Sweet onions?

Today, to accompany some very rare lamb, I have decided to caramelize some onions. The recipes all suggest starting with sweet onions (and some add a sprinkle of sugar even then).

Having lived without onions for so long, I hie myself to the nearby grocery and they have white onions (which look white), yellow onions (which look yellow), red onions (which look red-purple), and "imported sweet" onions which look... like onions.

How do I tell whether they really are sweet onions? The only sweet onions that I know say "Vidalia" next to them and, honestly, that's no kind of guarantee, either.

[Jenise]

You're in luck, I have strong opinions about this.

But seriously, first of all: smell the onions before you buy. Even within the same lot some will have strong odors. Avoid those. Only buy the ones with almost no smell at all. I find the greatest variation among red onions, no idea why.

Secondly the sweetest onions (remember, I live in an onion-growing state) will be neither brown nor brownish/yellow, nor white, they'll be a pale almost champagne color and generally more squat in shape than elongated. What Vidalias look like as a rule, only my impression is that Vidalias grow larger than Washington sweets, also called Walla Walla Sweets or more commonly just sweet onions as a generic term. Those are my favorite but strangely they're not available in every store around here. WFM doesn't carry them, for instance--there only white, brown and red. If reduced to those choices, then white. And beware of imposters: I've noted the brown onions labled in some markets as 'sweet onions' but they lie.

My experience as well. Unless they say "Vidalia" or "Walla Walla" on them, they're not sweet onions as such. But yeah, some white onions are sweeter than others. Hadn't thought of smelling them - that's a good idea!

And welcome back to the world of onions, Jeff - your culinary world has just expanded considerably!

[Jenise]

Mike, here markets rarely use the term Walla Walla even if that's what they are. The generic 'Sweet Onion' is more common in the same way that Yellow Potato is now more common than Yukon Gold.

Well I hope the generic "sweet onion" is closer to a real sweet onion than the generic "yellow potatoes" are to Yukon Golds. We have a local grocery chain called Raley's that sells Raley's Gold potatoes that do not make great subs for Yukon Golds (at least for mashed potatoes).

[Jenise]

Well I hope the generic "sweet onion" is closer to a real sweet onion than the generic "yellow potatoes" are to Yukon Golds. We have a local grocery chain called Raley's that sells Raley's Gold potatoes that do not make great subs for Yukon Golds (at least for mashed potatoes).

If it has that thin pale champagne colored skin, then yes it's a real sweet onion. But yeah the supermarket thing is irritating--no breed, just color.

You're in luck, I have strong opinions about this.

Secondly the sweetest onions (remember, I live in an onion-growing state) will be neither brown nor brownish/yellow, nor white, they'll be a pale almost champagne color and generally more squat in shape than elongated.

OK, I saw some of those. I bought the others.

I did sprinkle sugar.

Next time.

I also have to find another way to cut them. I used a mandoline which gives 3 mm slices at its widest setting. The onions became mostly mush by the time the cooking was done. I'll check my other mandoline but I may need to do this by (teary) eye next time.

In addition to Vidalia and Walla Walla, Cipollini onions are sweet. They are easily recognized by their flat shape. Fortunately the sweet onions I've encountered have been explicitly labeled as sweet.

-Paul W.