I hate onion.

[Leaper]

(Pittish, but figured it'd come here sooner or later.)

I hate almost everything about onion. I hate its taste. I hate its texture. I hate almost cutting myself chopping one up because of tears.

But most of all, I hate its ubiquitousness. Alton Brown, whom I otherwise respect, puts it in baked MACARONI AND CHEESE. How do these two things go together? Macaroni and cheese should not, not, NOT be crunchy!!!!

Phew. I feel better now. Am I alone here, or are there other souls like me out there?

[Claire Beauchamp]

I can't imagine not liking onion. I eat it all the time, in all sorts of things. It amazes me when people say they don't like it ... I might as well say I don't like air.

[Rubystreak]

But most of all, I hate its ubiquitousness. Alton Brown, whom I otherwise respect, puts it in baked MACARONI AND CHEESE. How do these two things go together? Macaroni and cheese should not, not, NOT be crunchy!!!!

Alton Brown simmers the onions for 10 minutes, then bakes the whole thing at 350 for 30 minutes. There is no way the onions in that casserole would be crunchy if you followed his recipe correctly. In fact, when I've made it, the onions were pretty much dissolved into the macaroni and cheese.

[Ferret Herder]

I'm an onion-hater too. My husband loves onions. You see my dilemma.

I found a great onion-chopping tip, though. Stick it in the fridge or freezer for maybe 10-15 minutes before chopping. It seriously works; I use the freezer method.

I don't mind it if it's been practically pureed and cooked in with a lot of other savory foods, like in Indian food. But I do not want to taste the stuff on its own. It's so freaking sulfurous, I don't understand what people like about that flavor.

[Scarlett67]

Yo. Macaroni and cheese should contain two ingredients: (1) macaroni and (2) cheese (sauce). Not onions!! (And I'm with you on the crunchy thing; I don't like onions or even celery in potato salad, tuna salad, etc.)

I'm not a fan. I'll grudgingly eat onion rings if they're not too thick. I don't mind onion chopped up fine in soups and sauces; I don't mind the flavor so much (I love Funyuns, onion dip, etc.). But I don't like them raw and crunchy or in big cooked, slimy strings or chunks. Yuck.

I'm a real pill when it comes to eating pizza with a group because I'm not fond of most typical pizza veggies: onions, mushrooms, green peppers . . . I just tell them to get what they're going to get and I'll pick at mine. Once in a great while I find another bacon-and-pineapple fan, or sometimes spinach/tomato/black olives.

When I do need to cut up an onion, I just quarter it and whiz it in the food processor. I heart my food processor. :)

[salinqmind]

It seems every other recipe begins "slice and saute onion in oil/butter". The only thing I have against onions is, the house just reeks for days after I cook even the smallest amount, and have all the windows open from morning till afternoon.

For people who don't like chopping them, grocery stores sell pre-chopped onion in the frozen foods section. For people who don't mind the taste but don't actually like biting down on them, often the onion chunks can be pureed with a little sauce or liquid, with a mini-processor or immersion blender.

[gonzomax]

I do not like onion. If it is cut small and put in chlie or spaghetti, it is tolerable. But if the chunks are too big, it screws up everything. I prefer to use onion salt or flavoring if I have to put it in.

[RandMcnally]

I hate onions with an undying passion. My mom used to cook with them all the time (since I moved out I don't have to deal with it) and my eyes would be fine while she were cooking, but three hours later they would sting like the dickens. It got to he point where if she didn't put them away and I cleaned the kit hen the next day, they were getting tossed.

[blondebear]

When I was in 4th grade, I used to *ask for* onion and butter sandwiches to take to school for lunch.

No wonder I didn't have many friends. :rolleyes:

[There Goes a Tenner]

Onions are the worst.

[commasense]

Onions are the best!

[silenus]

I'll eat onion on anything. Love them.

[MLS]

Ugh. Onions. Yecchhh. Two things are worse: Green peppers and liver.

[runner pat]

In a previous thread, I stated that garlic is nature's cologne.
Onions are bar soap.

[pulykamell]

I'll eat onion on anything. Love them.

Yep, couldn't live without 'em. It seems half my recipes start with some form of pork fat and onions. That's my Eastern European upbringing speaking.

[mariposalabrown]

I thought onion was so disgusting until November 2008. A friend's wife makes THE best chicken enchiladas, and this time she put chopped onions in them. I decided to choke it down, but all of a sudden, my taste buds loved them, who knows how long they loved them since the last time I ate them was around year eleven, but oh my god!!! I now like them raw, red onions go on every burger and sandwich, grilled onions get fought over with fajitas, it even smells good to cut them. Oh, and a neighbor has scallions growing everywhere, so nice smelling, I just want to grab a chunk.

So yeah. I hated onions until I loved them. Keep on trying them, see what happens.

[dwc1970]

Whew! I thought you were pitting The Onion (www.theonion.com). I was afraid it might have gone downhill. Since they have (for now) lifted web filters at work I hope to have more time to read it again.

