Tennessee Onions Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does putting onions in vinegar do? ›

Then you just have to wait long enough for the vinegar to do its job, rinsing away the harsh sulfurous compounds, softening the onion, and giving it a pleasantly tart pop of flavor. If you use red wine vinegar, my personal favorite, the onions also turn an amazing hot-pink color.

Yellow Onions: The general cooking onion. Usually relatively cheap and plentiful, they're the go-to onion when cooks get cooking. The flavour is strong but mild, with an onion flavour that isn't overpowering. They often have a bit of sweetness to them, they caramelize nicely and they hold up well when cooked.

Add chopped or sliced onions and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. That's the time it takes to sauté onions so the harsh onion flavor is removed, and they barely start to sweeten.

Place onions, cut-sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven until onions are tender and the cut surfaces are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Since slicing and dicing releases the odor and flavor, the more finely you chop an onion, the more flavorful it will be. On the other hand, a process like boiling an onion will break down the enzymes that spur the chemical reactions creating a less pungent flavor. Different levels of heat can control levels of flavor.

Baking soda makes the onions more alkaline, which speeds up the browning reactions necessary for properly caramelized onions. But it also weakens the pectin that holds the onion's cells together, turning what should be soft but distinct pieces of browned onion into a nauseating stew of pea-green mush.

The sulfur compounds that give onions their characteristic taste and smell are soluble in water. Soaking raw onions in cold water for about 30 minutes before using them will leach out some of these compounds and make them milder in flavor.

Third, help things along with a little bit of sugar. In science speak, caramelization is the oxidation of sugars. Here, those sugars are the natural sugars in the onions, but the addition of a small amount of white sugar adds an extra caramelization boost.

The salt softens the onion's fibrous texture and mellows the sharpness of their flavor.

Sweet Onions – Walla Walla and Vidalia are the most common kinds of sweet onions. These onions lack the sharp, astringent taste of other onions and really do taste sweet.

What is the healthiest onion to eat? ›

Red onions

All types of onions are good for you, but this dark reddish-purple variety, sometimes called purple onion, has especially high levels of quercetin and other helpful plant compounds known as flavonoids. Flavonoids give many fruits, vegetables, and flowers their colors.

White onions are probably the strongest-tasting onion on this list. They're typically used in Asian and Mexican dishes, as well as potato and macaroni salads. You can also sauté them, making them ideal for French onion soup or any other food in which you want to add sweet or sour flavor.

Caramelize the onions: Heat about 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the onions and stir to coat. Let cook, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until deeply caramelized, about 1 ½ - 2 hours.

Onions - soaking in cold water to soften the flavor

When preparing raw onions, soak in cold water before hand to remove some of the pungency and soften the flavor. However since soaking too long will dilute the flavor, soaking in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes is recommended. Squeeze out excess water before using.

Sautéing vs caramelizing

Sautéing is about softening and lightly flavoring the onions, while caramelizing is about developing a rich, sweet complexity. Unfortunately, you can't swap one out for the other without changing the flavor profile of your dish.

The longer the exposure to low heat, the more such molecules are produced—and the greater complexity the onions can add to a sauce. High heat, on the other hand, deactivates the enzymes, so that fewer of these flavor molecules are produced. Slowly cooking the raw onions in oil is also important to better flavor.

Submerge Them in Cold Water

Soak them for at least 15 minutes (longer is even more beneficial), properly drain, and eat away! Submerging them in cold water takes away that intense, sharp bite from the raw onion. The cold water helps the enzyme that causes onions to have their pungent flavor to leach out.