More on Onions
It is time to use and preserve your home grown onions, Here are some tips.
ONIONS AND SHALLOTS
Dry onions
These are left in the ground to mature.
Look for firm, dry onions with no soft patches.
They have dry, papery skins and varieties include:
White
·
A mild onion with a slightly sweet
flavour that's great for cooking or for adding raw to salads.
Brown
·
Stronger in flavour than the white onion,
brown onion are a good choice for soups, stir-fries or stews
or baked.
Red
·
Also called a Spanish onion, this onion
has a mild, sweet flavour. It's ideal for eating raw in salsas and salads or
for barbecuing or roasting.
Pickling
·
Smaller than the brown onion, the
pickling onion can be added whole to casseroles or pickled in vinegar. It's sometimes
referred to as a pearl onion.
Eschalots
·
With small clusters of bulbs, eschalots
look similar to garlic. They can be brown, purple or grey in colour and have a
mild flavour and aroma. Used extensively in French and Asian cooking, they're
sometimes called French shallots and are great in casseroles or added to sauces
for steak. Purple (Asian) eschalots can be chopped and used in curry pastes. To
prepare place them in a bowl of hot water then transfer to a plate to cool and
remove the skins. Thinly slice and add to stir-fries. Shallow-fry sliced
shallots until crisp and use to garnish Asian dishes.
Green onions
These are pulled out of the ground before
the bulb has time to develop.
Green shallots
·
are also called scallions, these are
long, green shoots with a white section and roots at the base. The green tops
are quite mild and can be used in salads and dips or as a garnish. The white
section has a stronger flavour and can be sliced and eaten raw or used in
stir-fries.
Spring onions
·
more mature version of green shallots,
these have a small bulb at the base. Both the bulbs and the tops can be added
raw to salads or cooked whole in casseroles.
PRESERVING ONIONS
Sweet onions tend to have a water content
and therefore do not store as well as more pungent brown onions Some varieties are bred to be keepers. After
pulling from the ground allow the onion to dry out, clip the roots and cut the
tops back to about 6cm. If the onions
have thin necks, bend the necks over and tie down with string. This will help prevent the onion from
rotting. If the onions have thick necks
or no necks, if they are soft or immature, use them up as soon as you can.
You need to keep onions for storing in a
cool, dry place and do not let them touch. Good quality onions can be kept in
the refrigerator for a long time if they are individually wrapped in paper
towel or foil. Check them from time to
time. This is a good way of storing red
and white onions which do not dry as well as brown onions.
You can store keeping-quality brown
onions in a nylon stocking or pantyhose.
Tie a knot or put a plastic tie between the onions and continue until
the stocking is full. Hang them up in a cool dry place and remove one onion at
a time as required. Alternatively spread
the onions out on a screen or mesh to allow air to circulate, but keep them
separated. Check your onions regularly
especially as spring approaches as they will start to sprout, use them or
preserve them before they get to this stage.
A word of warning when using onions, make
sure the onions you are preparing are not contaminated with soil. Wipe or brush them over the sink first. Then take a little bit of extra care when
peeling them and cutting off their roots not to get any soil on the preparation
board or utensils. It is possible,
although quite rare, to get botulism from soil contamination especially with
vegetables that are preserved in oil which creates an anaerobic environment for
the deadly microbe. See http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Botulism
Drying
·
Onions are easy to dry, and reconstitute
easily. Peel and slice them into thin rings, blanch them in boiling water for a
few minutes. Dry on paper towel and put them in a dehydrator until dry. When
cool put them in plastic bags, vacuum seal and store in a cool, dry place.
Freezing
·
Peel and wash the onions, slice them into
rings, and blanch in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Cool, drain and put
the onion rings on a baking tray, and place the sheets in the freezer. After
they're frozen, put the onions in a plastic bag and vacuum seal.
Cooking and freezing
·
You can freeze carmelised onions. To carmelise the onions, slice them into rings
and cook them very slowly with butter until they turn a rich brown colour but
don’t let them burn. This will take a
while so give them a stir every now and again.
You can add a little brown sugar or balsamic vinegar for flavour. Put them into small snap lock bags, squeeze
out the air and freeze when cool. They
have many uses and are a great base for French onion soup.
Pickling
·
You can pickle whole onions or sliced
onions. Use the small pickling or pearl
onions.
RECIPE LINKS
Great recipes from taste.com.au where the
onion is the hero of the dish.
- Red onion jam
- Red onion soup with goats'
cheese croutons
- Balsamic baby onions
- Pickled onions
- Caramelised French shallot
tarte tatin
- Spring onion tarte tatin
- Baked onions
- Mushroom-filled baked onions
- Sweet baked onions
- Lamb-stuffed onions with
parmesan breadcrumbs
- Baked onions stuffed with
pistachios & dried cranberries
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