Since we are talking about the onions you eat, I'll chime in and say that I can handle them in moderation and don't mind having them on my cheeseburger. It seems, though, that a lot of people don't like onions. When I worked at Burger King, onions were the one condiment most often requested to be left off of a Whopper.

Anyone else familiar with this little ditty?


I don't like snails or toads or frogs
Or strange things living under logs
But mmm, I love onions!

Onions, onions, la-la-la!
Onions, onions, ha-ha-ha!
Root doot doot-doot, doot doot doot!

[Captain Carrot]

Leaper, you're dead to me.

[NDP]

I can't stand onions! If I accidentally eat some, I get the feeling that I'm catching a cold. However, if onions are finely chopped up and cooked down to a soft clear pulp, I can somewhat tolerate them. Of course, if you're going to do that, there's probably not much point in adding them to the recipe. A little bit of onion flakes or onion powder does not bother me too much either.

The odd thing is I love Mexican and Italian food--two cuisines where onions figure prominently. Also, I don't have a problem with--and rather like--things like garlic and hot peppers.

Anyone else familiar with this little ditty?


I don't like snails or toads or frogs
Or strange things living under logs
But mmm, I love onions!

Onions, onions, la-la-la!
Onions, onions, ha-ha-ha!
Root doot doot-doot, doot doot doot!


Yes. And thank you for putting that ear worm back in my head. It will probably take a week for it to completely dissipate.

[dropzone]

I'm an onion-hater too. My husband loves onions. You see my dilemma.Not really. You could always tell him to make his own damned dinner. Wife doesn't like hot sauce. I consider it a food group. Solution: She cooks bland, Welsh-inspired cuisine while claiming to be a great chef. I hit it with salt, pepper*, and Tabasco, then agree with her.


* - She has a phobia from childhood, when her father made her eat black pepper to punish her. OTOH:

1. I worked with her father, a Polack, who put hot peppers on all of his lunch. Perhaps he was trying to harden her palate for REAL food.

2. When I was 4 my oldest brother tried the "Open your mouth and close your eyes, and you will get a great surprise," trick on me. I was young and stupid and couldn't imagine that one of my brothers would be mean to me. He poured Worcestershire sauce down my throat. Killed the taste of pickled anchovies for me for a few years, but I got over it. Did NOT get over the negative effects of trusting my older brothers, especially when they pushed me into a closet and tossed in Grandpa's WWI-vintage hand grenade for company. One's dead and I only miss him somewhat. The other's alive and I have to pretend to miss him when he calls. Like his wife and kids more than just fine, though, and he comes across as so needy, it's hard not to let bygones be bygones.

So yeah, I forgot the question. (looking at previous posts) Onions? Some people don't like ONIONS? Poor, sweet, innocuous ONIONS? I'd weep for you, if it didn't mean more onions for me.

[Leaper]

Leaper, you're dead to me.

But I really like carrots! That counts for something, right??

[Jeff Lichtman]

I can understand not liking raw onions, or lightly-cooked onions. I can understand not liking to cry from chopping onions. It's harder for me to understand hating fully-cooked onions, especially in things like stews and sauces where the harshness has disappeared and the flavor has blended with the rest of the dish. Ever had beef and onions cooked in beer? An onion and gruyere tart (where the onions are carmelized)? French onion soup? The onions in these dishes are sweet and mellow.

[Mosier]

Onions can be really awful, and I can absolutely understand someone developing hatred for them after a bad onion experience.

But if I had to pick just one vegetable to eat for the rest of my life, it would be onions without question. I mix it in gravy, I put it raw on sandwiches, I cook it in stews and soups, I chop it up in ground beef or salads, and I would happily eat one raw if there wasn't anything tasty to cook it with in the house.

[Mojo Pin]

Love onions, raw on salads, chopped into omelets, in stir frys, grilled along with pig or cow meat, in broths...

[panache45]

I probably eat onion in some form or other, every single day of my life. It adds a whole new dimension to so many foods. And if you think onion in mac & cheese is "crunchy," you need to get a better recipe.

[devilsknew]

See, This is where alton and I part ways, Onion doesn't go in Homemade Mac and Cheese. Never made it with onions. However, I have sprinkled fresh chopped, yellow onion in my Velveeta Shells and Cheese.... they were leftover from the Chilidogs (onion and mustard).

[Ichini Sanshigo]

Onions go great on pretty much everything (savory). The only thing I hate is how the smell gets in my hands after chopping, even with the cold water/stainless steel trick. Ugh.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

I love onions.

Carmelized vidalias are frelling awesome on just about anything.

[Motorgirl]

I don't even know how to cook without onions. Everything I make starts with onion. Many times I chop an onion, start it cooking in a little olive oil, then go looking at what other ingredients I have on hand, to decide what to make for dinner.

If I get home and find out I don't have onion in the house (rare, but it happens) I just order takeout.

[Khadaji]

Onions, and their close relative garlic, is one of god's foods. Most foods are better with it.

