The most effective ways to remove bitterness from onions

Rich in vitamins onion - a healthy product that is used to prepare many salads, main courses and soups. He's being fried marinate, stewed and boiled. However, the specific taste spoils some dishes, which is why housewives often refuse the bitter ingredient.

From the article you will learn what you need to do to prevent onions in a salad from becoming bitter.

Why are onions bitter?

Many housewives are interested in the question: where does the unpleasant bitterness come from? Onions contain phytoncides. When you peel a vegetable and cut it up these volatile substances evaporate. They contain specific essential oils consisting of sulfides. They are based on sulfur and metals. It is thanks to these elements that onions have such a characteristic taste. Thanks to its special composition, the vegetable neutralizes most dangerous microbes and viruses, such as diphtheria and Koch's bacillus.

The taste of onions changes depending on the time of year. In summer, the bitterness is usually felt slightly, and in the fall the taste becomes more noticeable.

Important! The vegetable is useful for the prevention of respiratory diseases and improves digestion. Those who are on a diet should not give up onions, because 100 g contains only 41 kcal. In addition, it cleanses blood vessels from cholesterol plaques.

What affects bitterness?

You can choose special soft varieties, but this method does not always help. Depending on the care and soil type, the taste of the crop varies significantly.If you grow onions yourself and want to get tasty, healthy and large vegetables without strong bitterness, add phosphorus-containing fertilizers. The main thing is not to upset the balance of minerals. A bitter harvest occurs with infrequent watering. It is recommended to moisten the soil at least once a week.

The way vegetables are stored also affects their pungency. If the room where the onions are located is low, after some time the volumes of essential oils in the collected heads will increase 2-3 times. Accordingly, the taste will also change.

Important! Spicy varieties are stored better than sweet ones, because essential oils have disinfecting properties. This means that pathogenic microbes die faster. So it is recommended to choose onions with bitterness for food.

How to remove bitterness from onions

Housewives often face the question: how can onions for salad be made not bitter, while retaining all the beneficial properties? Let's look at the most popular methods.

Using boiling water

One of the simplest methods that will help you quickly and effectively get rid of unnecessary bitterness is using boiling water:

1. Cut the onion into cubes or rings.
2. Scald with boiling water in a colander. Do not soak the onion in hot water, otherwise it will taste like boiled. Experienced housewives usually wash the vegetable in cold water after scalding.
3. Then transfer to an enamel bowl, pour in vinegar and leave for 15 minutes.
4. Then place the chopped vegetable in a colander again and wait until the liquid has completely drained.

Try another method that will help get rid of bitterness using hot water:

1. Cut 5 large onions into rings.
2. Pour a glass of water into a saucepan, dissolve 3 tsp in it. sugar and ½ tsp.salt.
3. Bring the water in the pan to a boil and add 70 ml of table vinegar to it.
4. Pour the resulting marinade over the onion cut into rings and leave for 1 hour at room temperature. Then place in a colander to drain the liquid.

This bow is ideal for preparations fish dishes.

Pickling

If you want to get rid of the bitterness, while maintaining the characteristic crunch, and at the same time give the vegetable a new unusual taste, try pickling it.

To prepare the marinade you will need:

• 4 tbsp. l. vinegar;
• 1 tsp. salt;
• 1 tsp. Sahara;
• 200 ml water.

Cooking process:

1. Add all ingredients to water and mix thoroughly.
2. Pour the mixture over the chopped onions and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. If you plan to cook kebabs, you can marinate the onions in kefir or tomato juice in advance.

Both of these methods help to reliably rid onions of unwanted bitterness.

There is an alternative recipe:

1. You will need a handful of sugar, a pinch of salt, citric acid on the tip of a knife and a little ground pepper.
2. Mix all the ingredients with water, then pour the resulting mixture over the finely chopped vegetable and leave for 15 minutes.
3. When the time is up, rinse the onion in a small amount of boiled water.

Roasting

Chop the onion and then fry in a preheated frying pan with a little vegetable oil until golden brown. Afterwards, place the roast on a paper napkin to get rid of excess oil.

