Onions - Do you remove the first layer?

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alisam

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#303476 13-Feb-2023 10:21

My job in the kitchen is to prepare the onions.

It is not negotiable; I have to do it.

I always take off the first layer, but I do moan that the first layer can, at times, be a significant part of the onion.

My other half said why bother, Jamie Oliver doesn't (but I never watch him).

Had a search and a lot of people take off the first layer.

What do you (or your partner etc.) do?

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#3035788 13-Feb-2023 10:22

I don't. I use the whole onion once the skin is removed.

allan

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#3035790 13-Feb-2023 10:27

A check on definitions here. Do you mean removing the first white layer under the brown skin? If so - no. If you mean removing the outside brown skin layer - yes.

RunningMan

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#3035791 13-Feb-2023 10:29

Just the skin

floydbloke

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#3035794 13-Feb-2023 10:38

I think the issue in question here is that often the brown skin morphs into the white first layer.

Because I'm stingy and I don't like wasting food I frequently find myself cutting that particular layer and discard approximately half so I don't get any brown skin in my dish but harvest the maximum onionage.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

evnafets

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#3035795 13-Feb-2023 10:38

Red onions or Brown onions? Is there a difference in the treatment?

I have seen with 'red' onions in the supermarket they have two presentations - with the outer skin, and with the outer skin removed - looking very shiny.

alisam

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#3035798 13-Feb-2023 10:43

Sorry, I should have mentioned that we always use red onions. We recently used brown unions as there seemed to be a shortage in the supermarkets.

So, I cut the onion vertically but do not cut the root off, only the other end.

Then I take off the first, red, outer layer from each half of the onion.

Finally, I cut the onion with a knife, but not touching the root.

Finally, the root is cut off.

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MikeAqua

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#3035810 13-Feb-2023 10:58

I remove the skin, and sometimes the first layer is also partly skin like, so I'll trim that too.

Mike

rscole86

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#3035815 13-Feb-2023 11:03

I remove anything 'papery', on both red and white onions. Sometimes that's half of an inner layer and not just the outermost.
As pointed out, red onions are often supplied without the paper like outer layer, so I give it a wash and trim the paper like top end.

farcus

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#3035854 13-Feb-2023 12:03

most red onions (at least in the supermarkets where I am) have already been peeled.
In that case, I just give them a wash and then chop.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3035895 13-Feb-2023 13:01

I always remove the first layer. I contemplate this waste almost every day. I usually fry, and it's something to do with how the outer layer cooks, but I've been doing it so long I cannot remember why.

I do not cook with red onion because they seem to be highly variable in flavour and I often find the taste unpleasant.

vexxxboy

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#3035978 13-Feb-2023 13:52

sorry i just buy diced, and sliced Onions , so much quicker and no tears and they are not much dearer than unpeeled onions .

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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tdgeek

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#3035996 13-Feb-2023 14:25

floydbloke:

I think the issue in question here is that often the brown skin morphs into the white first layer.

Because I'm stingy and I don't like wasting food I frequently find myself cutting that particular layer and discard approximately half so I don't get any brown skin in my dish but harvest the maximum onionage.

Onionage! Made me laugh!

neb

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#3036008 13-Feb-2023 14:41

alisam:
Sorry, I should have mentioned that we always use red onions. We recently used brown unions as there seemed to be a shortage in the supermarkets.

I don't recall ever seeing red onions sold with the skin on and if you remove the first layer you're losing a good chunk of the onion. During Covid, before we knew about the exact transmission vectors, I would remove the outer layer, but now I just give them a good wash, same as for carrots, cucumbers, capsicum, and other vegetables.

I suspect that if onions didn't come in convenient layers no-one would even give it a thought, just wash and use like other vegetables.

alisam

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#3036034 13-Feb-2023 15:21

neb:
alisam:

Sorry, I should have mentioned that we always use red onions. We recently used brown unions as there seemed to be a shortage in the supermarkets.

I don't recall ever seeing red onions sold with the skin on and if you remove the first layer you're losing a good chunk of the onion. During Covid, before we knew about the exact transmission vectors, I would remove the outer layer, but now I just give them a good wash, same as for carrots, cucumbers, capsicum, and other vegetables. I suspect that if onions didn't come in convenient layers no-one would even give it a thought, just wash and use like other vegetables.

Yes, that is the whole point of my post i.e. 'losing a good chunk of the onion'.

I will give it a go. A wash first.

networkn

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#3036045 13-Feb-2023 15:34

MikeAqua:

I remove the skin, and sometimes the first layer is also partly skin like, so I'll trim that too.

This is the way.

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