[gonzomax]

The problem is people make onions dominate the flavor of the dish. Onion people don't have much restraint. It is like people who are so proud of their barbecue sauce. It is so dominant that you could put it on cardboard. You can not taste the ribs at all. That is just wrong.

[hajario]

I like a small amount of finely chopped onions on some things like hamburgers. The problem I have with onions is that they upset my stomach if I eat more than just a very small amount and sometimes if I eat any at all. I have to avoid them.

As for mac and cheese, adding onions is sacrilege but adding bacon or pancetta is a treat.

[Rubystreak]

See, This is where alton and I part ways, Onion doesn't go in Homemade Mac and Cheese. Never made it with onions.

I have made Alton's baked mac 'n cheese, and the onions are hardly a dominant flavor. I think that's a mistake that the onion-wary make, assuming that the onions are going to be crunchy, or that their taste will overwhelm everything. A well-constructed recipe like Alton's will not taste like onions 'n cheese, seriously. If you cook them well, or caramelize them, their flavor mellows considerably and they practically dissolve into the cooking medium. Then, they add a nice, sweet flavor that is distinctly different from how they taste and feel in the mouth when raw.

I say this as someone who cooks extensively with onions but will not eat them raw because I can't stand having that taste in my mouth all day long.

[BrandonR]

Onions are easily my most-consumed vegetable. I can't imagine living without them. Of course, when I was younger, I'd literally eat wedges of raw onion like they were apples. I guess I conditioned myself to love them.

[Kyla]

I am not a fan of raw onions (too strong), they are necessary for pretty much every one of my go-to dishes for actual cooked meals. Last night I made an onionless stir-fry because I realized at the last minute that I was out. It was okay...but definitely missing something.

[The Shroud]

Onions make me sick, unfortunately. A very specific kind of sick where I feel like I'm having hunger pangs, but it's just the onions irritating my stomach. And I do think they tend to be overused; the market that I shop at creates some great prepackaged meals, but they ALL have onions.

The only time I've really thought an onion added something positive to a meal was the few times I've had a crisp raw slice of onion on a barbecued hamburger. Still made me sick, but I loved the taste.

[Lissla Lissar]

Mr. Lissar has an immediate strong gag reflex if he eats onions. He can't eat things onions have been on or near, unless they're pureed and cooked a whole lot.

I've learned to cook without them, but I still mourn.

Thankfully, he loves garlic.

[lavenderviolet]

Wow, adding onions to mac and cheese sounds delicious! I will have to try that sometime.
I never eat onions raw like an apple, but sometimes I cook them to eat them by themselves.

[Ferret Herder]

Mr. Lissar has an immediate strong gag reflex if he eats onions. He can't eat things onions have been on or near, unless they're pureed and cooked a whole lot.
That's pretty much my reaction, unfortunately, though not quite as bad. I think it's from a childhood 'puked right after you ate it' learned aversion.

I love garlic too, so I've been occasionally working at breaking that conditioning by eating garlic chives, regular chives, etc. I've gotten far enough that I was able to eat a few fried "onion strings" after my husband assured me that they weren't sulfurous in flavor. Normally I have a gigantic issue with eating even a cooked-down onion without a lot of other flavors on it, for both taste and texture.

He's another one of those "will eat a raw onion like an apple" types.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

So yeah. I hated onions until I loved them. Keep on trying them, see what happens.
I'm just the opposite. I used to eat onions on everything, and loathed tomatoes. A few years ago, for no reason I can discern, I started liking tomatoes and I lost my taste for onions. I can eat cooked onions in things, but raw onion is so terrible I have to pick it out of all my food.

[Ogre]

Onions are amazing. I still do the old Boy Scout trick of wrapping onions up in aluminum foil and a pat of butter (with maybe some bell peppers, mushrooms, or whatever else) and throwing the package on the grill until the onions caramelize. They are a beautiful thing on burgers, or by themselves.

[Snooooopy]

I don't like onions. The one place that I will put up with them is salsa. I like chips and salsa too much.

[Queen Tonya]

I've made onion-free salsa and highly enjoyed it.

Can't stand onions, don't cook with them, don't want anything to do with them. Like the others, I can deal petulantly with small diced onion in someone else's chili or spaghetti sauce, but raw is a deal-breaker.


I like every other vegetable listed, though, so that's gotta count for something.

[cmyk]

MMM Onions!

What would we do without onions, garlic, celery, carrots and potatoes?

Especially onions.

Chop em up raw, and throw them on a dog, or in a burrito. Caramelize them and make a soup. Do about anything to an onion, and I'm there. Except, chop them up small if you're going to caramelize them... I can't stand biting into something, and pulling out a long "onion-worm" with my teeth. Blech!

[pulykamell]

The problem is people make onions dominate the flavor of the dish. Onion people don't have much restraint. It is like people who are so proud of their barbecue sauce. It is so dominant that you could put it on cardboard. You can not taste the ribs at all. That is just wrong.

