Ingredients
Onions and shallots
Other Names: Onion: Basal (Arabic); bawang merah (Indonesian); bazal (Hebrew); cebola (Portuguese); cebolla (Spanish); chung (Chinese); cipolla (Italian); hanh (Vietnamese); key shinkurt (Amharic); kitunguu (Swahili); kremmidi (Greek); løg (Danish); luk (Russian); oignon (French); piaz (Farsi, Hindi); soğan (Turkish); ton hom (Thai); tsibele (Yiddish); tsong (Tibetan); zwiebel (German). Shallot: Ascalonia, chalota, or escalma (Spanish); aschlauch, klöben, or schalotte (German); askalonio (Greek); chalota das cosinhas (Portuguese); chaloto (Provençal French); ciboule or échalote (French); horm lek (Thai); kitunguu kidogo sana (Swahili); scalogno (Italian); shalot (Russian); Spanish garlic.
General Description: The onion (Allium cepa), a member of the lily family, has round to elongated bulbs with white, yellow, or red skin;
they’re sharply pungent when raw and sweet when cooked. The bulb may be used as a vegetable (served whole or in large pieces) or as an aromatic vegetable for seasoning. Onions may also be found dried, as either bits, slices, flakes, or powder. Onions are an indispensable ingredient in nearly every cuisine.
Raw onions ground with spices are used to marinate meat, poultry, and seafood in Indonesian ¬bumbu and Jamaican jerk seasoning. In India, onions are fried slowly with spices until they turn brown before adding other vegetables or meat. Crisp fried onion rings are popular in central Europe and Vietnam; in Indonesia they top the fried rice dish nasi goreng. Onion powder is used in chili powder and Cajun seasoning, and dehydrated onions are the main ingredient in most herbal substitutes for salt.
The closely related shallot (A. ascalonicum) is smaller and denser than the onion. Shallots are much favored by chefs because of their sweet aromatic yet pungent flavor and because they hold their firm texture even through long cooking. They’re quite popular in northern France, where they are essential for red wine sauces, béarnaise sauce, and flavored mayonnaise. They may also be found in intensely flavored freeze-dried bits. Asian shallots, also called Thai pink or purple shallots, are used extensively in Southeast Asian cooking. They are often slow-fried until crispy.
Season: Onions are in season year-round. Different varieties of specialty and sweet onions have their own particular seasons. Storage shallots are available year-round.
Purchase and Avoid: Look for onions that are dry, firm, and shiny with a thin skin. The necks should be tightly closed with no sprouts emerging. Avoid onions with dark patches and soft spots. Onions with green sprouts will taste bitter. Dehydrated onion flakes, onion powder, granulated onion, and onion salt are found in the spice section. Choose large, plump, firm, well-shaped shallots that are not sprouting. Peeled shallots are sometimes available in supermarkets, though the quality of these is not high. Avoid shallots that are wrinkled or sprouting or show any signs of black mold. Specialty spice merchants carry freeze-dried or dehydrated shallots and onions.
Storage: Store shallots and storage onions in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place up to 1 month. Store sweet onions in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Dried onions and shallots may be stored unrefrigerated up to 6 months.
Serving Suggestions: Add onion powder to creamy vegetable soups, vegetables, chowders, stews, casseroles, dips, salad dressings, cheese sauce, hamburger mix, and egg dishes. Sprinkle onion flakes on beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, and veal before roasting. Sauté minced shallots in butter, toss with wilted spinach or other greens, and sprinkle with nutmeg. Add freeze-dried shallots when making salad dressings, hamburger mixes, or sautéed vegetables.
Food Affinities: Onions are used in almost every savory dish imaginable worldwide. Shallots pair well with French, Belgian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Indonesian dishes.
from Quirk Books: www.quirkbooks.com
