About This Food
Sweet onion is a mild tasting, and almost sweet type of onion. They have lighter colored skins, more fragile, and have more water content than regular onions. Because of the water content, they a do not irritate the eyes as much as the regular ones.
Varieties:
OSO Sweet
Texas Sweet
Vidalia
Sweet Imperial
Walla walla
Maui
Sweet onions are perfect for making dips, soups, pizza, and sandwiches.
Information
Other names: texas sweet onion, walla-walla onion
Translations: Sweet Sīpoli, Sweet svogūnas, Sweet ceapa, Slatki gomolj, Zoete ui, मीठा प्याज, Sweet Лук, Γλυκό Κρεμμύδι, البصل الحلو, 달콤한 양파, Sweet cibule, Sweet sibuyas, 甜洋葱, Cebolla Dulce, Sweet Čebula, Sweet cibule, בצל מתוק, Свеет Лук, 甘タマネギ, L'oignon doux, Ceba Dolç, Sweet Цибуля, Сладки лук
Physical Description
Sweet onion are large, white, onions with a very low sulfur content
Colors: Thin yellowish outer skin
Tasting Notes
Flavors: Sweet
Mouthfeel: Crunchy
Food complements: Potato salad, Mint
Wine complements: American pinot blanc
Beverage complements: Beer, Mead
Substitutes: Red onion
Selecting and Buying
Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december
Peak: february, march, april, may, june, july, august
Choosing: Select sweet onions that are firm and heavy. Check for any signs of mold and mildew.
Look for those that are light golden-brown in color, with a shiny tissue-thin skin and firm, tight, dry necks. Ordinary storage onions are darker and have a thicker skin.
When cut into, they should have a creamy white interior.
Avoid onions with soft spots or surface bruises.
Buying: In markets, to tell whether an onion is sweet, it should have thinner, lighter color skin than storage onions and it tends to be more fragile.
Sweet onions tend to be a bit more expensive.
Preparation and Use
Sweet onions can be eaten raw or sliced/chopped and added to salads or sandwiches. They are also perfect grilled or fried.
Cleaning: Peel the onion and cut in half, vertically, through the stem end.
To chop, lay each onion half flat, slice vertically and slice horizontally. To make it easier to do the horizontal cuts, leave 1/8" uncut at one end when you do the vertical slices.
Conserving and Storing
Sweet onions do not store well, it is best to use them within the week before they soften and start to rot. Sweet onions are high in water and sugar content so they require more care when storing. Treat them gently to avoid brushing. Store away from potatoes because they will absorb water. Sweet onions will keep for 4-6 weeks or longer. Cut onions should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated.