Joni's onion test: to define the difference in taste, color, texture with cooked yellow onions, purple onions and white onions. Yellow onions reign with their onion-y-ness. Purple onions praised for the sweetness. White onions win for best background flavor. (Cooked with Chicken thighs with Sweet'n Sour Sauce.) - Step one: chop the onions … 1/2 cup each (yellow onion on the left, purple onion in the center, and white onion on the right).
Step four: Pour the sauce over the chicken. Top with the onions (the yellow onions on the left, purple onions in the center, and white onions on the right). Broil for 5-8 minutes. Results: Yellow onion has strong onion flavor, just a bit sweet and held it's shape and texture. This is the winner for the best onion-y flavor, it brings out the tartness of the sauce, and contrasts the sweetness of the sauce. Results: Purple onion is very sweet with some tartness, just a bit of onion taste, lost quite a bit of color (even tho it's cooked in an acid-base sauce), shrunk in size and became very soft. This is the winner for the biggest sweet flavor, enhancing the sweetness of the sauce. Results: White onion had verrrry mild delicate taste, just a hint of onion flavor and just a hint of sweetness, it held its shape and texture. This is the winner for best 'background' flavor, allowing the herb-y-ness (oregano) to come to the forefront in the sauce. Results: Three taste testers agreed that the Yellow onion had the best appearance, b/c the purple onion looked dull and faded and the white onion looked limp and not robust (and as studies show - looks make the flavors taste better).
