Red Onion or Not

I was chatting with someone last night about an often under appreciated issue. When to use a red onion?

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At first glance this might appear to be a "who cares?" culinary issue but there are times when you should or should not reach for a red onion.

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The bright color of a red onion is perfectly suit for not being cooked or quickly cooked. When used in long cooking situations the red fades and takes on more of an ugly grey color. I don't even use red onion in making stocks or broths because I feel it discolors them. Here's a quick helpful list of should and should nots

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Should:

Use raw

Quickly sauteed

Quickly Grilled

Quick Pickle

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Should Not:

Used Braised

Used in soups

Used in stocks

There are of course hundreds of different applications where a red onion may or may not work well. I plan on covering onions from root to table on an upcoming video series dedicate to one of the kings of the culinary world the onion.