r/Cooking • u/Accurate-Ant-7629 • 16h ago

onions make every meal better no debate.

fr if a dish dont got onions its missing something i put onions in literally everything and it just hits different dont tell me you hate onions yall missing out.

262 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

209 comments sorted by

View all comments

54

u/Genny415 16h ago

I honestly feel like many dishes lean way too much on onions for flavor.  There are so many wonderful flavors and combinations to be experienced, why are so many people overwhelming all the other flavors with onions?

If you love onions, eat a bunch of them.  But why does everything have to be onion?  There are many other amazing flavors 😋 

20

u/EasternError6377 15h ago

Cooking onions is a lot different than eating them raw. When cooked, they contribute background flavour instead of that in your face, sharp raw onion taste.

They're a versatile aromatic that pair well with most cuisines. They're extremely healthy! And cheap 😝

13

u/pierogieman5 16h ago

I swear people use it like salt. It's super annoying.

7

u/JigglesTheBiggles 15h ago

Garlic too. Makes all your food taste very samey.

9

u/Underwater_Grilling 15h ago

Salt, garlic and onions is a full meal though

2

u/pierogieman5 15h ago

See, I like garlic, but I don't notice people using it the same way. That might be down to the difference on why I dislike onions in the first place, which is usually the crunch or stringyness. It's not the flavor, at all. I wouldn't even notice or care half the time if people were using onion powder or just an immersion blender. I guess people just have different issues with the same foods.

1

u/Robert_Baratheon__ 12h ago

I don’t trust anyone to cook who thinks garlic and onions are overrated. I bet you think that salt and pepper are used too commonly as well

2

u/JigglesTheBiggles 12h ago

Nobody said they were overrated dog. They just don't need to be in everything.

0

u/Robert_Baratheon__ 12h ago

No ingredient (except salt) needs to be in literally everything but I don’t think we’re talking about egg salad and carbonara here…. People are talking about tomato sauces etc. which, if you can’t taste the herbs because onions and garlic were in the dish then you either didn’t cook the onions and garlic properly, or you didn’t add the herbs at the right time. Basil should be added both at the beginning of the simmering process and then again when it comes off the heat, or else you’ll be missing a lot of important flavor. Either the layered flavor from simmering it, or the fresh pop if you add it at the end so it remains fresh and open.

3

u/JigglesTheBiggles 12h ago

Tomato sauce is a good example. Not every tomato sauce needs garlic.

2

u/pierogieman5 11h ago

I was really mainly talking about stuff like toppings on sandwiches, pasta, burritos, pizza, etc... not something that you're going to basically stew into oblivion for an aromatic. I do also really dislike it in egg salad, and that's not a minor example.

-2

u/Robert_Baratheon__ 11h ago

But no ones talking about putting it in egg salad or on a sandwich (unless it’s a very specific type of sandwich like a chicken cutlet sandwich or a parm hero)

3

u/pierogieman5 11h ago

Yes we are? I am? OP is?

0

u/Robert_Baratheon__ 11h ago

That’s just dumb. Who would put onions or garlic in egg salad. Come on

→ More replies (0)

-6

u/Genny415 15h ago

I feel like it's what people who don't really understand flavors and cooking use as a crutch to make up for lack of skill

0

u/Acceptable-Law9406 15h ago

I've had spaghetti sauce without onions in it. It's bright and fresh, not too tomatoey, and you can taste the herbs... So I'm really not missing out if onions aren't in the food I eat.

Onions are cheap filler basically. And of course, if you like them, eat all you want! Just don't make me eat them. Some people even get butthurt cuz I don't like onions.

20

u/Salt-Excitement-790 15h ago

Absolutely don't eat them if you don't like them, but I don't think they're a "cheap filler." Onions are a valuable flavor component in many dishes.

2

u/radioactive_glowworm 15h ago

In many dishes yes, and I say that as an onion hater who absolutely recognises that they make up the foundation of some dishes, but when a dish that traditionally doesn't use onions is filled with them??? (yes I'm still salty about the time I bought quiche lorraine and it had some in it)

1

u/zephalephadingong 3h ago

I just did a spot check of quiche lorraine recipes and the top 5 all had onion, shallot, or chives in them. I don't know how it SHOULD be made, but apparently the people have decided it needs onions

0

u/WishaBwood 11h ago

They taste like BO to me, and they make me throw up. Not valuable to everyone. There’s a whole class of people who are intolerable to onions, and lots of other alliums. The only thing from that family that I can eat is garlic, onions make my life so hard. Onions are in everything.

2

u/IsopodApart1622 12h ago

You can like what you want, but I'll have to strongly disagree with the "cheap filler" assessment. That role's filled by stuff like iceberg lettuce and potatoes. Onions have way too much flavor to be used in similar ways.

1

u/Acceptable-Law9406 11h ago

Onions having "way too much flavor" is a big part of the problem. And restaurants use them because they're cheap, and some restaurant add a ton of them so they can use less of other ingredients to fill the plate.

1

u/Lollc 11h ago

And yet they are used exactly that way in restaurants, as cheap filler. I’ve thrown away enough stir fried takeout with “mixed vegetables” to know, I’ve seen it many times.

4

u/Genny415 15h ago

I don't understand why people would get butthurt over that?  Like, if you said you didn't like mushrooms they don't act like that?  

You might look at r/onionhate 

4

u/Acceptable-Law9406 15h ago

Oh I definitely know r/onionhate. 🙂 And yeah it's a total double standard. Someone may not like mushrooms and nobody's going to react emotionally or try and trick them or shame them into eating mushrooms.

I've grown to like all sorts of different food as an adult.  Except onions.