I agree with you on the barbecue sauce (sorry, the sauce is not the boss. It's a grace note to perfectly cooked meat, not the melody.) However, I really can't think of many dishes I've ever had, other than French onion soup, where onion absolutely dominates the flavor of the dish. When it's cooked, like others have said, the flavor kind of dissolves into everything else unlike, say, garlic, which I do love, but use judiciously, unless the dish is meant to be absolutely dominated by garlic. I do believe there's such a thing as "too much garlic" and most middle-of-the-road Italian-American food is a testament to that.

[Baggins111]

I hate raw onions. I had a cousin once that would eat them raw like an apple. I couldn't watch.

I sautee all my onions before adding them to a recipe - even the little green ones.

Also, for some reason, I have never cried while cutting up an onion. I've had people leave the kitchen before because of the smell, but I'm like, "What?"

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

I used to hate onions. It was a texture thing mostly, I now realize. I got over it, fortunately. There are too many great foods out there to enjoy! My rejecting them based on texture and other childhood biases is a silly way for me to make decisions.

Now I think they're divine! Well-browned is best, but they can be lovely raw too.

[gonzomax]

Onions are poisonous and make your private parts shrink. But, if you eat a lot of onions ,you will be alone anyway. Onions have the texture of a plastic bag . But a bag does not release nasty aromas.

[Nzinga, Seated]

I love onions.

Carmelized vidalias are frelling awesome on just about anything.

Camelized vidalias are the joint! Gotta put them on baked potatoes, fluffed with tons of butter and white american cheese and a tiny bit of salt. My husband told me I am insane for eating that, but I always catch him nibbling.

ETA: gonzo, run that by me again. Make my private parts stink? Cite! Please, cite. I eat onions every single day, sometimes twice a day. Please tell me you are pulling my leg.

[Rushgeekgirl]

I hate onions too!
They smell like sweat. Who wants to eat sweat???

[cactus waltz]

This thread just leaves me dumbfounded. I mean, onion is such a food staple. What of red onion? Garlic? Leek? They are all delicious.

[Honey6]

I have a serious dislike for onions. Raw, they make me throw up, literally. I don't digest them properly, if at all. Cooked, they can be ok, sometimes.

[Harriet the Spry]

Poor, sweet, innocuous ONIONS?

After what they have done to my digestive tract on more than one occasion, I definitely wouldn't call them innocuous. That can be some serious damage up in there.

I like the taste and texture of onions just fine, but on too many occasions they have made me really, really regret eating them, so I generally avoid them :(.

[River Hippie]

I can't stand onions. Just knowing they exist saddens me. If someone eats an onion in my presence I have to go lock myself in the bathroom and pull three eyelashes. If I see a piece of onion in thier mouth I have to lock myself in the bathroom and cut myself a little.

[Hippy Hollow]

Consider my ignorance fought. I can see if onions cause a reaction in you as some have mentioned, but I did not know that so many people existed that don't like onions.

Onions are powerful and I get you on the overpowering thing, especially raw ones. Especially raw red onions. FYI to onion lovers: there is no way to mask the smell of raw red onions, so if you're in a social situation, skip 'em. If you make dishes for public consumption (like potlucks) with huge hunks of raw red onions, I hate you. But if I'm at home, I'll slap a finely sliced couple of rings on my burger.

I wonder if you are only exposed to crap onions? Being in Texas we have easy access to huge, sweet Vidalia onions. Magnificent. Those ones you buy in a bag for like $3 for 5 pounds? Those are shite. Well, honestly, I can tolerate them, but a Vidalia onion is AWESOME.

I don't think there's a single dish I cook that doesn't have onions. Onions, like garlic, bell peppers, and rice, are absolute staples in my house. Considering that I cook Italian, Caribbean, Indian, and Asian food mostly, you can see why.

However, I guess I can sympathize with the onion haters about how all-consuming a hatred of a food that seemingly everyone else likes. I've gone on record here stating how I lose respect for people who eat stinky hardboiled eggs in public. I suppose onion haters feel the way I do about people who dip tobacco: it's a disgusting, filthy habit, but if you must do it, do it in private, with the windows drawn, with a suffocating sense of shame.

[gonzomax]

Camelized vidalias are the joint! Gotta put them on baked potatoes, fluffed with tons of butter and white american cheese and a tiny bit of salt. My husband told me I am insane for eating that, but I always catch him nibbling.

ETA: gonzo, run that by me again. Make my private parts stink? Cite! Please, cite. I eat onions every single day, sometimes twice a day. Please tell me you are pulling my leg.

Can not pull your leg. Onions have atrophied it.
Want flavor eat the best food, super,super sharp cheddar. That is good for you.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Can not pull your leg. Onions have atrophied it.
Want flavor eat the best food, super,super sharp cheddar. That is good for you.
I've enjoyed 11 year old cheddar together with well-carmelized onions. Heaven!

[bleu ewe]

My stepdad hates onion, and he's a very despicable person.

The two may or may not be related.

