The Difference Between Yellow and White Onions Is More Than Skin Deep

[Nittersing]

https://www.seriouseats.com/yellow-onion-vs-white-onion-8666582

White onions have a sharper, more distinct onion flavor than yellow onions. They tend to have a cleaner, crisper, and firmer texture, with a slightly brighter taste when raw and little to no aftertaste. When cooked, white onions break down more easily than their yellow counterparts—almost melting into long-cooked dishes like soups and stews.

Yellow onions have a more complex flavor profile, with a balance of sweetness and pungency. They have a more tender and slightly denser texture when raw, and the kind of aftertaste that can wake up the dead. When cooked, they soften further and become sweeter and more caramelized, but retain their structural integrity.

Sweet onions, sold under trademarked names such as Vidalia, Maui, and Walla Walla, are a type of yellow onion that is milder and seasonal. You’ll see them at the store during the spring and summer months. The more generically labeled yellow, white, and red onions available year-round are called storage onions because they’ve been dried out after harvest to keep for months. If you find these varieties at farmers markets, you may see them with specific tags like Red Zeppelins or Australian Browns.

Edit to add: Serious Eats also has a "Beginners Guide" to onions which goes into a lot of detail and includes spring onions, ramps, shallots, pearl onions, Cippolini Onions and leeks! https://www.seriouseats.com/differences-between-onions

[multigraincracker]

1. Thanks for the info.

Now I know.

[Shermann]

2. I love me some sweet onions

They are in fact milder and are great on sandwiches. They don't make you tear up as much when cutting them either.

I'll opt for the yellow onions if I am baking and want more of the onion flavor.

[BoomaofBandM]

3. We love vidalia onions for french onion soup. So rich tasting.

[JohnnyRingo]

4. I often wondered.

I've asked shoppers what the difference is, but never got an answer.
No wonder!

[Jilly_in_VA]

5. I knew there was that

But there are some interesting differences in cuisine, too. For instance, according to Pati Jinich, my favorite Mexican chef, white onions are her preferred cooking onion and that of many Mexican cooks. That may be because they are more commonly grown in Mexico and thus more available, or just perhaps more available in her home state of Oaxaca. Red onions, which you do not touch on, are more commonly used in Indian cooking and are my favorite. To each their own.

[Retrograde]

9. Onions are day-length sensative

There are varieties bred for shorter days in summer - such as in Mexico - and ones bred for longer days in summer - like in much of Europe. If you look at seed catalogs, you'll find them listed as long-day, short-day, and day-neutral. There are a lot of different regional cultivars.

[pansypoo53219]

6. i have completely changed how i cook onions. i was making a lot of soups. i discovered barely cooked vegs taste betters.

the yellow onions were so sweet. the celerey was amazing. cooking them 3 min a bitch. i keep the veggies raw + add to my bowl or COLD pot + microwaves 2-3 mintes. i like raw too. bad history w/ angry white onions. i like red onions too.

[Callalily]

7. Cipollini onions are delicious.

I never even knew that they existed until I got some in my CSA box.

[Kali]

8. I have never found these onion articles to align with my experience.

to me red onions are too variable - sometimes they are good and sometimes too pungent. I rarely buy them.

white onions are almost always too pungent.

I buy two types of yellow - regular cooking and sweet for using raw. in winter the "sweets" are large ones from Mexico, I think. In summer they are Vidalias or similar. I learned to look for the flat ones (top to bottom) when you don't know what kind, they tend to be sweeter/milder.

sweet onions actually cook up kind of bland and pungent onions seem to caramelize or become sweeter with cooking.