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.

Cooking: These are a great option for pickling due to their size and flavour. Or, step up your roasted potatoes by adding in pearl onions.

GREEN ONIONS

Green onions (also known as scallions) are long and thin, and are bright white at the bottom with dark green tops. They’re mild, and not very pungent.

Storing: Place green onions in a jar with water just covering the roots and store on the counter. Not only will they stay fresh, but they’ll continue to grow.

Cooking: Eat raw and let their mild flavour and crunchy texture take your dishes to new heights. Perfect for stirfries or on nachos, and even grilled.

SHALLOTS

Shallots have slightly less bite than yellow onions, with a hint of garlic. They’re available in a range of shapes and sizes, but the most common are small, slender, and lighter in colour. You may also find red shallots.

Storing: Store them in a cool, dark place for up to a month.

Cooking: Shallots work raw and cooked. Try replacing white or yellow onions with shallots in any recipe for a new flavour.

SPRING ONIONS

Spring onions are just yellow, red and white onions that are picked earlier in the growing season, which gives them a milder flavour. They look similar to green onions, with white bottoms and dark green tops, but with a bulb at the bottom.

Storing: Keep spring onions sealed in a plastic bag in your fridge to stay fresh for a couple of weeks.

Cooking: They work raw and in cooked meals. For an easy, seasonal side, try lightly drizzling your spring onions with oil and grill them until slightly charred.

LEEKS

Leeks look like large, thick green onions. The white portion is sweet, while the upper green portion is used for flavouring stocks and soups and is best not eaten raw.

Storing: Wrap leeks in a damp paper towel and keep them in your fridge.

Cooking: They are tough to eat raw, but when cooked, they offer an amazing flavour and texture. Use the white portion when roasting vegetables, in quiche, soups and stews.