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Onion
Allium cepa · Allium
8 varieties40 pairings
The onion (Allium cepa) is a layered, edible bulb grown across virtually every inhabited region of the world — sharp and eye-watering raw, melting and sweet when cooked, and the aromatic foundation of cuisines from France to India.
Picking a good onedrag
Just curedSprouted and soft
Firm and paperyAnything: raw in a salad, or cooked down.Buy it
SkinPapery and dry, flakes lifting
NeckDry and papery, no give
WeightFirm all over, good heft
SmellFaint dry onion, nothing sharp
What to look for, from just cured to sprouted and soft.
What one gives you
90%
Usable yield
110 g · skin and ends off
122 g
Typical weight
one specimen
Keeping ittap a band
A domestic fridge holds it about 5× longer than the counter.
Humidity
65–75%
Dry air only — the fridge runs 90%+ damp. Never bag them: damp roots and rots them.
Airflow
Open and moving
A mesh sack or open basket, and keep them dark: light greens the outer scales.
Neither a source nor a victim
Gives off almost none; no fruit-bowl dose moves one. Keep onions off potatoes — potato damp makes onions root and rot — and off produce that takes their smell.