Onion flavor

An onion is a round vegetable with a light brown skin. It has many white layers on its inside which have a strong, sharp smell and taste. They can be sweet or sour, soft or crisp, tangy or dripping with umami. The intensity of an onion’s smell and flavor also depends on its freshness.

Onions have a unique chemistry with molecules that contain a whole lot of sulphuric compounds. Sulphur is responsible for those pesky tears that pop up anytime chopping an onion, but it is also responsible for flavor and odor. The scientific name for this group of compounds is thiosulfinates.

White onions are slightly sweeter, a bit milder in taste than yellow onions. They're a good choice for dicing and serving raw on sandwiches and salads or in fresh salsas.

The flavor intensity of an onion is partly dependent on the sulphur content of the soil in which it was grown. In soil, sulphur exists as sulphate salts and is absorbed by the roots of the onion. In the roots the sulphate is converted to sulphur-containing amino acids such as cysteine.

Green onions are characteristically known for their long, hollow, green leaves with a white bottom. The flavor is sweet and mild with a slight bite. They are able to be used cooked or raw and are seen as a topping for many onion soups.

Red onions are colorful and spicy-to-mild flavor. Because of their bright color and crispy texture, they're great for salads, salsas, and other fresh recipes.

Since slicing and dicing releases, the odor and flavor, the more finely chopping an onion, the more flavorful it will be. An onion might be strong, mild, aromatic, tear-inducing, acidic, salty, spicy, sweet, bitter, sour, or flavorful.
Onion flavor