Onions Healthy Food Guide

Peak season: March through September. Scallions and chives are in season March through August.

Recipe shown above: Seared Steaks with Caramelized Onions & Gorgonzola

I will not move my army without onions!

—Ulysses S. Grant

Onions are an assumed part of most meals, whether they form a base for a stew or garnish for a salad. Most of the time they are not the focus of a dish, they’re included to enhance the other flavors in the dish. But after enjoying a steaming bowl of French onion soup, it’s easy to see that onions can also take center stage.

The vitality of onions goes beyond their flavor. Egyptians worshipped the bulbous globes as a sign of eternity, and while onions may not help us live forever, they might help add a few years to our lives. According to recent research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who eat lots of onions and garlic are less likely to develop major cancers.

So there’s every reason to make onions the stars when you cook, instead of relegating them to supporting roles. Here we’ve provided recipes and ideas to help you take advantage of onions to their full potential.

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What you get

Onions are both rich in flavor and high in antioxidants, such as quercetin (linked to lowering blood pressure), flavonols (that bolster cellular antioxidant activity) and diallyl sulfide (a compound that may promote heart health and healthy immunity). Onions also provide some vitamin C and the soluble fiber inulin.

Tips

Shopping Tip: Choose onions that are firm and heavy with no cuts, bruises or sprouting. The skin should be shiny and tightly closed around the neck. An unpeeled onion should smell mild, as strong odors could indicate spoilage.

Storage Tips: Store onions in a cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated place. (Light can cause the onions to become bitter.); Onions absorb moisture easily, so avoid storing them in damp places.; Do not store whole onions in the refrigerator or in plastic bags—lack of air circulation will cause them to spoil, as will storing them near potatoes, which give off moisture and gas that can cause onions to spoil quickly.; Scallions and chives have a higher water content, bruise more easily and have a shorter shelf life—store them in the refrigerator.

Fun Fact

According to 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz, New York City was called the Big Onion before it was named the Big Apple, because you could peel off layer after layer without reaching the core.

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