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What is the size of standard onion that you buy? 2" or bigger?
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Has the size of onion in big stores changed over time? If yes, how?
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After cutting the onion, do you throw away unused half?
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Bigger. I used a yellow onion last night that was probably 3" diameter. That’s the low end of average, I think.
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Not that I have noticed.
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It depends on if I think I’ll use it soon. If I know I’ll be cooking again the next day or so, I’ll save it.
If we’re talking the basic yellow onion that is the standard onion in most US recipes:
1: I would consider a medium onion to be larger than 2". 2" is a small onion.
2: No, not in my experience. Typically I can a variety of sizes; I choose which I want depending on what I’m planning on making.
3: Why would I do that? Onions stay good in the fridge for a long time, and they’re used in a great deal of cooking. I definitely keep and use whatever is left over.
If we’re talking anything other than yellow onions, like white or red or Vidalia, all those onions are huge. Much larger than yellow onions. I have no idea why, but you simply can’t buy a small or medium non-yellow onion, at least anywhere I’ve lived.
It varies depending on the shipment, but usually about the size of a baseball, which google tells me is just under 3" in diameter. These are the onions I buy most often, anyhow - they’re sold in 3 pound units, wrapped in a plastic mesh.Like this. As you can see, the size varies a bit even in the same bag, which I like because I can pick a “big onion” or a “small onion” depending on what I think the recipe needs.
I have noticed that this year in particular, it seems the onions in the mesh bag are smaller than normal, sometimes dramatically so. I assumed it was a bad year for growing bigger onions, but I don’t know that for sure.
We also have very large onions in several varieties available - red and white and yellow and sweet yellow. These are sold loose, priced either by the pound or individually. I’m guessing here, but I think those are 5 or even 6 inches in diameter. I only use a whole one of those if I’m making a really large pot of chili or red sauce.
We also have very small onions, mostly sold in 1 pound bags or frozen in pound bags or blocks. These may be only 1 or 2 inches in diameter. I don’t use them very much. They’re called “pearl onions”, or “boiler” or “steamer” onions and are generally peeled and used whole. Peas with pearl onions are a traditional holiday dinner side dish in many parts of the US. They’re even sold frozen as a combination.
If I don’t use the whole onion, I have a couple of options: either I chop it and cook it and freeze it for later use or I put it in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator, or if it’s just a little bit and/or I know my Stock Bag is low on onion ends, it goes into the freezer in a bag full of trims and peelings that I use to make stock with when it’s full.
Oh, hey! Lookee here! What a great little site. It has a nice picture on there with the various sizes of onions neatly spelled out. http://onions-usa.org/all-about-onions/colors-sizes-seasons-and-flavors
Weeping, I transfer this thread to Cafe Society. From IMHO.
I use standard yellow onions.
Five years ago, I moved states. In my previous states yellow onions were always 3" or bigger. In the new state they are 3" or smaller. I guessed it was a geographical rather than chronological difference.
There is no situation in which I do not use the whole onion.
IMHO was a deliberate choice, as I want to link an article I read, after seeing the responses.
Anyway , you are da boss.
I recently learned from a pass-along terror-tale that there’s been a superstition about cut onions for a long time. They’re deadly poison, never eat them! :rolleyes: Also the same message contained the truth that a cut onion would absorb viruses in the air and keep you well. :rolleyes::rolleyes: So I’m wondering if indian has heard the same superstition, or if it’s prevalent in India too.
As to the onion use question, I use Vidalia almost exclusively, or whatever sweet onion is available, which they seem to be year-round. I also use green onions a lot in salads, Mexican dishes and general cutting up and throwing on top of things, like pizza.
An Indian scribe wrote this article after a visit to a farm on the outskirts of New York.
“*Anyone does any cooking?” he asked. A few hesitant hands went up. Pawelski held up the onion. “They want this size because they know you won’t use more than half of one of these in cooking a meal. And you’ll throw away the other half. The more you waste, the more you’ll buy.” The stores know this. So wastage is a strategy, not a by-product.
