In our family, onions are constantly used for cooking various dishes, as in many families. We use it boiled, fried, stewed and pickled. But in some dishes, the bitterness inherent in this root vegetable greatly interferes and spoils the taste of the dish. Today I will tell you how I manage to deal with this problem. How to remove bitterness from onions - we'll talk about this, as well as discuss a few working tips.
Yellow onion
The yellow onion is covered with yellow-brown scales on the outside, and the flesh is white on the inside and has a pungent spicy taste, but also contains a lot of sugar. During the cooking process, the yellow onion loses its sharpness and becomes sweeter. In addition, yellow onions contain a lot of sulfur, which, released along with the gas during slicing, causes profuse tearing, so be careful.
Yellow onions are the most popular in cooking and are used in almost all main dishes: for frying meat, as an addition to soups, for sauces and stews. Therefore, if onions are indicated in the recipe, feel free to use yellow.
What is fraught with the appearance of arrows
Reproduction of the plant is a natural process, and the arrows are the first stage of inflorescence and seed formation. During this formation, the bulb gives up all its strength and nutrients, so the fruit remains small, dries up and begins to lose its qualities. As a result, the crop is stored much less and becomes unusable.
Sweet onion
Sweet onions (Vidalia and Walla Walla varieties) are best for frying, onion rings, casseroles, and vegetable stews. Sweet onions have thick scales, so it is convenient to cut them into rings. It is sweet but not spicy and is ideal for making French onion soup.
What affects bitterness
It is important to keep in mind that the issue is not always about the variety. The same seed, grown under different conditions, turns into more or less bitter onions.
What determines the taste of onions?
Onion flavor is influenced by the following factors:
- fertilizers;
- watering;
- grade.
If everything is clear with the latter, you need to understand the characteristics of the onion variety (sharp, semi-sharp, sweet), then the first 2 factors should be analyzed in more detail.
Reducing the sharpness of the onion can be achieved by applying phosphorus fertilizer to the garden bed. You just need to increase the recommended dose of superphosphate by about one and a half times. Plus the addition of trace elements will make the taste more balanced.
The second factor is watering. If there is not enough moisture in the soil, more dry matter will accumulate in the onion turnip, so if there is a drought, you need to water it yourself at least once every 6-7 days.
Red onion
Red onions are pleasantly crunchy, sweet and add color to dishes. It is best eaten raw or used to make fresh sauces like guacamole, salsa, pickles, fresh salads, burgers and sandwiches.
Chemical composition
Doctors assure that the beneficial properties of grown onions without chemicals are explained by the fact that it contains a lot of substances necessary for human health:
- Vitamins (the so-called ascorbic acid, tocopherol and many others);
- Minerals (compounds of glands and fluorine, potassium and phosphorus, sodium and zinc, as well as calcium and iodine);
- Phytoncides - chemical compounds with antimicrobial action;
- Natural sugars (in the form of glucose, inulin, fructose);
- Dietary fiber that has a beneficial effect on digestion;
- Tannins and essential oils;
- Antioxidants and organic acids.
The presence of these and other substances in the composition of modern varieties of onions makes it a real natural healer, capable of helping in the healing of a number of ailments, which has a preventive effect that strengthens the body.
Shallot
Shallots have the most delicate aroma, a sweet taste with a slight pungency. It is eaten raw and used to prepare a variety of dishes (especially eggs), dressings for fresh salads, or garnish. Moreover, you can use both the head itself and the green onion feathers. Frying shallots is not recommended - it becomes bitter.
How to get rid of bitterness
There are several ways by which you can remove bitterness from onions or green onions. When choosing one of them, one should take into account the purpose for which it is planned to use the onion, because after one or another processing it can acquire sourness, absorb the taste of the marinade. Perhaps it is necessary to preserve only its taste, without strangers?
Maintaining neutrality
How to remove the bitterness from onions for salad, so as to leave only the onion properties and not spoil the dish? It's very simple, choose a method:
- with cold water;
- hot;
- in the microwave.
Pre-cleaned "turnip" is cut or chopped as required by the recipe, then it is enough to pour boiling water over it (the main thing is to be careful) and immediately put it under cold water, you can also leave it in hot water for a couple of minutes.
Now the onion is laid out in a colander and washed with cool water. Fast, convenient, inexpensive, and as a result, no one will refuse such food, even the vicious opponents of onions.
You can also apply the method with cold water: cover the chopped onion with 1 tbsp. l. salt (with a slide, if there is a lot of onions), add cold water to it (so that it is completely covered). After 15 minutes, rinse the onion from salt and use it further according to the recipe.
You can try the microwave method: heat the chopped onion for 10 seconds (medium power).
