The Wonderful World of Onions
What
kitchen pantry wouldn’t be complete without the presence of wonderful
onions. While not being as glamorous or trendy as say arugula, imagine
meals without the unmistakable flavour of onion! There is such variety
available to home gardeners that can be grown in your backyard with
minimal effort! Onions are sold in roughly ½ lb packages in the bulb
form. Started from this size, they will mature faster than if started
from seed. The exception is green bunching onions that can quickly be
grown from seed. Green onions can be grown in large containers but the
rest will be better in the ground. Plant them now to get them rooting as
fast as possible.
Here is a quick listing of choices of onions you could grow this year:
Yellow – This is the traditional cooking and storage onion. It’s what you buy all winter long from the grocery store in 5lb mesh bags. It is medium size with yellow skin, lower sugar content but great storing abilities.
White – A higher moisture content than yellow onions so they won’t do well at storing but have a nice flavour and typically are larger than yellow onions.
Red – Everyone has had red onions if they’ve ever eaten a greek salad. Red onions have a red skin over red/white flesh. They are often large yet any I’ve grown have only been medium sized at best. That being said, I just finished the last red onion from last years’ crop and it was still as perfect as the day I pulled it out!
Shallots – A small brown skinned onion with a mild flavour. It’s small size lends itself to being easily chopped into fine bits when only a small amount of onions is required.
Multipliers – This onion type produces clusters of small onions for each bulb planted. They are mild and can be slightly garlicky if your soil allows. Soil composition plays a role in the flavour of all onions.
Walla Walla – This onion is usually purchased in starter root form that is roughly 4 inches long. This onion is named after the area in Washington state it was developed in. Because of it’s high moisture content, it must be eaten fresh as it will not keep. Walla Walla onions are however famous for their high sugar content making them fabulous for eating raw in salads, sandwiches and on steaks (my personal favorite).
Spanish – This is another name for a yellow, storage onion.
Here is a quick listing of choices of onions you could grow this year:
Yellow – This is the traditional cooking and storage onion. It’s what you buy all winter long from the grocery store in 5lb mesh bags. It is medium size with yellow skin, lower sugar content but great storing abilities.
White – A higher moisture content than yellow onions so they won’t do well at storing but have a nice flavour and typically are larger than yellow onions.
Red – Everyone has had red onions if they’ve ever eaten a greek salad. Red onions have a red skin over red/white flesh. They are often large yet any I’ve grown have only been medium sized at best. That being said, I just finished the last red onion from last years’ crop and it was still as perfect as the day I pulled it out!
Shallots – A small brown skinned onion with a mild flavour. It’s small size lends itself to being easily chopped into fine bits when only a small amount of onions is required.
Multipliers – This onion type produces clusters of small onions for each bulb planted. They are mild and can be slightly garlicky if your soil allows. Soil composition plays a role in the flavour of all onions.
Walla Walla – This onion is usually purchased in starter root form that is roughly 4 inches long. This onion is named after the area in Washington state it was developed in. Because of it’s high moisture content, it must be eaten fresh as it will not keep. Walla Walla onions are however famous for their high sugar content making them fabulous for eating raw in salads, sandwiches and on steaks (my personal favorite).
Spanish – This is another name for a yellow, storage onion.
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