THE BEST ONION

i heart vidalia but i am really stuck on shallots. i can put them in almost anything. they make life better. but all onions are beauty.

Most folks call them green onions, but they're really scallions
Do you ever notice that, Joe?

Joe:
Ever notice what, Frank?

Frank:
How most folks call them green onions, but they're really scallions

Joe:
Mm-hmm. Scallions

Frank:
Anytime after two, Joe. Love to have ya

Joe:
Mm-hmm. Well, I'll see

Frank:
Love to have ya

Joe:
Mm-hmm. Well, I'll see

Frank:
The Mrs. always fixes a plate of relish with them carrot sticks
You know them little carrot sticks?

Joe:
Mm-hmm

Frank:
Olives, pickles, scallions

Joe:
Mm-hmm. Let's not go through that again

Frank:
Love to have ya. Go through what again, Joe?

Joe:
How most folks call them green onions, but they're really scallions

Frank:
Oh. You noticed that, too, huh, Joe?

The onion I use the most - every day to be precise - is the yellow onion (known as brown in UK supermarkets), the white onion next, but I have to walk to the Asian Store for them so I don't have them in as frequently. God bless onions.

the answer for me is white tho.

but i love all onions. the scent, the taste....

onions are the best, and tho good shallots are probably my favourite i feel like the ever-reliable yellow/brown is the right answer here

I once worked on a Leek production line and had the Leek cleaning job. This grim-faced guy showed me how to clean leeks. He said you just dip them in the tank of water and wank them off. I used to tell ppl you think your day has been bad -I've been wanking leeks all day.

green onions/scallions are almost always called spring onions in the UK btw, for those who didn't know

you can't make me choose

ROFL @ "you think your day has been bad -I've been wanking leeks all day"

Voted for sweet, my workhorse onion -- vidalia, maui, peru, whatever's available. I did make a batch of fried shallots earlier in the week though, and now have about 12 oz. of delicious shallot oil for my stir-fries.

I was youtubing a chef who said "anybody who tells you they can caramelise onions in less than an hour is a LIAR and a COWARD!" and it is true. I once tried a short cut with sodium bicarb and a pressure cooker and the result was vile.

anyone know why shallots are so much more expensive than either onions or garlic? they seem like the same kind of plant

the humble yellow onion is the only one that cooks down into the flavor miracle i love as far as i know

a chef who said "anybody who tells you they can caramelise onions in less than an hour is a LIAR and a COWARD!"

yep, and properly browning one takes at least 30 minutes

I have a Scandinavian cookbook called Kitchen of Light and the recipe I make most is an onion pie. Sauté the sliced red onions & garlic in butter, white wine, bay leaf, peppercorns then spread across puff pastry with a cup grated jarlsberg. Bake at 400*F for 15 then top with fresh thyme leaves

I'm often making French onion soup style gravy, ragus and curries - so basically its onions in everything.

https://www.allrecipes.com/thmb/DL5lPzvOn5aA8Nkbw0v4Y0nUw8w=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/best-onions-for-cooking-4x3-d946bb9883f54257b8c0ac45dfef2f17.jpg

onion porn

https://assets.bonappetit.com/photos/609ebfaacb023646c505deee/16:9/w_1920,c_limit/Basically-Onions-NEW.jpg

All the alliums are great, but I'm right there with calzino on this. I cook with yellow onions nearly every day. They show up in almost every recipe I make. They are indispensable.

I cook with regular onions all the time but my favourite recipes tend to have spring onions (scallions). So them.

I tired of the green onion/scallion naming schism so I made up my own word for them: grunions!!

