Tip: Onions

There are 2 basic types of onions, storage and fresh. Storage onions, which are available year-round, are picked at the peak of the summer harvest season and are then "cured" by a drying process that gives them their familiar dry, papery skin. Store them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated spot for up to 2 months; keep away from potatoes, which give off moisture that causes onions to rot. Among the storage onions, white onions generally have a sharper flavor and stronger bite than yellow onions. Early in April, the first fresh onions arrive. These are named after the regions where they're grown --Vidalias from Georgia, Spring Sweets from Texas, Walla Wallas from Washington, Mauis from Hawaii, and OSO Sweets from Chile. These onions are prized for their fruity sweetness and are not the least hot. They have thin, shiny skins, and are flatter in shape than storage onions. These onions also contain more sugar and water so they do not keep as long; refrigerate them in the vegetable crisper for up to 1 week. Fresh onions are also lower in the sulfur compounds that give most onions their characteristic bite and their tear-producing properties.