ONION HEALTH MANAGEMENT & PRODUCTION Onion Color, Flavor, Usage Guide This chart was created to serve as a guide for helping you choose what kind of onion to use in a recipe. Feel free to let your own tastes, preferences, and creativity along with this chart guide you to your own decision. The most important thing to remember is "bring on the onions" and enjoy! Note: Crop size in the chart below is approximate. Remember, flavor and usage info are general guidelines for each color and type.
Color
Variety or Raw Type Availability Flavor/Texture Best Usage Crisp, juicy, mild flavor with
Sweet Yellow Onion: All-purpose and most popular, approximately 87% of the U.S. onion crop is comprised of yellow varieties. The most well-known sweet onions are yellow. The best type of onion for caramelizing is a yellow storage variety. Cooking brings out this variety's nutty, mellow, often sweet, quality when caramelized.
Fresh, Mild
MarchSeptember
a slightly sweet ending with little to no after-taste
Raw, lightly cooked, sautéed, or grilled
March August
Crisp, juicy, mild to slightly pungent with a faint after-taste
Raw, lightly cooked, sautéed, or grilled Grilled,
Storage
Sweet
Strong onion flavor, mild August-May after-taste
MarchSeptember
sautéed, caramelized, baked, or roasted
Raw, Crisp, very mild grilled, or onion flavor roasted Bright tones, slightly less
Red Onion: About 8% of the U.S. onion crop is red. They have gained popularity in the past decade, especially on salads and sandwiches because of their color.
water content than yellow with a slightly pungent ending
Raw, grilled, or roasted
Fresh, Mild
MarchSeptember
Storage
Sharp, spicy, Raw, and moderate to grilled, or August-May very pungent roasted
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