“For yellow onions,” says Pawelski, “we either grade on a 2 inch or 2/ inch standard. There are exceptions, but those are the norms. The re-packers dictate to us the sizes, which are in turn dictated to them by the chains. S*** rolls downhill, as it were … Three decades ago our size standard was 1/ths inch.” Small farmers don’t get to bargain with Walmart. A huge pile of rotting onions — those that didn’t meet chain store norms — sits besides his fields.*
I figure we buy between 12 and 24 onions a year. More than half are white onions. I don’t care what size they are. I haven’t noticed a size difference in the 30+ years of my adulthood.
- Bigger. I use Walla Walla sweet onions when I can.
- Not that I’ve noticed, particularly
- If I only use 1/2 an onion, I try not to throw it away - I’ll wrap it and refrigerate it until I need another 1/2 onion. However, it does happen that I don’t more onion before the refrigerated half has gone bad.
That article really isn’t my experience at all. As I said above, I’m typically able to find yellow onions in a variety of sizes. I will admit that I can’t always find all sizes, but it’s not consistent - sometimes the grocery store will have nothing but small-to-medium onions, sometimes they have nothing but huge onions.
And anyone who throws away half an onion is just being wasteful, or simply doesn’t cook very often. I very, very rarely throw away onions; they’re needed in everything, and it’s very easy to wrap in plastic or throw in a plastic bag and they stay good for a long time in the fridge.
What is the price of onions per pound in your area?
Bigger, no, no. I use red onions a lot, and use just about every bit eventually. Yellow onions run about $2 - $3/lb.
I agree. But it sounds like he’s only selling to Walmart and/or the other huge chains. I can see why they’d have some pretty strict guidelines for consistency of product. I often shop Aldi and local “ethnic markets”, where they’re not so picky, or so consistent.
While I’m willing to believe the Marketing Guys believe that people will throw away half an onion on a regular basis, I’m more inclined to believe that foodies will save and use the rest and other (normal) people don’t really think too hard about whether their onion is the same size as the “1 onion” called for in a recipe. They’re going to use the whole onion whether it’s 2 inches or 4.
I generally buy yellow or white onions, and they are usually bigger than 2". I don’t think that the size of yellow or white onions has changed over time. And what’s this about throwing away part of an onion? I can’t remember the last time I had to throw away a partially used onion. I put them in zipper seal bags, and they are good for at least a few days. I almost always use at least half an onion when I cook dinner, and sometimes a whole onion. My husband likes sliced raw onion on some sandwiches. And I’ll sometimes make an omelet or scrambled eggs with diced onion.
I think that the scribe and/or the farmer in the linked article was wrong. When I buy a bag of onions, there are various sizes in the bag. If the onions are loose, again, there are various sizes in the bin. I generally buy most of my produce at a grocery chain. And I can’t imagine throwing away half of a perfectly good onion, unless the cook is in a temporary living situation.
66 cents a pound (that is, a bag of 3 pounds for $1.99) is pretty common for the “regular” sized onions. I see the local supermarket (which I find too expensive to shop at much) has “yellow onions” on sale this week for 99c a pound - probably the bigger onions.
The place I do more of my shopping at has “medium yellow onions” for 10c each this week (page 8).
So cheap that the cost is inconsequential.
I use sweet onions mostly. Typically 4"-5" diameter. The Vidalia’s are somewhat flatter than other varieties. The size of onions have varied in general, but they’re available in different sizes. Usually the common bagged onions are 2"-3" diameter. Spanish onions are usually larger. Red onions seem to vary most in size. If I use half an onion I’ll wrap the other half in plastic and put it in the fridge. It goes in the trash if I don’t use it in a few days.
I generally buy a mesh bag of 3 pounds of onions. This cost less than $3, so cost is no big deal. They are always bigger than 2 inches and I usually use the whole thing in a recipe, so I don’t have to worry about saving it (then again, I’m cooking for 6).
All in all that is one weird article that has no relation to what I see in real life.