Marinades
Usually, onions placed in an acidic environment give off some of their pungency, acquiring a mild flavor. They offer a couple of uncomplicated marinades, with the help of which onion bitterness is easily eliminated.
After the onion is cut, put it in a deep container, add a couple of pinches of sugar, a pinch of salt, citric acid (literally at the tip of a knife) or 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice, pour a small amount of water at room temperature and stir. The marinating time is 15 minutes.
Then you should rinse the onion with boiled cool water. It turns out to be tender and slightly sweet.
If the recipe allows, you can first add seasonings, pepper (black or red) to the marinade.
You can make it even easier: mix water (not boiling water) and vinegar 9% in equal amounts, soak the chopped onion in vinegar marinade for 10-15 minutes and be sure to rinse with water.
How to deal with green onions
We figured out how to remove bitterness from onions, but what to do if greens are bitter?
The green feathers should be crumbled and then gently kneaded. For this, a crush for mashed potatoes or spices is useful, but you can also use your hands, after which you need to pour the onion with melted butter (quite a bit). If you plan to put a vegetable in a soup or potatoes, then you can already use it, but it is better to rinse it for a salad.
There is also a method where it is recommended to pour boiling water over the feathers, but this will deprive the product of the aroma and most of the vitamin C.
How to choose and store onions?
When choosing a good onion, you need to take hard roots, with a “rustling” dry outer shell and a mild onion smell. If the onion has a very strong smell, it most likely indicates that it is spoiled.
Store onions in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area. Never put onions in the refrigerator - there they will quickly rot, spoiling the taste of other products.
If only part of the onion is to be used, the remainder can be stored for 7-10 days in a tightly closed container at room temperature.
Determining the reasons why the bow went to the arrow
There are certain reasons why the bow goes into the arrow. Let's consider them in more detail.
Improper storage
Initially, sevok grows from seeds - small bulbs, up to 3 centimeters in diameter. It is important to monitor the humidity in the room where the seed is stored. Dampness will provoke the germination of the bulbs and, after planting in the garden, they will most likely release an arrow.
Proper storage plays a major role in obtaining a high quality crop. The plant can tolerate frosts, but the high temperature will negatively affect the harvest: the bulbs will be small in size, and their number will decrease.
There are 2 ways to store planting material:
- Warm... Can only be used for small bulbs. Sevkas are packed in boxes or bags and left for storage in a room at a temperature not higher than +25 degrees.
- Cold... Sevkas are kept at a temperature of about -3 degrees. A basement or cellar is suitable for this. But before and after such storage, the onions must be warmed up at +35 degrees.
To avoid the appearance of arrows, a sharp change in temperature and humidity in the room is unacceptable.
Sevok is usually stored in a cold way at an air humidity of no more than 90%.
To protect bulbs with a diameter of up to 3 centimeters, use a warm storage type at a humidity of up to 70%.
Large bulbs are especially prone to shooting, so you need to carefully consider their content.
Failure to meet the landing dates
To eliminate the likelihood of the appearance of an arrow, it is important to plant the bow in a warm ground, as a rule, the optimal time is the last days of April. If you believe the folk signs, then you can navigate by the birch. As soon as the leaves have blossomed on the tree, you can plant the plant.
If this condition is not met, the bulbs will release a peduncle or may even not emerge at all.
Onions can be planted in any soil. To do this, make beds up to 2 centimeters deep and plant seedlings in them at a distance of up to 20 centimeters from each other.
Improper watering
Bow shooting can occur due to inadequate watering. The right solution after disembarkation is to use warm water. In the summer, it is necessary to switch to watering with cold water. The amount of water must be sufficient to keep the soil moist. But it is also not necessary to "flood" the vegetable crop, otherwise the bulbs will start to rot and die.
Watering is enough 2 times a week, but in hot weather, the frequency of watering should be increased.
It is also worth knowing that the older the onion, the less it needs water. Therefore, at the end of July, the number of waterings should be reduced. And a few weeks before harvesting the bulbs, stop altogether. Otherwise, the quality of the crop will deteriorate and the shelf life will be reduced.
Poor quality material
Shooting of a vegetable crop directly depends on the planting material. Incorrectly selected seeds or sets are a direct path to the development of peduncles. It is worth carefully sorting out the bulbs before planting, getting rid of wrinkled and soft ones, and also checking for black dots and other defects.
Bulbs that are too large will not be suitable for planting. Most likely the harvest is much less than expected.
Bulbs up to 1 centimeter in diameter will be the best material, they are less likely to start shooting.
If the gardener is not confident enough in seeding, then within 2 weeks before planting it is important to warm it up at a temperature of about +25 degrees. The likelihood of shooting will be significantly reduced.
How to cut onions without tears?
