Onion: nutrition and how to use it

Fun facts

• Onions make you cry because cutting breaks their cells and releases a gas that drifts up to your eyes. Chilling the onion for 30 minutes and using a very sharp knife helps a lot.
• Onions hold about 4.2g of natural sugar per 100g. Cooked slowly on low heat, that sugar caramelizes, turning the onions golden brown and sweet without any added sugar.
• 100g of onion has only about 40 kcal and 1.7g of fiber. Onions also contain quercetin, a natural antioxidant.
• Onions, garlic, scallions and chives are all relatives. At kOBE, onion appears in about 246 recipes, from stir fries and braises to salads.

Choosing and storing

Choose firm, heavy bulbs with dry, papery skin and a dry, tight neck. Avoid soft or sprouting onions and any with black mold spots. Keep whole onions somewhere dry, airy and out of the sun, and not next to potatoes, since they make each other spoil faster. Cut onions should be wrapped, refrigerated and used within a few days.

Cooking it well

For crisp, sweet onions, stir fry on high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. For soft, deeply sweet onions, cook them on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes and let them caramelize naturally. For salads, slice thin and soak in ice water for a few minutes to tame the bite. Onions smell great even with little oil, and our piece on smoke points of cooking oils helps you pick one.

Frequently asked questions