Onions

You know what they look like! We grow a few heirlooms with odd shapes (like the Red Tropea). Onions have a thin and tough outer skin, which is papery on storage varieties, and a many layered interior. Our onions are very pungent, so keep a tissue close while cutting!

When it's in Season at Hartwood Farm:

Late July into winter. In July and August, they are "fresh" onions and usually a bit sweeter than standard storage varieties.

Crop Category and What it Tastes Like:

Root veggies!

Onions are pungent, crisp, sweet, and can have quite the bite! Each variety has its own complexities, but most varieties can be used interchangeably.

How to Handle and Store:

They can store in either the fridge or at room temperature. Summer onions (up into mid-September) are best in the fridge.

How to Prep for Use:

Chop off the ends and remove the outermost layer. They can then be cut to the dimensions your recipe calls for.

Onions have a bad rap for causing tears, and our NY onions can sometimes live up to that (we tend to have high sulfur soils here, and sulfur is both what keeps our onions storing great all winter, and makes you cry). Chilled onions cause less tears, and our summer onions (the large white Ailsa Craig variety, and the long Italian torpedo varieties) tend towards semi-sweetness. They aren’t quite a Vidalia, but hopefully you shed few tears with them!

Ways to Cook and Eat:

Very versatile, onions are the base of many recipes. You can eat them raw, but most folks prefer them sautéed, baked, or grilled.

Quick and Dirty Hangry Farmer Go-To Preparations:

We often grill or bake them in halves, but we also use them as a base for a lot of dishes--we start off sautéing them until soft and browned.

Typical time to:

• Steam—We don’t recommend

• Sauté—10 to 15 minutes

• Bake—30 to 60 minutes

• Boil—We don’t recommend

Our Favorite Recipes:

Quick Pickled Red Onions (Bon Appetit)— if you’re impatient or impulsive and want a pickled fix, these are super easy and delicious! Bonus: add jalapeños and cilantro and use as a taco topping

Caramelized Onions (Love and Lemons)— these are basically just onion candy and they taste good with, on, or in everything