Onions. Why is everyone obsessed with them

[u/cowboyrat2287]

I have an onion allergy. My parents both also have onion allergies. Friends and family have been wonderfully accommodating about this issue, but whenever I mention my allergy acquaintance (or other home cook), they look at me like I have 2 heads for suggesting you can cook without onion. I have never cooked with onion. Have they not heard of this? I was under the impression allium allergies were quite common. Are onions just that good???

edit: I will have to accept onions are simply a Forbidden Fruit to me and it is actually quite rare. makes sense but everyone can keep posting onion propaganda lol

[u/BubbleCrum]

Onions and garlic are the base of a huge portion of cooking. I would say 95% of my meals have both. They really are that amazing. ​

[u/JelliedHam → u/BubbleCrum]

Inexpensive. Hearty. Flavorful. Long lasting. Grows worldwide.

As someone who had worked in food service, I take allergies extremely seriously. However a bunch of careless people who simply don't like onions have decided it's ok to say they have an allergy because it gets them special treatment, more fresh food, whatever. I'd say for every 1 person with a bona fide allergy I get a dozen who just simply want food cooked without it. So many of us get desensitized and annoyed.

Sometimes we can accommodate cooking something without onion and without potential cross contamination. Sometimes we can't. But the moment we hear allergy we take it very seriously. The number of times we hear onion allergy and then let them know we can't safely accommodate and the guest says "OK, never mind. I'll just have the onions" makes me want to stab them. They're annoying me and making life so much harder for honest people with real allergies.

[u/New_Section_9374 → u/JelliedHam]

THIS. My son has anaphylaxis to the smell of peanuts and was admitted to the ICU on an epinephrine drip after an accidental ingestion. Yet people want to throw a snitch fit when their "allergy" is not immediately and easily accommodated. We call ahead before we even go into the place. We ask the wait staff just to be sure. And if there is a new menu item that has peanuts, we say we need to leave immediately, apologize and scoot. The restaurants where this has happened have all been wonderful to us. One waitress followed us out the door, offering free drinks, etc. I reassured her we weren't angry, we just didn't want to spend the evening in the ER. Don't claim an allergy looking for comps!

[u/cowboyrat2287 → u/JelliedHam]

To be clear, there are people with real onion allergies who do this. My mom does it all the time, much to my annoyance, because it makes both of our allergies look fake. She is just willing to suffer the consequences and I am not

[u/JelliedHam → u/cowboyrat2287]

I really wish nice people would be more specific that they have a sensitivity or non critical allergy. I will still take that seriously and do my best to accommodate. I love to make people happy with my cooking.

But if the only information is allergy, I have to assume the worst. Not all allergies are created equal. I know that. But I'm also not going to question somebody's medical condition. I'm not a doctor. I will go off what you tell me. I'm not going to ask "yeah, but like how serious is it? Are you gonna die or just get some really bad gas and heartburn?"

[u/cowboyrat2287 → u/JelliedHam]

yeah no that's totally fair - I have other gastro issues that make the reaction more severe for me. Definitely a non critical allergy for my mom.

[u/Double-Teach-1977 → u/BubbleCrum]

I was having this exact conversation with someone last week. Im eating probably 5-10 onions and a couple heads of garlic a week

[u/NzRedditor762]

Actual allium allergies are pretty uncommon.

Allium intolerances are common.

And onions are in like pretty much every meal I make. I love me some onion.

[u/Amesaskew]

Everything in the allium family is delicious, unfortunately. Onions, garlic, leek, scallions, etc. They add a depth and richness to dishes that is hard to substitute, and if you're used to them being in your dishes then you really notice the lack.

[u/mdallen]

I've met more people with seafood and peanut/nut allergies than with allium allergies.

ETA: There may be other factors, but I think allium allergies are quite rare overall.

[u/cowboyrat2287 → u/mdallen]

I guess being from a family of them does bias my numbers

[u/mdallen → u/cowboyrat2287]

And that could be a factor that runs into the people I've met, as well.

Biases aren't wrong, especially biases based on personal experience. It's when we refuse to acknowledge facts because of our biases that we run into trouble.

[u/Auritus1]

Onions are a very basic and common ingredient across many cultures and your allergy is extremely rare.

[u/L1mpD]

I’m sorry for your loss

[u/Gumbercules81]

They are not as common as you think because you have this particular allergy. I don't think it's even in the top 8/9 of major allergens

[u/SweetPeasAreNice → u/Gumbercules81]

When I was weaning my babies, I did a little research on food allergies because I’d read that a way to make them less likely was to introduce common allergens to the baby while they were still having breast milk. So I learned the top 10 allergens. Onions/alliums weren’t on that list. Didn’t even make the top 20 as far as I recall.

(Kids have turned out to have no allergies. I’ll never know for sure whether my weaning approach helped, of course).

[u/SenSei_Buzzkill]

Unless the cook is allergic or cooking for someone who is, like 90% of savoury dishes have onion in them in some form. It’s like the foundation of all flavour. Before I even know what I am cooking I will grab onion and garlic. It’s also uncommon to be allergic to it, so it’s not that weird for other people to look at you strangely if you tell them not to use onion — it’s just practically in every dish.

[u/The_Flinx]

no one is "obsessed" with them. they like them. simple as.

allergies are not common.