[pulykamell]

I wonder if you are only exposed to crap onions? Being in Texas we have easy access to huge, sweet Vidalia onions. Magnificent. Those ones you buy in a bag for like $3 for 5 pounds? Those are shite. Well, honestly, I can tolerate them, but a Vidalia onion is AWESOME.

I've always considered Vidalias onions for people who don't like onions. I don't hate the things, I just never buy them as they taste flavorless and watery to me.

[Leiko]

So I'm not the only Vidalia disliker? I like sweet onions, but Vidalias aren't nearly as good as Walla Wallas.

(I am from Washington so this might just be a geographical bias.)

I can't fathom hating onions. Not being able to eat them because of digestive upset? It's a sad fact that I'll accept. Not liking the texture of some preparations? Sure. But hating all onions all the time? That's only slightly more understandable than hating chocolate.

[cactus waltz]

Chop suey, for crying out loud. Ratatouille, for the love of little green apples. Spaghetti and meat sauce, for the sake of me.

[VarlosZ]

Onions are insidious. I hate them.

[Edward The Head]

I can't eat onions either. They make me sick, and I can tell when there's even a bit of onions in stuff. I don't much mind the taste, though I can't stand raw onions. I've been avoiding them for years now and I've been much happier. Garlic can have the same reactions so I tend to avoid that as well. I do like garlic though so it sucks sometimes.

[amaguri]

I can tolerate thinly-sliced raw onions, like on a salad or sandwich, but I absolutely despise cooked onions. I think onions on pizza is an abomination (and it ruins the pizza-- once onions have touched that baby, it's forever tainted)

My boyfriend loves onions and puts them in everything and EVERY SINGLE TIME I tell him I hate onions, it's like the first time: "How can you possibly hate ONIONS?"

[Carmady]

I love onions. But then, I have no time to cook and eat a lot of sandwiches and Mexican food, so my diet would be even more boring if I didn't put lots of onions in everything.

[panaccione]

It's all in how they're prepared.

[Kalhoun]

I love onions. Fresh, cooked, carmelized, you name it. I don't like it overdone because it's a sure source of heartburn for me, but I really think they add great flavor to a lot of foods.

[Wheelz]

Raw onions are horrid, but cooking them somehow transforms them into something wonderful.

I love onion rings. I love grilled onions on a big kosher dog at Comiskey Park. I love French Onion soup. I love carmelized onions in just about anything.

But if I happen to crunch into the tiniest bit of raw onion that has accidentially made its way onto my sandwich or salad, it just ruins the whole thing for me. I find the taste to be absolutely foul, and overpowering to the point that I can't taste anything else for the rest of the meal. Blecch!

[Anne Neville]

Macaroni and cheese should not, not, NOT be crunchy!!!!

Crunchy macaroni and cheese should only get that way from a nicely browned topping of bread crumbs. It should not get that way from crunchy vegetables included in it. If you are a heathen who insists that you must include vegetables in your macaroni and cheese, they should be peas, which should not be crunchy.

The proper way, of course, would be to cook the peas separately. That way, those of us who want to eat our macaroni and cheese with no vegetables mixed in, as God clearly intended macaroni and cheese to be eaten, can do so. You heathens can mix everything up on your plate if you want to.

[pulykamell]

I love grilled onions on a big kosher dog at Comiskey Park.

I hope I'm not the bearer of bad news, but Sox Park (okay, US Cellular Field) no longer has Best Kosher dogs (which were actually kosher). Sara Lee closed down the plant late last year. It's Vienna beef now (which is still good, but kosher-style and, well, Best Kosher has been associated with the White Sox for quite a long time now.)

[shiftless]

Raw onion is like styrofoam with some sort of smelly acid and gasoline spilled on it. Well cooked onion can be used as a spice if you don't over do it.

Bell peppers are the work of the devil - like onions in that they taste awful and repeat for the next 24 hours with the exception that cooking them makes them taste and smell even worse.

[teela brown]

I love onions raw or cooked.

Simplest of all onion recipes: Slowly caramelize sliced onions with a pinch of salt in a little vegetable oil until they're mahogany brown and thick and sticky. Cool them and stir in a couple of squirts of good red wine vinegar. Voila, onion marmalade, and it's good with just about anything in the world, especially as a condiment to go with grilled steak.

[tds1273]

Sometimes onions are good. I love most any onion rings; particularly BK's, but I'm not sure if those are actually onions. For the most part however, onions will get picked out of what ever I'm eating. Bell peppers usually get picked out too. Celery is just plain vile and will not be tolerated in any food. I'm not sure what it is about the crunch of these, but it is definitely not for me. Just the thought of crunching into onions or celery in potato, egg, or tuna salad, eta: or mac and cheese(wtf?), gives me cold shivers. And woe unto whoever might try and sneak sweet pickles in there; that's a sure paddlin'.

[schnuckiputzi]

Well-carmelized onions are wonderful, but after years of pain meds, my stomach can no longer handle any onions, garlic, etc. I still cook with them for mein Herr and family, but then I eat something else.

[Voyager]

So I'm not the only Vidalia disliker? I like sweet onions, but Vidalias aren't nearly as good as Walla Wallas.

