“Is it just me? Or is raw onion in salad the work of the devil?”
Then follows hundreds of words of unnecessary justification.
I’ve heard of people who can eat an onion like one eats an apple, and I’m glad they’re identified so I can avoid them. It’s akin to munching on cloves of raw garlic: anti-social and disgusting.
Raw onion is foul — it smells like unwashed armpits, and it has no place in a mixed salad. Period, end of statement.
Forty year ago I worked in concrete construction with a guy that ate a raw onion every morning, said it kept his “passages” cleared, never got a cold. I’m not as big a fan as him but I do eat a fair amount of onion in just about everything. I consider it a staple. Garlic? Not so much. Garlic seems to be an onion with a blower and headers.
De gustibus non est disputandum
Except for Kim, of course.
In Ireland we have raw onion in mashed potato and call it Champ. We’re probably very bad people.
No comment.
Two words for ya-
Vidalia, and Sweet-Texas-Onions
OK, I cheated on the two words part.
I grew up as a very picky eater, but in my dotage I’ve learned to appreciate a few delicacies such as raw onions (sometimes even a “hot” onion but only when I plan to be alone).
Red onions.
Sauteed in butter. With snails or squid. Shark. Stegosaurus. Sparrows. Any of the ‘S’ food groups.
* * * * *
My father had a special sandwich treat for special occasions:
A couple thick slices of sourdough,
Slathered with butter,
A 1″ thick slice of onion,
Ground black pepper to add some ‘zing!’.
And a case of Maalox jugs behind his car-seat to sip as-needed. (I am not making this up)
Cause and effect?
Don’t know, Marge. I eat the same thing minus the Maalox, Doesn’t bother me a bit.
Very thin sliced Texas Sweet, raw, onion on a lightly toasted, peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich goes well with a glass of fresh lemonade on a hot Texas July afternoon.
I just threw up in my mouth, not a little.
Oh, Kim. You’re wrong about so few things.
White onion, sliced very thin and soaked in ice water for 30-40 minutes, is a fine addition to a green salad. Also, green olives and anchovies.
Goes very nicely with a sous-vide ribeye and cabernet-sauteed mushrooms.
A sous-vide ribeye? What ghastly puritan heresy is this?
If you’re going to put raw onion in a salad, no further foulness (e.g. sous-vide ribeye) should come as a surprise.
Well, the old ways (grilling over good charcoal) are of course the most satisfying, but I ‘ve never had a steak better than the ones that come out of my sous-vide tank (Salt Lick garlic rub, 121° for a couple of hours) and seared in cast iron with a little very hot bacon fat.
Dammit, now I’m hungry. Good thing it’s lunchtime. Maybe a ham-and-cheese toasty with some soup.
Raw onion is a fowl substitute for good seasoning.
I can’t get it down.
A cooked onion, if it’s adequately cooked, can add flavor.
But a raw one crowds out all other flavors.
Had some raw red onion, sliced paper thin on my garlic bagel w/ cream cheese, Nova lox, capers, lemon juice, and a twist of pepper .. as breakfast. Stinky? You bet your ass, but DELICIOUS.
People like you are usually killed.
Brad,
My dad would go for that on one condition… a healthy dose of limburger cheese to cleanse the palate.
Raw onion…no. Not on salad, nor anywhere else.
Cooked onions…oh let me count the ways. A favorite around our house is simmering white onions in Coke until the onions are soft, then added to a hot dog or brat with softened cream cheese. That or softened in a beer bath with butter that we boil brats in before grilling.
a nice full slice of onion ( preferably Vidalia or Bermuda – Red ) best on a grilled Burger in a sesame seed bun .
Scallions preferred in a salad, but a few rings of Vidalia or Bermuda are good as well.
Plain old white onions — Blah — not so much.
All onions, no matter the variety, are foul when raw and added to salad.
I’m with you Kim. I also don’t like raw onions in my salad and if I order one in a restaurant, I ask them to hold the onions (…and egg. I don’t like hard-boiled egg in my salad either.) I don’t like raw onions in coleslaw either. I do like a bit – just a bit – of raw onion on a burger. Sauteed onions, now that I like especially with mushrooms to go with my steak.
However, free American citizens are allowed to have different tastes than mine, so to each his own.
Good God, don’t tell me you open your boiled egg on the big end too?
That WOULD be heresy. Like having your bath tissue unrolling from the bottom. Don’t get me started.
The dispensers at work require the paper to unroll from the bottom, or they jam up and you have to use both hands to keep from tearing the paper. Guess how often our janitor fucks up?
I probably should have mentioned that I consider Polish Krakowska Ham on Poznan bread with mayo, Keen’s hot British mustard and an onion slice to be paradise on earth, food wise.
A big, thick, slice, red onion or white preferably but anything will do.
That’s a sandwich, not a salad.
With Kim’s aversion to raw onion, how does he ever navigate Taco Tuesday’s?
I don’t eat tacos unless I make them myself. Spicy, hot hamburger, melted 3-cheese and one jalapeno slice per mouthful.
Commercial tacos are Satan’s work.
onion, cooked or raw.
if i eat a whole white onion, i’ll have a buzz for the rest of the day. it’s like a caffeine buzz but without the heart strain
oh and raw onion sliced onto a mature cheddar? heaven!
I think I’ll go and be sick now…
Thinly sliced red onion in a grilled cheese sandwich? Incredible!
I think the only threads that get more comments than this are the gun threads. I’m truly impressed.
Raw onion or raw garlic is like raw alcohol. It’s not meant to be consumed straight. It has to mellow (i.e. be cooked down) before it’s truly enjoyable. Personally, I think people who eat raw onions are somewhat masochistic, but that’s just my opinion.
Cars, guns and food. If I want to see how many people are paying attention, I pick one of those three topics.
Uh, you forgot the topic that usually comes with tits and nice legs attached.
Trust me — raw onions don’t mix well with women.
I agree with Kim about raw onions in salad. Now a few of them on a nice hot burger (which helps to cook them a bit) with ketchup, mustard and a couple pickle slices…that’s about the only way I’ll eat raw onions.
Grilled or fried onions…I’ll eat’em all day long.
Vidalias – cooked in a microwave for a couple minutes, and eaten with some ketchup, that’s damned good.
Onions were meant to be cooked in some way. It’s in the Bible, look it up. :>)
Onions, Onions, I’ve been eat’n onions
By the smell, cain’t you plainly tell
That onions, onions told a tale on me!
Onions, garlic and peppers of one sort or the other are essential to preparing most any meal. No question “if” just how much. Tastes have changed with my preference now being red onions. Too much Peruvian-style ceviche I reckon. I’ve found that sliced/chopped raw onion is best if rinsed in water before adding to salads or sandwiches. Gets rid of sometimes bitter natural oils.
Comfort food treats includes; liverwurst & Swiss on pumpernickel with red onion glued down with creamy horseradish sauce – or mayo in a pinch. A simple salt & pepper seasoned burger with red onion dill pickle and mustard also ranks well. Poor Man’s Steak – “Bistec a lp Pobre”- rounds the bases with steak, onions, rice and French fries topped with a runny-fried egg. Incredibly-Edible! Today’s July 4th house special will be steamed dinner-size Costco hot dogs with lightly onion flavored coleslaw or sauerkraut. Mustard & onions for purists. And an endless pot of baked beans for all. Ohhh gots to be!
I also recall onions working miracles with C-Rats. Essential to an infantryman’s visit to the field was prior stripping the mess facility of available onions, hot sauce or steak sauce.