Onions & garlic, etc.

[Deleted]

These two items and some of their close cousins can create quite a bit of meal controversy.

I am one of those people who believes that it is not possible to have too much garlic, and my onion limit is just one notch lower.

However, I have known many people in my life who can't stand either, or only just a tiny bit. In this group, there seems to be a split between the people who find the taste too extreme and the others who claim to like the items but feel that it has a nefarious effect on their breath.

How do you feel on the subject of these delightful vegetables?

[bazfaz]

The British Queen, before a state visit to Italy, had her officials let their Italian protocol contacts know that she would not eat anything with garlic.

[Deleted]

I can't imagine any kitchen or garden in my life ever being without either,I use both all the time,garlic more . The garlic in my garden is in bloom right now and I have been snipping tiny blooms off to put in salads (just discovered their intense flavor).
Onions were a mainstay in almost all the cooking growing up,were stored in the cellar with the root vegetables.

[imec]

Can't get enough - also chives, shallots, scallions, leeks...

I roast garlic in big batches and then freeze the heads in a ziplock bag and thaw and use as needed - dips, sauces, pasta, pizza, all sorts of things.

[traveler63]

I agree with K2. There isn't much that can't be improved with garlic!! If onions are too much then try shallots. They have a much more delicate flavor. I also use leeks. A lot of people have come up to me in the grocery store and asked about leeks. We sure don't get them as nice as I have seen in both France and Italy. Nice big ones with a lot of white.

[distantshores]

Not only are they delicious, but they are very good for you too! They have many health benefits. I also understand where their aroma probably doesn't make you the most desirable creature to kiss for a time afterwards, but oh well! Taste comes with a price I guess! ;D

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2009 11:37:30 GMT bazfaz said:

The British Queen, before a state visit to Italy, had her officials let their Italian protocol contacts know that she would not eat anything with garlic.

Perhaps it could be rubbed on the doors to keep the paparazzi away like the Roumanians and the vampires!

[bixaorellana]

I get anxious just thinking about running out of onions or garlic. You think "food", you think onions and garlic!

A horrible ex-sister-in-law announced when she & husband arrived to visit that her husband wouldn't eat anything containing those two items. I simply cooked as usual and he gobbled it all down.

[BigIain]

I have heard it said that the aroma of garlic and onions frying in olive oil is the very essence of French cuisine. I love that very smell and have been known to select resturants purly on the smells wafting out on to the street. It is THE most mouth watering experience.

[bixaorellana]

What kinds of onions are most common in Europe & the UK?

When I lived in the States, the big yellow onions were the ones most likely to be found in the supermarket, although purple onions and occasionally the white ones were also available. That may have changed by now.

Here the white onion holds sway. It's my favorite for eating raw, but sometimes I wish for more access to the yellow ones for a stronger, different flavor in cooking.

Large-cloved garlic has finally become commonly available here. For ages it was hard to find anything other than small, very tight-skinned garlic. The Oaxacan way of cooking that is to slice the entire head horizontally and throw it unpeeled into the pot. Wrong! My feeling is that garlic is an old-world ingredient and I am going to treat it in the old-world style. Interestingly, locals who eat my cooking will tell me they never liked garlic before, but like the way I do it.

[lagatta]

I can't imagine eating food without the sainted onion family (onions, garlic, leeks, shallots and chives - am I forgetting anyone?)

I have had to tone it down sometimes if I'm working in close quarters (interpreting) but I think this family is the heart and soul of cooking.

kerouac, much as I love them, in some recipes overdoing onions, garlic and all can be a mistake.

I do add finely-chopped garlic to my Alsatian onion tart, though I don't believe there were any in the original recipe.

[bixaorellana]

Re: the garlic in the Alsatian tart ~~ I frequently do the same w/onion soup, convinced as I am that garlic was left out of the recipe by accident.

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2009 16:16:10 GMT bixaorellana said:

What kinds of onions are most common in Europe & the UK?

When I lived in the States, the big yellow onions were the ones most likely to be found in the supermarket, although purple onions and occasionally the white ones were also available. That may have changed by now.

Here the white onion holds sway. It's my favorite for eating raw, but sometimes I wish for more access to the yellow ones for a stronger, different flavor in cooking.

Large-cloved garlic has finally become commonly available here. For ages it was hard to find anything other than small, very tight-skinned garlic. The Oaxacan way of cooking that is to slice the entire head horizontally and throw it unpeeled into the pot. Wrong! My feeling is that garlic is an old-world ingredient and I am going to treat it in the old-world style. Interestingly, locals who eat my cooking will tell me they never liked garlic before, but like the way I do it.

We generally don't get those gigantic onions in France, although I have been seeing them arrive at the Indian stores the past few months at 10kg for 1.99€.

We don't have white onions at all (strangely enough, green -spring- onions are called 'oignons blancs' in France due to the white ends). Most onions are medium-sized yellow onions. Red onions are also available but are used almost exclusively in salads.

The garlic in France pretty much looks like the garlic in the United States.

[BigIain]

I remember the wonderful white onions available at Alpe D Huez whilst I was there a year ago. I enjoyed cooking with them so much that I brought loads home with me. Never seen them in the UK sadly.
Garlic in the UK is pathetically small right now.

[auntieannie]

oooh! another crazy about onions and garlic, here!

[bixaorellana]

I think the reason for yellow onions in cooler climates and white onions here is the different growing requirements of each.

A few months ago there was a shortage here of the regular white onions so yellow onions showed up in the supermarkets. They were not popular at all even though they were a great deal cheaper at the time.

[Jazz]

Oh! I love the entire family and could not live without them.

[traveler63]

Here in Southwest U. S., we have red onions, white, & yellow onions. There are also Maui sweet onions, and Vidalia onions from down south, all of these I think are seasonal. The big white ones are the ones I use for salsa cruda. Yellow and red ones can be hot!!!!!

I have a devil of a time getting good, fresh garlic. I hate !!!!!! smashing garlic and there is no juice and not much taste. I have been buying local organic from the Saturday Market so hopefully it will be better at least thru the summer

[bixaorellana]

Do you have a place to grow garlic, T63? Even a long skinny strip of properly prepared soil might give you enough for your needs.

[Deleted]

We use primarily the yellow for cooking and the red Bermuda onions in salads. The white are available but I never think to get them. I do buy the Vidalia's in season.
Fresh garlic is grown around here. I will harvest mine in August. It takes nine months to blossom! The local seed store sells several varieties,there's a cajun red that's quite good. I brought some home grown back from NY to plant,the cloves are rock hard!

[tillystar]

I love 'em, put 'em in everything and get twitchy if there aren't any in the cupboard.

[mockchoc]

I never ever have no onions or garlic in the house and like tilly I'd get twitchy also. They are two very important things.

[spindrift]

I can't get enough of them either