Mmm. We have a recipe for linguini cooked with Walla Walla onions and Irish cheddar. Vegetarian bliss.

The Soupy Sales show had a character named Onions Oregano. That's my man. I remember the day I was able to reproduce the smothered onions I had on Howard Johnson burgers as a kid. Now I can have them any time. We have beans cooked to onion and bacon. Green onions on salads. We have onions in the garden, so we can pull them at the perfect size for salads.

I went to an Iranian restaurant once in La Jolla which served a gigantic, wonderful, onion as an appetizer. Excellent!

[Jeff Lichtman]

This thread reminded me of one of the most bizarre songs of my youth: I Love Onions (http://www.box.net/public/93y2izuftm) by Susan Christie.

[chorpler]

Mr. Lissar has an immediate strong gag reflex if he eats onions. He can't eat things onions have been on or near, unless they're pureed and cooked a whole lot.

I've learned to cook without them, but I still mourn.

Thankfully, he loves garlic.

Same here. Especially green onions or whatever it is they put on fast-food hamburgers (especially McDonald's). And lucky me, whenever I order a hamburger from McDonald's or a burrito from Taco Bell, they always seem to accidentally get a piece or two of onion on there. I've had to learn to carefully examine every part of my burrito or burger before I start eating it, lest I suddenly eject the contents of my stomach when I arrive at the errant onion chunk.

I don't mind onion salt or onion powder, but the texture and flavor of raw onions and onion chunks just makes me throw up.

[Ephemera]

I love most any onion rings.

Besides the whole "eat them like an apple" phenomenon that, frankly, seems insane, onion rings are about the only way I don't like onions. I love them in everything else I've had, and any kind of savory sandwich is instantly made magnitudes more delicious by a half-inch slice of onion.

[eleanorigby]

I have learned to like onions (cooked, only and in small pieces) over the years. I still don't like them on burgers. To me, the drown out the flavor of everything else. I cannot imagine them in mac and cheese--blech. But it's green or red peppers I despise--I can taste the merest hint of one in anything. It also drowns out any other flavor.

Thankfully, I love garlic. And my "ok-ness" with onions helps with most dishes. But I draw the line at peppers. It is a good thing I don't like Mexican food in general--peppers would have ruined it for me, anyway. :)

[gonzomax]

Most of the people who have died ate onions. George Bush likes onions. Adolph Hitler loved onions. Bin Laden eats them in his cave. He has them flown in. Saddam loved onions.

[Boomslangblood]

Its funny I always find people who say they don't like onions raw or they don't like them unless they are fried or they like onion flavored whatever. I hate them and have always hated them and that's a true hate because I don't want them in any form no matter how much you augment them I still hate the taste, to me it isn't pleasant...my body doesn't let me like them and other things that remind me of them make me want to gag. Fried onions with liver I can't even bare to be in the same building. pretty much onions fried with anything is bad for me. I feel that way with bell peppers(tastes like dead),okra(tastes like yuck), celery(tastes like itch). I know most of the things I say right now may not make sense but these are aspects of my body and its reaction to some foods which in my opinion shouldn't be considered foods at all.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Anyone else familiar with this little ditty?


I don't like snails or toads or frogs
Or strange things living under logs
But mmm, I love onions!

Onions, onions, la-la-la!
Onions, onions, ha-ha-ha!
Root doot doot-doot, doot doot doot!


"It causes watering of the eyes and rubefaction of the skin, but it is very, very tasty. Heh heh."

[Omar Little]

Immature palates have a disdain for many ingredients.

[Alice The Goon]

I've never understood how you can hate onions- they're so fundamental to food and cooking! As for Alton Brown's Baked Mac n Cheese, what I do is mince the onion very, very fine, and they melt right into the sauce- you couldn't find a piece of onion to save your life, just flavor.

[devilsknew]

Man, no matter what I said about onions in regards to macaroni and cheese, I still love them in lots of things, cooked and raw - The tomatoes, mangoes, and hot peppers are coming in fast and furious now and my favorite thing to do with them right now is add raw spanish onion, garlic, and Italian dressing to them and make a fresh "summer salad".

My dad and I have both put onions in mac and cheese with green mangoes and eggs and breadcrumbs. I actually like it, but I was trying to make a statement of solidarity with my mom and her vision of mac and cheese. Her version doesn't have onions, and is much cheesier, and creamier, but I actually like both on their own merits, and I truly have omnivorian instincts and tastes, that is, I am always up for new tastes, ingredients, and innovations.

[multimediac17]

Like tomatoes, I generally like onion-flavoured things (like dip, or if onion really, really blends in to a meal), but if I actually bite down on a bit of onion - what an unpleasant experience. I'm a very picky eater though, so onion is just one of a long list of foods most people consider staples that I won't eat.

