Name: Pearl onion — small, round, bite-sized onions about the size of a large marble, usually white, but also sold in yellow and red. They are a harvest of small onions grown close together, or a particular variety bred for small size.
Description
Pearl onions are grown in many parts of Europe and North America, and are valued for their mild, sweet flavour and tidy, whole appearance. They are traditionally used in classic French dishes, such as boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin, in creamed onions at holiday meals, and pickled for cocktails, such as the Gibson martini.
Their skin is tight and papery, and peeling them raw is fiddly, so cooks blanch them briefly in boiling water to loosen the skins before cutting off the root end and slipping them off.
Main nutrition value
Pearl onions provide small amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese and fibre, with the same sulphur compounds as larger onions.
How best to be consumed
Pearl onions are best cooked whole.
- Blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, then plunge into cold water, and slip off the skins.
- Braise whole in stews and casseroles, where they turn soft and sweet.
- Glaze in butter and a little sugar for a side dish.
- Pickle in vinegar for cocktails and cheese boards.
- Buy frozen, peeled pearl onions for convenience.
Overconsumption could cause…
Pearl onions are safe in food amounts.
- Bloating, gas or heartburn, since alliums contain fermentable carbohydrates (fructans) that bother many people with IBS.
- Allergic reactions or skin irritation in a small number of people sensitive to alliums.
- A lot of added sugar or salt when eaten as glazed or pickled pearl onions.
- Toxicity to dogs and cats.
Wikipedia — Onion, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion
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