Onions are indispensable ingredients in most Ghanaian dishes. The strong (yet sweet) ingredient is an edible bulb used in cooking soup, stew, stir-fry, or sauce. It is also great in salads and sandwiches.
It enhances flavours without dominating them in recipes. While it is a vegetable at heart, it also acts as a spice. There are several colours, shapes, and size variants. Shapes range from spherical to nearly conical, and colours range from white to red to purple.
In the Amaryllidaceae family, the Allium genus is where onions as a plant species are categorised. Since they are typically combined with other vegetables to make a meal or cook food, they fall under the category of bulb vegetables.
An onion is a vegetable. The edible parts of the plant are where onions are obtained as a vegetable. Onions can be consumed raw. They come in a variety of colours, flavours, and textures. The colours range from white, red, and yellow.
Yellow Onions are considered an all-purpose onion. It is rounded and has a thin, papery-brown skin. Yellow onions are versatile in a wide range of cuisines and meals because to their well-balanced flavour that is neither overly sweet nor overly sharp.
Red onion is a popular addition to salads due to its vivid reddish-purple skin. The family of onions’ sharpest flavour is found in red onions. In Ghanaian markets, red onions are the most prevalent variety.
White onions are known to have thiner and white flesh. It has a milder flavour than red or yellow onions. Because of their juicy crunch, raw white onions are frequently used as a final garnish.
Onions can be used as a spice in a form of powder, chopped or blended. But to refer to it as a spice, it is usually mixed with other ingredients in order to get the desired flavour.
Onions are believed by many to help treat or speed up the process of fighting colds and flu in addition to possessing numerous vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, and folate.
There are other popular varieties such as sweet onions, scallions, shallots and others that are used. When selecting onions, look for firm bulbs. Avoid any onions that have bruising, mould, or soft patches.
Remember that because onions are grown in the soil, the skins may occasionally have spots of dried mud on them. Before chopping onions, quickly brush or rinse and dry them.