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Onions are part of the allium family along with garlic, leeks, and
shallots. They have a potent, sulfury flavor that makes them
unpleasant when eaten like an apple. But it’s also what keeps away
wascally wabbits, and other animals that might eat them. But lucky
us, we know how to tame the onion. More on that in a bit. When you
think about the flavor of an onion, there’s a lot of layers to work
through. 😉
Obviously, onions are potent. But have you ever noticed that onions
don’t have an aroma
That is until you cut them.
Why
Their intense flavor (and smell) comes from a reaction between an
enzyme called alliinase and certain amino acids. And because they’re
stored in separate parts of the onion, those two only come in contact
when the cell walls are ruptured. So that means you can change the
intensity of the flavor based on how you cut up the onion. The more
cell walls you rupture, the stronger the flavor. Dicing an onion
ruptures a lot of cell walls. But a food processor gives you even more
potent onion flavor.
Why
An onion’s cell wall runs from root to tip. And when you cut
lengthwise, you cut along the cell walls vs cutting against them.
🧅 What does this mean for our cooking
Change how you cut an onion based on the flavor you want. A finely
diced, raw onion will overpower a salad. But sliced onions won’t.
Especially if you treat them. (I swear I’ll get to taming onions in a
moment.)
Why
The more time alliinase has to react with all those amino acids.
Where I learned this:
The Science of Good Cooking by Cooks Illustrated, On Food and
Cooking by Harold McGhee, Ruhlman’s Twenty by Michael Ruhlman,
and this article titled “The Science of Onion Flavor” by Guy Crosby.
This article on the flavor of onion was originally published on Salt
Sear Savor.