How to make the most of an onion
Better Homes and Gardens’ resident landscaper, Jason Hodges, shares his top tips to make the most out of an onion and prevent unnecessary waste.
I hate wasting anything. It’s not just the frittering of money that annoys me. It’s the wasted energy and effort of production and transport that has an effect on our planet. Every little bit helps.
Take the humble brown onion. How often do you have the one at the bottom of the bowl, fridge or bag that has sprouted? You’re not sure whether you can still eat it, or eat parts of it, so you steer clear and go without.
The good news is you can still use the outer layers and keep the shoots and roots to grow another onion. That means you can eat the same onion twice and I’m not talking about it repeating on you.
If you plant the whole onion without removing the outer layers you will grow shoots (and they are useful) but no onion. They can flower and you can grow onions from the seeds but by removing the outer layers you encourage the bulb to reform giving you your next onion.
So here’s what I’ve done in the past and I know works.
Leave your onions out in a bowl and let them sprout naturally.
Once sprouted, place them on a scrunched-up wet paper towel in a bowl. Leave them for a few days to hydrate the root system and encourage the shoots to stand up straight.
I use a steak knife with a pointy end to cut through the outer layers. Make sure you don’t cut too deep and damage the shoots.
Peel the layers back by hand until you’ve got a clean shoots and root system. Clean between the shoots to remove any soft or wet residue. It’s a little like flossing.
This onion (pictured) has three individual shoots so I can cut down between them and provided I get roots with all three, I should produce three onions.
Plant them into a pot for the next few weeks as they are going to be sun-sensitive after being inside for so long. A protected patio or verandah is the perfect spot.
As the plant grows you can harvest some of the shoots (sometimes called spring onions or scallions). By removing them you will affect the growth of the bulb but they are delicious sprinkled fresh over salads and they are a common ingredient in stir-fried meals.
Within a few weeks you can move the plant out of the shade still in its pot or plant it into your vegie patch. Water them, talk to them and they will grow.
They grow easily in well-drained soil and you can keep them in the ground for a long time, meaning you don’t have to harvest them all at the same time.
Once you see the bulb emerging from the soil it’s ready to pick but you can leave it there for months until the green shoots start to brown off. That will extend your harvest.
A barbecue isn’t a barbecue without onions. Imagine the bragging rights if you’ve grown them yourself.
While I’m talking about barbecues, an onion is an excellent way to keep your hot plate clean. I clean off my barbecue after I’ve used it but leave it oily until next time. The oil protects the hot-plate from rusting. When I go to use it again, I fire it up, get it really, really hot and then rub an onion half over the hot plate. It works a treat, smells great and doesn’t cost a cent. You can still cook the remaining onion after cutting off the side that cleaned the barbecue.
Save an onion, grow an onion, clean the barbecue and cook up a storm.
There you go – weekend planned.
Written by Jason Hodges. First appeared on Domain.com.au.
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