The GF and I had this discussion recently and surprisingly we each had a different answer.

Question:
What is your default type of onion (e.g. white, yellow, red, etc) if the recipe neglects to specify the type of onion?

Choices:
White Onion
Yellow Onion
Sweet Onion
Red Onion
Green Onion
I follow rules of thumb (white for mexican, yellow for Italian, red for salads, etc)
I don't have an opinion but just like to vote in polls
Other

 

My old man would grow red onions in his garden, pluck them out, brush off the dirt and eat them like an apple.
My Mother was appalled.

In my world, yellow and sweet are the same…

Through a long process of tracking and eliminations, i discovered that onions are a migraine trigger for me. So I have to unfortunately choose none. I love onions but can’t have them. I also think I’ve made it worse by eliminating onions completely because if I eat out and get an onion or they use onion powder in the food, i get a headache every time now.

Sautéed.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Sautéed.

This, for the win.

Red generally, yellow/sweet if I need sweet, green for other stuff, shallots for still other things, pearls are delicious for roasting, chives for topping.

None. I do not eat onions

If the recipe doesn't specify then I generally use yellow onions, unless it's a Latin American dish and then I use white onions.

While I guess red onions could be used in place of yellow/white/sweet, to me they are less similar in flavor than these other three, so would be a last resort if a recipe called for generic "onion".

Green onions are good, but to me serve a fairly different purpose than white/yellow/sweet/red onions, and I would not be reaching for them if a recipe called for unspecified "onion".

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
In my world, yellow and sweet are the same…

While sweet onions are yellow-colored, they are a distinct variety from "yellow onions".

If raw white, if cooked yellow.

Yellow for general purpose. White/red/green/shallot as needed for specific dishes

Yellow for me.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Through a long process of tracking and eliminations, i discovered that onions are a migraine trigger for me. So I have to unfortunately choose none. I love onions but can’t have them. I also think I’ve made it worse by eliminating onions completely because if I eat out and get an onion or they use onion powder in the food, i get a headache every time now.

I'm about the same, but it doesn't always trigger migraine for me. I also discovered that the sweeter the onion, the less likely for it to trigger a migraine. Sautéing them also reduces the chance.

So I still use onions at home, reducing the amount, using the sweetest onions, and/or Sautéing them.

Out eating, I usually go onion free (at least as much as possible)

Garlic and the like can, also be the culprit.

I didn't vote, because there was no choice that pertains to my situation, but when I saw this I was like "I'm not the only one!).

My mom put onions in just about everything. I think that she would have put it in cake and cookies if she thought she could get away with it!

She too ate them like apples.


ARman

quote:

Originally posted by ARman:
She too ate them like apples.

Growing up, my older brother used to love to take an onion, slather it with peanut butter, and then eat it like some sort of bizarro caramel apple.

Yeah, he was that stereotypical "weird kid" who smelled like onions all the time.

I love onions! Red, white, and yellow/brown.

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Sautéed.

This, for the win.

You need to learn that there’s no such thing as a “win” in food preferences. Everyone has a unique set of taste buds.

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,

His wife could eat no lean.

And so between them both, you see,

They licked the platter clean.

White. In Texas we cook a lot of Mexican leaning food and Mexicans use white onions. Sweet onions for raw and salads and sandwiches if I have one. Worst mistake I ever made with onions was buying 1014s to make onion soup. I thought I would save time slicing because the onions were so huge. Yuck! my soup was so sweet it was like maple syrup. Probably should have done yellow in that.

My GF said red, but I don't think they taste right in Mexican food and don't like the weird gray color when cooked.

And the correct answer is...
Rules of thumb. I live in Texas and cook a lot of Mexican food which uses white onion. I also love Mediterranean food (e.g. Italian and Greek) which uses yellow onion. Therefore, I almost always have both white onion and yellow onion in my pantry. I'll buy red onion for salads and such.

I have my own organic garden. Primary purpose is to grow salsa and marinara, but I've expanded the last year so been broadening a bit in terms of crops (e.g. grew some green onion).

A Vidalia is my default.

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
In my world, yellow and sweet are the same…

Yellow onions have a browner skin, and a more pungent, sulfury flavor and aroma. IME, grocery stores rarely give a specific name and just generically label as yellow. If you're looking at a seed catalog (i.e. growing onions in a garden), a Patterson is a good example.

Sweet onion have a lighter color skin and have more sugar content. Vidalia and Maui are two examples of sweet onion. Great in onion rings, but makes Italian or Greek food too sweet for my taste.