[devilsknew]

Well, There is kind of that plasticized, nether onion,that is between fresh and cooked... It really depends on marination and dressing- The salad onion, the limp piece of plasticite, saran, in your day old tuna salad... but I actually prefer my tunasalad a day old, cold, and fully marinated. I also enjoy the "slimy, plasticine, caramelled out, worm" consistency in the rich flavorful onion soup... I slurp those crescent rings up with stringy cheese and soggy crisp croutons.

[Cuckoorex]

I'm torn on the onion issue; I know I definitely don't like raw onion on sandwiches or in salads of any kind, but sometimes I don't mind an onion ring or sauteed onions as part of a fajita, for example.

I remember one time when I was a kid, my mother made some dish and had onions in it...I didn't eat it, explained I didn't like onions, and she said, "You can't even taste them!" So I blurted back, "Then why even put them in there?"

[Cuckoorex]

Immature palates have a disdain for many ingredients.

Please explain this statement, because right now it sounds, quite frankly, snooty.

[anya marie]

Y'all can share my onions and green bell peppers too. Yuk.

[GHO57]

I know how you feel.

Raw... I can eat it; cooked, no way... the texture is disgusting. I don't mind onion as a seasoning, but as an actual ingredient... there's no way I'll eat it. And by no way I mean I would rather scrape roadkill off the street and eat that.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

zombie onions...

[Jackmannii]

Immature palates have a disdain for many ingredients.But who the hell wants a "mature palate" going around telling you what to like? Besides, the important taste buds are in your tongue, not your palate. Your palate is mostly responsible for keeping the stuff on the top of your mouth from falling into it, and allowing you to enunciate speech about how mature it is. It's entirely self-serving.

Onions are the staff of life. They are essential to all your bodily processes. If onions repel because of some moral defect, have them in pico de gallo with a hefty helping of cilantro. Mmmmm.....good!I've enjoyed 11 year old cheddar together with well-carmelized onions.Don't you ever clean out your refrigerator?

[Thudlow Boink]

Raw onions and cooked onions are two completely different animals.

I avoid raw onions, not because I dislike them, but because they overpower the rest of the food and I'll still be tasting them hours later (and smelling them on my hands, if I'm not careful).

[Lightnin']

I love white onions.

I tolerate yellow onions.

I loathe red onions.

The white ones add flavor. The others all add flavor... and horrible, horrible breath for hours afterwards.

[MTCicero]

Silly lad, onion is the veritable nectar of the gods.

[Chefguy]

Onions, shallots, scallions and chives;
these are the essence of all of our lives.
-A poem by Cheffie

[silenus]

zombie onions...

The best kind! One of the little things I love about my wife is that she doesn't like the texture of onions, so if her dish comes with them, she slides them onto my plate. More oniony goodness for me!

I'll even eat red onions like an apple. This squicks her out for some reason. :D

[BobArrgh]

After what they have done to my digestive tract on more than one occasion, I definitely wouldn't call them innocuous. That can be some serious damage up in there.

I like the taste and texture of onions just fine, but on too many occasions they have made me really, really regret eating them, so I generally avoid them :(.

Same here, Harriet. I like them, but they really cause some serious side-effects. If there are big bits of onions in something, I can usually pull them out, although the juices cooked into the food still affect me. The worst, though, is powdered onions in all kinds of cooking spices.

My body just cannot digest the sugars and whatnot in onions.

I have even asked a biochemist friend of mine who works in the pharmaceutical industry if he can identify the enzyme my body is lacking so that I could add it to my food when I eat onions, but so far, he hasn't come up with anything.

[Skammer]

I put onions in just about everything I cook. Just the other night I made veggie skewers on the grill with zucchini, mushrooms, peppers and big chunks of onion. MMmmmm.

[california jobcase]

There's no use trying to convince someone he likes something of which he doesn't like the flavor. Due to genetics, people taste things differently- anyone remember the phenylthiourea (PTC) paper you tried in biology class?

Anyway, onions aren't the real offender in today's culinary world- the vile weed cilantro is.

[silenus]

Pah on supertasters! Cilantro is marvelous. It and basil are always growing in my container garden.

[Voyager]

Mmm. We have a recipe for linguini cooked with Walla Walla onions and Irish cheddar. Vegetarian bliss.

The Soupy Sales show had a character named Onions Oregano. That's my man. I remember the day I was able to reproduce the smothered onions I had on Howard Johnson burgers as a kid. Now I can have them any time. We have beans cooked to onion and bacon. Green onions on salads. We have onions in the garden, so we can pull them at the perfect size for salads.

I went to an Iranian restaurant once in La Jolla which served a gigantic, wonderful, onion as an appetizer. Excellent!

Not only this, but onions revive dead threads.

Know what is frightening? Before I noticed this was a zombie thread, I composed a post in my head which was almost identical to this one from a year ago. :eek:

[rowrrbazzle]

When I was young, I didn't care for raw onion, only rings or grilled. Nowadays I do like raw onion.

Anyone else familiar with this little ditty?


I don't like snails or toads or frogs
Or strange things living under logs
But mmm, I love onions!

