Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I got this tip from some Mexican recipes years ago, and it works great. I use it when I can tell the onions are just too harsh.

Years ago, when I started cooking, purple onions always seemed like the mildest on the market, and whites the sharpest. If you wanted a raw onion on a salad, purple was the way to go - I never had any purples that would make me cry. Now, they are often the harshest ones around - you never know until you slice into a batch. Anyone else notice this trend?

When I use red onions for my potato salad, I chop them small, but then toss throw them in the pan where I'd cooked the bacon, after I removed the grease, and stir them for less than a minute depending on the quantity. They get a little of the bacon flavor and while still raw, they are not bitter at all and don't lose their color.

Dave,

I don't know about the rest of the country, but the messed-up climate and the farm labor shortage (thanks to border control) has hurt the onion crop in CA, causing growers to pick them to early or not keep them dry. This results in them being sharper.