# Why onions?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-onions/567654>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 14, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-onions/567654 "2011-01-14T23:24:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-onions/567654/21 "2011-01-16T19:15:19Z")

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I Lovvvvve onions, cooked or raw.

I even live in Chicago, which translated from Ojibwe means “Smells Like Onions”.

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**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-onions/567654/22 "2011-01-16T19:17:16Z")

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My sweetie doesn’t like onion flavor \<though he likes green onions well enough\>, but I make a lot of soups, which kinda requires some onion; even in soups I don’t want much regular onion flavor, I still will pulverize just a quarter of an onion and mix it in. Adds that background flavor without really knowing it’s there. _He_ doesn’t ever notice, to be sure.

I’ve found onion powder to give an ‘onion’ flavor that is much more palatable to my sweetie \<and the kids\> without using real onions. I think onion powder is like banana-flavored things, in that they have flavors of their own that have little to nothing to do with the real thing, yet serve as an acceptable and often desired substitute. Worth a shot for substitution, if one really must substitute.

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**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-onions/567654/23 "2011-01-16T19:19:06Z")

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> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> I generally substitute leeks or shallots when I don’t want a strong oniony taste in cooked food.

Mmm, there we go. I adore shallots, probably because they’re closer to garlic and omg garlic!! Yum.

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**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-onions/567654/24 "2011-01-16T19:47:33Z")

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Shallots it is, then!

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**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-onions/567654/25 "2011-01-17T11:48:17Z")

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> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#):
>
> Onions & chocolate are the 2 perfect foods – everything you eat is better with one of them added.

Or both.

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