A guide to onions ...

YELLOW ONIONS

Yellow onions — a.k.a. cooking or Spanish onions — are one of the most popular choices for cooking thanks to their strong, sweet flavour. They have lightyellow flesh with golden skin, and can range from five to 10 centimetres in diameter. Storing: Keep yellow onions stored in a cool, dark place. Cut onions should be stored in an air-tight container or wrapped in plastic and kept in the fridge. Cooking: Perfect for stews, soups, barbecues, roasts and sauces. Avoid eating them raw, as they have a strong flavour.

WHITE ONIONS

Often confused with yellow onions, white onions are a tad sweeter and milder. They have white flesh and white papery skin, and are slightly bigger than yellow onions.

Storing: In a cool, dark place.

Cooking: Their mild flavour means you can eat them raw in salads, sandwiches, and wraps.

RED ONIONS

With a beautiful purple flesh encased in dark maroon skin, red onions have a bold and spicy taste when raw, and a sweet flavour when cooked. Storing: In a cool, dark place.

Cooking: Commonly used for pickling, in tacos, on pizza or in a chopped salad or salsa.

SWEET ONIONS

They look similar to yellow and white onions, but are slightly flatter. They lack the signature onion bite and taste much sweeter than other varieties. Vidalia is the most common.

Storing: Sweet onions are more perishable than other onions and should be stored in the refrigerator right away. Wrap each separately in a paper towel to lengthen their lifespan.

Cooking: They’re great raw in salads or on sandwiches. Caramelize them for a rich and sweet taste, which makes them perfect for adding to dishes such as mashed potatoes.

PEARL ONIONS

Pearl onions can be yellow, red or white, with white being the most common. They look like small cooking onions, about the size of a gumball.

Storing: In a cool, dark place.