Slicing the onion damages its structure and releases the so-called onion gas, which contains sulfur. Sulfur, in turn, gets into the eyes, mixes with the moisture contained there, forming a very weak sulfuric acid. This causes burning and watery eyes.
To minimize this unpleasant effect, you should not cut off the very tip of the onion, with its thin branches, because it has the highest sulfur concentration. When slicing, the onions can first be chilled for 30 minutes to reduce the onion gas evolution. Also, if you soak a knife in cold water, you can prevent the release of sulfur.
Now you know which onion and to which dishes you need to add to give food a touch of spice, sweetness or piquancy. Your dishes will receive a variety of flavors and will certainly please your household.
Bow varieties that do not produce arrows
If you want to avoid the problem of shooting, you need to pay attention to the types of onions that have the lowest probability of occurrence of arrows.
- Winter crops include the Centurion and Shakespeare varieties.
- Varieties that are planted in April: Stuttgarter, Centurion F1, Red Baron.
Seedling planting will also give noticeable results, for example, leeks with this method will not start to shoot.
In order not to resort only to certain varieties of onions, experienced gardeners prefer to control the entire growing process on their own, going through all the stages. The goal is to identify errors and prevent them. Seeds are grown first to obtain high quality planting material for planting next spring.
If you use a purchased seed plant, there are risks of not harvesting a rich harvest.
What to do if the plant starts to shoot?
If the arrows are still formed, then it is necessary to identify the reason why this happened.
It will be possible to liquidate it only next year, but this year the arrows are cut off or cut off.
In particular, you should look after onion perennials - they will definitely go to the peduncle, which must be removed in time.
The flower stalks themselves do not need to be thrown away, they can be cooked.
Delicious dishes and salad snacks come out - a lot of recipes have been developed with the use of onion arrows.
It is also allowed to leave a little on the beds in order to then collect seeds for sowing next year.
Onion scythe
Experienced gardeners harvest the onion crop together with dried tops.
Further, from the material that has been collected, braids are made, which must be hung up for subsequent ripening and drying.
To increase the shelf life of the product, experts advise treating the bulbs with a lime agent.
This is easy to do:
- the roots are cut off the bulbs;
- the cut is coated with lime paste;
- the onion is dried;
- traditional storage method.
There is another method to save the crop for the winter - burn the roots of the turnip onion immediately after harvesting.
For planting such material, of course, is not suitable. But the safety of the product increases.
What to do if peduncles have formed?
All that needs to be done in such a situation is to remove the arrows as close to the base of the bulb as possible.
Unfortunately, a plant culture that has given a flower stalk will not be able to form a high-quality fruit.
Onions can form and become large in diameter, but they will be very small in storage. Therefore, it would be rational to use such plants in salad dishes as greens for conservation.
Tips from experienced summer residents
- When choosing a planting time, you need to focus on birch buds.When they have already burst and the leaves have appeared, it means that the earth is already warm enough and you can plant sevok.
- Intensive watering is needed only before the formation of bulbs (this is approximately mid-June).
- Shooting is mostly due to improper storage. It is necessary to warm up and harden the sets. Before planting, you can hold the set in +60 degrees water. If arrows appear, they must be cut off.
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Time to board
Another reason for the formation of arrows on the bow is the violation of the timing of planting planting material. The way to avoid shooting the bow will be the correct timing of planting the crop in the beds. So that the sevok does not give an arrow, it must be planted in sufficiently warm soil, and this most often occurs at the end of April. An early planted set will bloom, while at the same time, with prolonged planting times in the spring, you should not wait for strong bulbs in the fall.
To prevent the bow from shooting, it can be planted before the onset of winter. This method is suitable for those areas where the winter is moderate, but it should not be used in regions with a harsh climate, where perennial winter seeding can freeze.
If the seed for planting is purchased in retail chains, then in order to avoid possible problems with its storage, so that it does not go into color, you need to warm it up in a warm place (for example, under a central heating battery or in direct sunlight) for up to 3 x weeks.
To plant a seed that would not go to the arrow, you need to purchase winter varieties that are characterized by increased frost resistance.
How to prevent shooters - treatment of seedlings before planting
Not everyone plant a set before winter in the fall, fearing that the onion will go into the arrow. And this is usually done in the spring after the snow melts, when the soil warms up well. But planting before winter has many advantages over spring planting.
Experienced gardeners advise buying sets in the fall and here's why.
- In the fall, planting material is 2 times cheaper. And even if not all of it will be preserved over the winter, you will still save;
- Buying sevok in the fall, you will be sure of its correct storage, as you will do this yourself;
- Buy planting material of a small fraction, up to 1 cm in diameter, the so-called oat. The fact is that such a set is not arrowed, even if it was stored incorrectly. But sort the larger onions, plant them in the spring when stored properly.
