Onion products, varieties, and cultivars
Most whole onions are slightly dried before marketing, making their skins dry and paper-thin. Onions are also available in various processed forms. Boiled and pickled onions are packed in cans or jars. Frozen onions are available chopped or whole, and bottled onion juice is sold for use as a flavouring. Dehydrated onion products have been available since the 1930s; such products include granulated, ground, minced, chopped, and sliced forms. Onion powder is made by grinding dehydrated onions and is sometimes packaged in combination with salt. Dried onion products are used in a variety of prepared foods and are also sold directly to the consumer for use as condiments.
There are a number of commercial varieties and cultivars of onions available:
- Globe-shaped onions may be white, yellow, or red. They have strong flavour and are used chiefly for soups, stews, and other prepared dishes and for frying.
- Bermuda onions are large and flat, with white or yellow colour and fairly mild taste. They are often cooked and may be stuffed, roasted, or french-fried. They are also sliced and used raw in salads and sandwiches.
- Spanish onions are large, sweet, and juicy, with colour ranging from yellow to red. Their flavour is mild, and they are used raw and sliced for salads and sandwiches and as a garnish.
- Italian onions, or cipollini onions, are flat and are red, white, or yellow in colour and often have a mild, sweet flavour. They are used raw for salads and sandwiches, and their outer rings make an attractive garnish.
- Shallots are a small, angular variety of onion. They are typically white with a brown or red skin and have a mild flavour. The green leaves can also be eaten.
- Pearl onions are not a specific variety but are small round onions harvested when 25 mm (1 inch) or less in diameter. They are usually white and pickled and used as a garnish and in cocktails.
- Spring onions are small white onions that are picked when between 25 and 38 mm (1 and 1.5 inches) in diameter; the tops are sometimes left attached. They are used to flavour foods having fairly delicate taste, such as omelets and other egg dishes, sauces, and peas. They are also served boiled or baked.
- Green onions, also called scallions, are young onions harvested when their tops are green and the underdeveloped bulbs are 13 mm (0.5 inch) or less in diameter. Their flavour is mild, and almost the entire onion, including top, stem, and bulb, is used raw in salads and sauces, as a garnish, and as a seasoning for prepared dishes.