# Large White Onions?



## BreezyCooking (Sep 10, 2008)

What do you use them for?

I do tons of cooking with onions, & always have yellows, reds, & Vidalias, as well as shallots & scallions on hand.  Have also cooked with the little pearls & Cippolinis.  For some reason have never had a recipe for those huge pristinely snowy-white globes that every supermarket seems to have piles of.

How do they compare to the onions I'm used to using & what am I missing?  Are they stronger?  Milder?  Suitable for a specific purpose?  I just never seem to come across anything that specifically asks for them & can't recall ever buying/using one.


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## kitchenelf (Sep 10, 2008)

I use them for soups, stews, any recipe where I need a large onion.  They can be interchanged with the yellow.  I'll have to do a side by side taste test.  I don't usually find recipes that specify yellow onion or white onion - just onion.


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## bowlingshirt (Sep 10, 2008)

I find the white onions to be a bit hotter...the yellow to be slightly sweeter.  I pretty much use them the same.


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## miniman (Sep 10, 2008)

I use the white and the yellow for the same purposes. It might be worth cooking up a batch of each and seeing how the taste varies.


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## GrillingFool (Sep 10, 2008)

Raw, I find that the white ones are generally milder. I never get onion eyes with
white onions. Since wife doesn't like yellow onions, all I use are whites. (And scallions).


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## ChefJune (Sep 10, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> What do you use them for?
> 
> I do tons of cooking with onions, & always have yellows, reds, & Vidalias, as well as shallots & scallions on hand. Have also cooked with the little pearls & Cippolinis. For some reason have never had a recipe for those huge pristinely snowy-white globes that every supermarket seems to have piles of.
> 
> How do they compare to the onions I'm used to using & what am I missing? Are they stronger? Milder? Suitable for a specific purpose? I just never seem to come across anything that specifically asks for them & can't recall ever buying/using one.


 
As the others have said, they can be used interchangeably with yellow onions. And they seem to me to be a little less "onion-y."


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## Michael in FtW (Sep 13, 2008)

I find white and yellow are interchangeable in cooking - regardless of size. 

There are three things that affect their taste: variety, the soil they were grown in, and the growing climate. 

The ones we get in the grocery stores where I live: I find the white onions to be more pungent and hotter ... the basic yellow are milder and sweeter, _*especially*_ when raw.


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## GhettoRacingKid (Sep 13, 2008)

Another person who uses them interchangably


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## jpmcgrew (Sep 13, 2008)

I also use both, I'm in the white onions are milder side. I like Vidalias when I can get my hands on some. I go through a lot of onions


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## pacanis (Sep 13, 2008)

I can't believe my store still has Vidalias..... seems awfully late in the season, but they also seem stronger tasting than they did a month ago.

I bought a white onion once. It tasted stronger than what I was hoping for. If Vidalias aren't in season and there aren't any 1089's (?) or Mayans..... I'll get a big Spanish onion before a white one. I'm not big on strong onion flavor.


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## *amy* (Sep 13, 2008)

Michael in FtW said:


> ... I find the white onions to be more pungent and hotter ... the basic yellow are milder and sweeter, _*especially*_ when raw.


 
My taste buds concur. I have used the whites in comb w other onions for onion soup. I make onion soup in onion bowls (the onion being the 'bowl') - hollow out the onion leaving a few skins, diced it up w other onions, & pour the onion soup into the shell/bowl. The onion shell also makes a nice presentation to fill with dips (guac etc), using the onion insides chopped up & added to the mix. You can also stuff the onions (again, chopping up the insides) & adding it to your stuffing 'mix'. You might also use them for chili or in Mexican dishes.


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