Written by Brandy Centolanza
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The three main types of bulb onions—yellow, red and white—are typically harvested March through August. These three onions can also be harvested in the fall.
At a glance
- Serving Size : 1/2 cup cooked, yellow onion, chopped
- Calories: 45
- Fat: 0 g
- Carbs: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 0 mg
Nutritional Notes
“Onions have vitamin C, fiber, and no sodium, fat or cholesterol,” says Pam Dannon, a registered dietician with the Williamsburg-James City County School Division’s School Health Initiative Program (SHIP). “Onions offer flavor, texture and color to recipes. The benefits of onions are not just what they add to a recipe, but also what they allow you to leave out. With their strong flavor, they can be a healthy substitution for salt.”
How to choose
Look for firm bulb onions with dry outer skins without bruises or cuts, and no scent.
How to prepare
The most widely used bulb onion is the yellow onion, which can be used with any type of cooking, and is what gives French Onion Soup its sweet flavor. Grilling or roasting best prepares red onions, while white onions are best sautéed and used most often in salads and Mexican dishes. “You can add them to green salads and pasta salads for color and crunch,” says Dannon. “Sweet onions, wedged and sliced, can be spread with cheese or peanut butter as a snack, just like celery, or used as dippers, just like carrots.”
Did you know?
In Egypt, onions were once considered to be an object of worship. The onion symbolized eternity to the Egyptians who buried onions along with their Pharaohs. The Egyptians saw eternal life in the anatomy of the onion because of its circle-within-a-circle structure.