# Who decided onions go on almost everything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873 "2011-08-07T22:32:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/62 "2011-08-08T14:00:57Z")
I think cooked onions are delicious. Throw those babies on everything. Raw onions make pretty much any dish inedible to me. If something has raw onions on it, i might as well be eating an onion like an apple, because it overwhelms everything else. I’m one of those people that likes pretty much anything, except raw onions & cilantro… BLECH ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/63 "2011-08-08T14:20:50Z")
Bah! Everyone knows that onions (and garlic) is the foundation of all civilised cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/64 "2011-08-08T14:52:56Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > I love onions. > > They’re great for removing the acidity in meat which can cause indegestion later on. What? > [@](#): > > It’s also a legume Huh? > [@](#): > > Shall I go on ? Please don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/65 "2011-08-08T15:16:50Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > I love onions. > > They’re great for removing the acidity in meat which can cause indegestion later on. > It’s also a legume so it’s going to add flavour one way or another. Whether you like it or not. > You need them for a pasta meat sauce dish. > They taste great caramelized in a stir fry. > Tacos are awesome with green onions and sour cream. > Onions, bacon & omelettes then a little ketchup. > > Shall I go on ? Is this one of those Chuck Norris-type lists? You know, “Onions are both a legume and a citrus, so they can cure AIDS” or something? Cause otherwise, it’s completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/66 "2011-08-08T15:44:18Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Bah! Everyone knows that onions (and garlic) is the foundation of all civilised cooking. Agreed. That whole genus (family, order, whatever) is the very stuff of life. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/67 "2011-08-08T15:48:23Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Agreed. That whole genus (family, order, whatever) is the very stuff of life. _Allium_ is a genus. Also, onions and garlic are not legumes (Family Fabaceae). They used to be considered lilies (Liliaceae), but have been reclassified as amaryllises (Amaryllidaceae). ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/68 "2011-08-08T15:49:25Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > Secrets of food vendors: Start grilling onion before you open and the smell will draw customers in. > > I luv onion just about every way however… \*\*Your ‘ONION OPINION’ may vary. \*\* 😉 Peg Bracken (or some other hint maven) said that if you’re late in starting dinner, just panfry some chopped onion in butter. It will fool the family into thinking that dinner is underway, even if you don’t know what dinner is going to be yet. And you can use the fried onions in nearly any savory dish. You can also use the onions and butter to make a gravy, if you want. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/69 "2011-08-08T15:55:15Z")
It’s not completely wrong. Tacos are in fact awesome with onions and sour cream. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/70 "2011-08-08T15:59:17Z")
It’s the _Allium_ genus, which includes onions of _many_ kinds, various garlics, leeks, shallots, chives and ramps. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/71 "2011-08-08T16:40:24Z")
I wonder how the onion-haters would react to someone eating ramps raw? My grampap actually liked raw ramps, eaten straight. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/72 "2011-08-08T17:47:24Z")
_Onions_ by William Matthews How easily happiness begins by dicing onions. A lump of sweet butter slithers and swirls across the floor of the sauté pan, especially if its errant path crosses a tiny slick of olive oil. Then a tumble of onions. This could mean soup or risotto or chutney (from the Sanskrit _chatni_, to lick). … [http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/26735](http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/26735) ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/73 "2011-08-08T18:18:36Z")
You don’t like French onion soup? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/74 "2011-08-08T19:01:26Z")
Recently our family went to the beach, to the same house my dad went to as a kid. The same fig tree was growing there, to his great delight. The rest of us gamely tried to like the fresh, ripe figs, but their flavor was basically jellied sugar water, and we just couldn’t poke many of them down. So I made fig-onion-bacon jam. You fry up some bacon until crisp, then crumble and set aside. Drain off a bit of the grease (I drained about half off), and fry up a few onions in the remaining bacon grease until they’re caramelized and super-squishy. Chop up the fresh figs and throw them in, letting them cook down. Add the bacon back in, along with some salt and pepper to taste. Serve over crackers, with cream cheese if you have it. You can also splash some bourbon in if you’ve got it handy (which I didn’t). Mighty fine appetizer. I occasionally make a whole wheat focaccia topped with caramelized onions and rosemary. It’s good stuff. Onions are freakin’ awesome. I agree with other folks who say the odor of frying onions is one of the best kitchen smells around: it’s up there with baking bread and grated lemon peel. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/75 "2011-08-08T19:09:57Z")
\*\* seats herself with the “onion-loving” camp \*\* > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > From The Homesick Texan: [Spicy Red Onion Jam](http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2011/08/spicy-red-onion-jam.html) I haven’t even tried this recipe yet but I already want to thank you for sharing the link. It looks basically like the beginning of French onion soup, right - where you saute the onion and cook it down? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/76 "2011-08-08T19:18:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > People with taste buds decided. Onions are proof that Nature loves us. And **Bijou** , I eat onions raw, like apples. A good red onion is a great snack. :::note to self: move silenus down a few notches on list of Dopers I’d like to kiss::: I’m with the OP on raw onions… but cooked onions are proof that there is hope for joy in the world and peace on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/77 "2011-08-08T19:23:31Z")
Onions go on almost everything for me. I love, love, love onions. And garlic. But especially green onions. And shallots. :strips naked, rubs onions and garlic all over his body, and bolts out of the house: ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/78 "2011-08-08T19:25:32Z")
I put garlic and onions in nearly everything I make. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/79 "2011-08-08T19:28:23Z")
Most of the restaurants in a three-mile radius of my home know to hold the onions when I come in. Seriously. I order, and the waiter asks “No onion?” ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/80 "2011-08-08T19:29:01Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > \*\* seats herself with the “onion-loving” camp \*\* > > I haven’t even tried this recipe yet but I already want to thank you for sharing the link. It looks basically like the beginning of French onion soup, right - where you saute the onion and cook it down? I haven’t cooked it yet, but it does look like basic caramelized onions. Good as a relish or the base of many a fine dish. Last night, I cooked up some ground lamb for pasta–starting witha whole onion that I cooked down _thoroughly_ in olive oil. Raw onions can be a fine garnish; if I’m going to cook them, I _really_ cook them. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873/81 "2011-08-08T22:40:19Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > Just thinking about people eating them “like an apple” is revolting to me, perhaps because strong, raw onion flavor just does not go away. You can brush your teeth, rinse with Listerine, and take a friggin’ shower and that onion smell still seems like it’s coming out of your pores. That’s why they’re so good with Limburger–its flavoring bacteria (same bug as gives you BO and stinky feet) takes up residence in your gums and you need to load your WaterPik with Listerine to dislodge it. You never notice the onion smell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-onions-go-on-almost-everything/591873.md?page=5)