Fave application of each listed onion:

White: finely diced and raw on a hot dog
Yellow: mirepoix
Red: finely sliced on a sandwich; or pickled
Sweet: thickly sliced and barbecued, then used in salad
Grunion: intractable from Thai and Vietnamese food, for me
Shallot: the best sauce is bearnaise, and/or with butter and red wine to top a steak
Leek: impossible to choose, probably just a creamy gratin style roast

I love Five Lily Soup and make it French Onion style for my vegetarian bf— contains garlic, grunions, shallots, yellows and leeks

a grunion is a small sardine-type fish, so you've likely confused things even further

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunion

Ennh I only use the word on my shopping lists anyway

Can’t pick my favourite, it’s between the most delicious (the leek) and the most utilitarian (old yellow)

There's something called 'ramps' as well but I don't really know what they are.. I think they're leekish

well we wont be counting votes for leek because its leek not onions

went red, its the one i use most but rly theyre all great even the ones that arent onions remember

AtG, that scandonion pie sounds freakin' delicious....

i think ramps are leeks from some specific area

AtG, that scandonion pie sounds freakin' delicious....

It's really good when freshly out of the oven.. it doesn't age well like yesterday's pizza, becomes a soggy mess

Here are ramps, they look a little different than leeks

https://www.foodandwine.com/thmb/C6tKzabnftxUzKUsXBiBquiL_pk=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/Everything-You-Need-To-Know-About-Ramps-FT-BLOG0622-c0bfb220577145579ea2e521f5157401.jpg

all classic but went with yellow for versatility and yes caramelization

red for pickling a close second

Fresh red onion on a hamburger . . . nirvana.

I made some lomo saltado a week ago and the thick cut red onions just shine when sauteed in soy sauce and red wine vinegar

we can't forget one of the onion's greatest applications... The Gibson cocktail

https://vinepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/gibson-card.jpg

Tight race between red onions and scallions in this house.

While yellow is the most useful and shallots the most flavor complex, gonna go with red as it's the most stylish and opinionated onion and the best with lox. Also pickled red onions are the best

years ago there was an interview with some superstar chef and she said during her kitchen apprenticeship years she was tasked with chopping onions most of the time. The chef would bellow at her "go smaller!". So I took this as the way to go for my so called *Italian* style sauces and I think this was a point where my sauces improved a lot. I looked up if hand chopping onions was better than just wanging them in a processor, and I discovered the processor generates heat that can affect volatile compounds in the onions and ultimately their flavour. Not sure about the science of this but if top restaurants insist on hand chopping then there must be something to it.

Going for sweet purely for use on a lox/cream cheese bagel.

idk, i use whatever's around. shallots probably? red great too. any recipe that requires one can probably use another without too much damage. red onion probably the only one that's used in things where it can't be replaced adequately by another type. voting 'everything except leeks', which are good but not on the others' level (scallions probably fit in this category as well)

I've never done shallot specific recipes, have just used them instead of brown onions when I've had them in. My mind is already made up anyway.

idk idk id have said shallots gentler and sweeter and quite different tbh

tbc i usually use shallots, but in my 3hr stews or spiced marinades it really doesn't matter much

Red onions are my favourite, though brown/yellow onions are the ones that we use more often by quite some margin.

I love spring onions in a salad, but don't use them beyond that and occasional garnishing.

None of the others are contenders for me.

i do not have a favorite child here

They all have their places. I voted sweet, because if I could only have one for the rest of my life, vidalias can serve most (but not all) of my onion needs. In salads, I prefer red. Scallions are for toppings, shallots and white onions are for cooking, leeks are their own thing. I love the whole family.

I never cook with red onions but use them as toppers for grilled cheese on toast/welsh rarebit/pizza. not sure if I'm doing it right, it works for me tho.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Vidalia, on everything from eggs to salads and burgers, cooked or raw.

so I had leftovers tonight, pork roast, I had done up a batch of caramelized yellow onions on the side for the original roast, this time they were cooked all afternoon at 180-200 degrees in a cast iron dutch oven with the roast and potato leftovers, and my god I can vote yellow here with a clear conscience, the already-cooked onions turned into divine flavor sauce, all I added to the onions was salt & pepper -- the dish overall had mesquite rub

I bought a giant thing of dehydrated minced onions and I use it in everything... a good way to add oniony flav without the eye-watering chopping

stick your tongue out and breathe thru your mouth is a thing i picked up somewhere once and i wouldn't do it in company but it kinda works

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Yellow! I am curious

I'm glad that every onion got some votes.. they're all winners in my book!