not use a food processor for this; the onions will tend to turn to mush.

Peeling Pearl Onions: Plunge onions into a pot of boiling water and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and chill in ice water. Cut off the root and stem ends, and peel skins.

Boiling Onions: Blanch onions without peeling in boiling water for 30 seconds. Then drop the onion into ice water. Cut off stem end only and peel onion skins. Make two one-half inch deep cuts in the root end in the form of an X. This will make the onion cook faster and more evenly.

Some more Preparation Tips:

· Prepare onions right before cooking. Their flavor and consistency will deteriorate over time.

· Try refrigerating onions 30 minutes before preparationg to prevent tears.

· Try freezing chopped or sliced onions for using later in cooked dishes.

· Avoiding cutting the bulb end until the last; the sulfer compounds tend to be concentrated there.

· Before beginning to slice or chop, light a match and blow it out. Then position it under your nose by clenching the unburned end between your front teeth.

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Nutritional Information