Heirloom Foods – Organic Brown Onion, 1kg
R48.00
Heirloom Foods Organic Brown Onions are locally grown following organic and biodynamic farming principles, without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers. A kitchen essential, brown onions have a robust flavour when raw that becomes milder, sweeter and more aromatic as they cook.
Brown onion (Allium cepa) belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family and is closely related to garlic, leeks, chives and shallots. Onions have been cultivated as food for thousands of years and remain one of the world’s most widely used culinary ingredients.
Although onions are not usually eaten in large enough quantities to be considered a major source of vitamins and minerals, they provide vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate and potassium, together with naturally occurring sulfur compounds and flavonoids such as quercetin.
This product is available for collection at our store or delivery to GAUTENG ONLY.
Availability: In stock
Size
1kg
Ingredients
Organic Brown Onions
- Organically grown
- Locally grown
- Grown following biodynamic farming principles
- No GMOs
- No synthetic pesticides
- No synthetic herbicides
- No synthetic fertilisers
- No preservatives
Directions to Use
Remove the dry outer skin, trim as required and slice, chop or dice. Brown onions are extremely versatile. Use them raw in salads and salsas, or sauté, roast, grill, bake or caramelise them. They make an excellent flavour base for soups, stews, curries, sauces and casseroles. Slow cooking transforms their sharper raw flavour into a much softer, naturally sweet taste.
What Are Brown Onions?
Brown onions, sometimes called yellow onions, are among the most familiar cooking onions. Their papery golden-brown skins surround layers of pale cream-coloured flesh with a characteristically pungent aroma.
Compared with milder sweet or red onions, brown onions have a stronger flavour when raw. However, their balance of pungency and natural sugars makes them particularly versatile for cooking.
Their characteristic aroma and flavour develop partly from sulfur-containing compounds released when the onion’s cells are damaged by chopping or slicing.
Did You Know?
Why do onions make us cry?
An intact onion keeps certain enzymes and sulfur-containing compounds separated inside its cells. When you cut into it, those cells break open and the compounds begin reacting.
This process produces a volatile substance known as a lachrymatory factor. When it reaches your eyes, it irritates the sensitive surface and stimulates the tear glands – hence the familiar watery eyes while chopping onions.
Using a sharp knife can help because it crushes fewer cells than a blunt one. Chilling the onion beforehand may also slow the chemical reactions and reduce the amount of irritating compound released.
Why do onions become sweet when cooked?
Raw onions contain natural sugars, but their sharp sulfur compounds can dominate the flavour. As onions cook slowly, their pungency decreases and their natural sweetness becomes much more noticeable.
With longer cooking, additional browning reactions create the rich colour and complex savoury-sweet flavour associated with caramelised onions.
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