On a note. If you want a sweet taste, thoroughly coat the onions in flour before frying.

With salt

Housewives like this method because of its simplicity, because everything you need can be found in the kitchen. Dilute in 1 tbsp. water 1 tbsp. l.salt, pour over the pre-chopped vegetable and leave for 10 minutes. Then rinse the onion under cold water.

Important! The finer you chop the onion, the faster the bitterness will go away.

Sautéing

Sautéing is the process of gently heating chopped vegetables in a small amount of oil until translucent. It is important to constantly stir them so that they do not burn. To prevent the onions from frying, cover the pan with a lid.

What to do with green onions

For the green onions the proposed methods are not suitable, because boiling water instantly makes the greens limp, and sometimes even turns into a tasteless mush. When marinated, the spicy taste is lost.

It is better to use one of the most reliable and simplest methods:

1. Finely chop the onion and lightly mash it so that the greens release their juice.
2. Melt a small piece of butter and pour over the greens.
3. After this, add the onion to the soup or sprinkle it over the boiled potatoes. If you planned to add this ingredient to the salad, first rinse the greens with warm water.

In the microwave

Experienced housewives recommend heating the chopped onion for about 10 seconds at medium power. If you put a whole medium-sized head in a microwave oven, reduce the power and, on the contrary, increase the time spent in the device.

Cool the vegetable slightly until its temperature is comfortable for eating. Since there is no contact with water, the beneficial properties will remain. The taste does not change.

In a refrigerator

Sometimes housewives get rid of bitterness in an unusual way - they put the onion in the refrigerator for several hours. Judging by the reviews, it becomes soft and juicy.

To speed up the process, use the freezer.The main thing is not to overcook the vegetable, otherwise all its taste will go away along with the bitterness.

Useful tips

If you realize that the onion is hot when it has already been ground together with the minced meat, you should not worry and throw away the resulting mixture. First, cook one cutlet and taste it. During heat treatment, bitterness may disappear on its own.

If you are unlucky and the flavor remains, just dilute the minced meat a little by adding meat or bread soaked in milk. Other ingredients will also work, such as semolina or carrots.

For salads, it is better to buy red varieties. Such vegetables rarely taste bitter, so you won’t have to go to any special tricks, which means the cooking process will take much less time.

Another trouble when preparing dishes using onions is a specific smell that can be felt by your hands for a long time. Add a little natural coffee to the liquid soap and thoroughly rub your skin with this mixture.

If you are bothered by strong breath, brush your teeth thoroughly and then chew dried cloves (a spice).

You can easily get rid of the onion smell that permeates the cutting board by wiping the surface with carrots.

To help the vegetable digest better, sprinkle it with salt before adding it to the salad and leave for a few minutes. If you pour white wine or water into the dish, the fried onions will be easier to digest.

note! If you suffer from urinary tract infections, be sure to add dishes that contain onions to your menu. But there are times when it is better to refuse it. The consumption of hot vegetables is contraindicated for people with kidney, stomach and liver diseases.

Sweet varieties of onions

For those who do not like bitter taste, it is better to choose certain varieties that are characterized by a high sugar content:

1. Globo. This variety is ideal for salads. The bulbs are juicy, the taste is slightly sweet. There is practically no specific smell.
2. Exhibition. You won't cry when cutting bulbs from this Dutch-bred variety. Bitterness is not felt, so additional processing before cooking is not required.
3. Yalta. Sweet onions without a pungent odor, which are grown in the Crimea, are brought home by many tourists as gifts to relatives and friends. The popularity of this variety is due to its excellent taste. Many gardeners try to grow this variety on their plots in different regions of Russia, but they cannot achieve the characteristic taste.

If you don't want to waste time pre-processing the vegetable, also pay attention to the red onion. Soft varieties are ideal for salads, for example, Black Prince, Retro, Crimson Ball.

Conclusion

A little bitterness will be the highlight of signature dishes, but too much piquancy will only ruin them. Now you know how to remove the bitterness from onions for salad, while maintaining all its beneficial properties. Don't be afraid to experiment by trying different methods to find the one that works best.