Onions, onions, la-la-la!
Onions, onions, ha-ha-ha!
Root doot doot-doot, doot doot doot!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM-lEhhsLQw

[Patty O'Furniture]

Onions are a GRED trigger for me. But the further away from raw they get, the more I can tolerate them. Raw, they are just nasty. Like ashtray-licking nasty. I would no sooner bite into a raw onion than I would a cactus.

Cooked down, caramelized or otherwise tamed, they can impart a minor improvement in some dishes so I'm not ready to propose banning them just yet.

I hate green bell peppers too. They taste like angry, bitter, unripe versions of the sweeter, tangier red, yellow and orange bell peppers.

Mushrooms are on my "what's the point?" list. They have no flavor at all and my brain objects to things going into my mouth that are undetectable by my taste buds. Like the 'shrooms in Thai coconut milk soup. Overall it's a delicious soup and I'll eat the mushrooms but every single one I bite into evokes a "why the hell did we just eat that?" response from taste bud central control.

[Oslo Ostragoth]

Raw onions don't much agree with me unless they are fairly mild or sweet. On the other hand, life without gently-cooked onions of any description wouldn't really be worth living.

I don't have a specific recipe at hand, but baked onions are awesome. Take a sweet onion like a Vidalia, lop off the top 1/4, drizzle with Balsamic vinegar, sprinkle on some salt, top with a pat of butter, and bake until thoroughly soft.

Heaven.

[Captain Midnight]

(Pittish, but figured it'd come here sooner or later.)

I hate almost everything about onion. I hate its taste. I hate its texture. I hate almost cutting myself chopping one up because of tears.

But most of all, I hate its ubiquitousness. Alton Brown, whom I otherwise respect, puts it in baked MACARONI AND CHEESE. How do these two things go together? Macaroni and cheese should not, not, NOT be crunchy!!!!

Phew. I feel better now. Am I alone here, or are there other souls like me out there?

I love everything about onions. Onions go with everything except for sweets and cake. Speghetti, chili, soup, meats, salads, hamburgers, pizza, Chinese food, Mexican food. Onions rings?

I love the taste. Some are too "hot" for me, but I love it. Sometimes cutting up an onion causes this sensation with the eyes. It's just a chemical. Onion in macaroni and cheese. Sure, why not? Why not put my other favorite vegetable bell pepper in it?

Now, I wouldn't eat a raw onion like an apple, and I think that Blooming Onion thing at Outback Grill tastes like shit.

[Idle Thoughts]

I may be the person on earth that hates onions the most. I despise onions. I cannot eat anything with onions in or on it. If someone tells me it's got onions in it, I won't eat it. I loathe those people who try to tell me "You can't even taste the onion in it". Oh, I can, believe me. My taste buds hate onions so much, it can detect even the smallest flake mixed into a pot. I can't even eat anything if onions were on it and were taken or picked off because it leaves a horrible aftertaste that ruins the rest of the food. I gag when I get one in my mouth and nearly throw up if I swallow one. I cannot fathom how on earth people eat such a disgusting-tasting food. It is purely the most vile thing I have ever tasted on the face of this planet. It doesn't matter how it's presented either...raw, cooked, minced in food, caramelized...it's freaking disgusting any way it's made and I will forever dislike this putrid food.

So throw me in with those who cannot, even if I wanted to, eat onions. I retch uncontrollably at the foul taste of one.
And this is coming from someone who isn't a picky eater at all. Onions, saurkraut, and radishes are the only vegetables I dislike.

[Hal Briston]

Onions used to be on my "Oh, that's so fucking gross" list -- along with a ridiculous amount of other foods. Then a couple of years ago I decided that I had formed all these dislikes in my teens, and that perhaps the late-30's me might have different tastes.

Now you can gimme onions on anything. Burger with onions? Hell yeah. Sausage (another one from the list) slathered in peppers (ditto) and onions? Hit me. Fuck it...I'll try a bowl Cap'n Crunch with onions if you put it in front of me.

[Slow Moving Vehicle]

I'm an onion-hater too. My husband loves onions. You see my dilemma.

Mrs. SMV is an onion-hater as well. Me, I don't love them, but I like them. She is a bit of a Nazi about onions on her pizza, so I haven't had my favorite sausage and onion pizza since we started dating five years ago.

I can't imagine not liking onion. I eat it all the time, in all sorts of things. It amazes me when people say they don't like it ... I might as well say I don't like air.

She's also a huge Outlander fan, so I'm enjoying the irony of Claire Beauchamp's post.

Onions are amazing. I still do the old Boy Scout trick of wrapping onions up in aluminum foil and a pat of butter (with maybe some bell peppers, mushrooms, or whatever else) and throwing the package on the grill until the onions caramelize. They are a beautiful thing on burgers, or by themselves.

My grandmother had an amazing dish - a layer of sliced potato, a layer of sliced onion, a pat of butter, another layer of potatoes, onion and butter, topped with hamburger patties, then baked. The juice from the burgers would percolate down into the potatoes and onions, creating a mishmash of potato-y, oniony, beefy goodness.