Onions are very powerful vegetables that can be used in many different ways. There are many different types of onions that can provide your recipes with a number of different tastes and textures. The type of onion that you choose and the way you choose to prepare it can play a major role in a recipe. Therefore, it is important that you know about the varieties of onions that exist and how to prepare them properly.

There are a few different types of onions. These bulb vegetables can be red, yellow, or white. These different varieties of onions all have different flavors that have unique attributes. Yellow onions are the most commonly used type of onion. They provide a sweet flavor when cooked and can be used in just about any recipe. Red onions have a very beautiful tone that can be used to add a gorgeous color to a recipe. Red onions taste best when they are grilled, broiled, or roasted. Red onions are also the best type of onion to eat raw because of their sweet flavor. White onions are another delicious type of onion. They are great in salads and for sautéing. White onions are also commonly used in Mexican dishes for their sweet flavor when they are sautéed. Once you choose what type of onion you are going to use for a recipe, next you need to figure out how you are going to prepare it. There are many different ways to prepare onions and the way that they are prepared can dramatically change their taste. You may need to grill, sauté, roast, or caramelize them depending on your recipe.

However you cook your onions you will first need to cut them. Cutting onions can be a difficult process that can bring you to tears. Cutting onions makes your eyes sting because of a chemical in the onion that creates a sulfur gas when it is mixed with oxygen. The sulfur then irritates your eyes and causes them to get teary. This chemical present in onions is also the reason that you get bad breath after eating them. In order to reduce the amount of tears that cutting onions cut the stem off first and leave the root end together because it contains the most sulfur. Also, chill your onion for about 30 minutes before you cut it. This will help to cut the onion closely releasing as little chemicals as possible from it. You can also use white vinegar. Poor the vinegar over the onion before you cut and on your knife and cutting board. The vinegar doesn’t change the taste but does help minimize the dispersion of gas when the knife pierces the onion.

Your recipe will either ask you to slice, chop, dice or mince your onions. To slice the onion, cut it in half through the root and peel off the papery skin. Then after heading and tailing the onion [removing the root end at the top and bottom] cut the onion into half inch wide slices from top to tail. To chop the onion follow slicing instructions but only cut off one root end, leave the other end on. Slice the onion to the root but leave about a half inch of the slices attached to the root, this will aid in your chopping. Then cut horizontally inch sized pieces off the slices. To dice the onion cut quarter inch sized pieces. To mince, follow the chopped directions and once you have all your diced pieces go over them again pivoting the knife at the sharp end to get the smallest sized pieces you can get.

Onions are excellent in many recipes because of their delicious flavor and also because they provide many nutritional benefits. Onions are high in vitamin C, fiber, and calcium. They are also low in calories, fat, and sodium!

Using onions in recipes is a great idea because of their amazing flavor and their health benefits. Next time your recipe calls for onions remember that they taste different depending on the color and the way you prepare them. Be sure to select the right onion for your recipe and remember the ways to cut it so that it won’t bother your eyes