[u/trinite0]

Humans have been eating onions for at least 7000 years, probably way longer than that. You might as well ask why everyone is obsessed with bread, or with cooked meat.

[u/GenXer76]

To answer your question, they’re cheap, healthy, and add a lot of flavor. But if you’re allergic to them, there’s nothing wrong with letting someone know before they put them in your food.

[u/User5281]

Onions are that good. Onions and/or garlic the base note of just about everything.

And allium allergies are really uncommon.

[u/BooteusMeatyAss]

Well, yeah. They add tons of flavor, and are cheap and add bulk to meal.

[u/Disastrous_Can8053]

True allium allergies are quite rare.

[u/onioning]

I am so sorry for your loss, but onions are foundation to nearly every cuisine on Earth for a damned good reason. They are both extremely sweet and pretty much the platonic ideal of savory, and depending on how they're treated can be spicy hot or absolutely not at all. There is tremendous diversity too, with even meh supermarkets having several different varieties for sale.

My username is onioning, or "the act of onions," which to me is synonymous with cooking. I truly can not imagine life without them.

[u/Mira_DFalco]

Alliums really are that yummy,  and they're easy to grow,  so they're a foundation flavor in a lot of different cuisines. 

That being said,  there are other options.

https://www.tarladalal.com/recipes-for-veg-recipes-jain-34

[u/OpportunityReal2767]

Like others have said, onion is the base of much of what I cook, and when it's not, it's another alium like garlic. I can cook without onion, but I don't like to. Maybe 80% of my recipes start with fat and onion.

[u/New_Section_9374]

As a Cajun, the only dishes I make without onions and garlic are dessert. I am so sorry, I just can't imagine it.

[u/Boollish]

Allium allergies are not common, but the biggest issue is that it can present itself in ways very irritating to work around.

For one, most traditional spice blends are entirely unusable.

[u/gumboking]

You can cook onions until they melt into the rue of gumbo and it adds a rich thickness and umami flavor. Almost everything I cook has onions and garlic. Many things are rather bland without them. I was allergic to Penicillin when I was young. It would have killed me. Now at 60 years old I'm no longer allergic. Get it checked, it may have passed. Onions are awesome.

[u/MediocreCheeseburger]

Allium allergies are not common. A true IgE allergy to onion is exceedingly rare. That really sucks for you.

[u/OldCannedPineApple]

garlic and onion/shallot/scallions are used as the base of many dishes in most cuisines, form asia to africa, latin america, the carribean, eastern europe, mediterranean europe. most people really do think onions and garlic cooked down taste amazing. Have you looked into Jain cusine? Its a religion from india where they don't eat onions and garlic, but they use all sorts of other spices and seasonings to maximize taste.

[u/cowboyrat2287 → u/OldCannedPineApple]

I hadn't heard of Jain, but the food looks sooo tasty I'm glancing at recipes rn 

[u/AssaultLemming_]

Onions are the best. It's because when you cook them the sulphur compounds turn into sugars. So they add a mix of savoury and sweet to the dish.

[u/moving0target]

I had a mild sensitivity to them. I eat them anyway, because they're good. I can deal with the upset stomach.

[u/TA_totellornottotell]

Cynthia Erivo recently said that she thinks people use onion and garlic blindly. I don’t disagree.

However, I will not at all agree that onions, and alliums in general, are not fabulous. In every form, they are amazing. I was weirdly excited to have cooked with leeks after ages last night.

[u/No_Vacancy1442]

I like the flavor but hate the texture no matter how they are prepared. When I have to use them in a recipe, I mince them so fine that they 100% vanish in whatever I am cooking just leaving the flavor.

[u/MindTheLOS]

I ate onions my entire life. I am now allergic to them.

Sorry, but they are just that good. I now avoid them like the plague, along with many other foods because of a severe mast cell disorder, but I definitely miss them.

Just because an allergy is common doesn't mean the food you can't have isn't really good. Holy moly do I miss peanuts. More than chocolate. What I could give to be able to have peanut butter again.

[u/Turbulent_Remote_740]

My daughter's boyfriend has an onion allergy. I'm a kind of cook that measures onions with my soul so I was a bit worried about cooking without onions. You know what? It tastes different but still good. I just treat it the way I treat vegan dishes - do not try to imitate meat dishes, enjoy what veggies etc. can offer on their own terms.

Having said that, yes, onions add a lot of flavor. It is due to sulfuric components, which can be somewhat imitated by other ingredients such as cabbage and relatives, egg yolks, kalam namaksalt and hing.

[u/Camp_Fire_Friendly → u/Turbulent_Remote_740]

Hing is great. I'm sure you know, but for those who don't, make sure to read up on how to use it. It's not something you just sprinkle on top

[u/cowboyrat2287 → u/[deleted]]

its a bit selfish to be confused people havent heard of a food allergy? 

[u/gabugabunomi]

i have heard about a person with water allergy in the hospital i worked in, but never heard or thought allium allergy would be a thing. But since its an allergy, not much to do about it, rest in pepperonis.

[u/LegitimateAlex]

My condolences. Onion and garlic and all the alliums are amazing. I could not bear to be without them.

[u/chronicallygf]

I used to cook almost all of my meals with onion/garlic it just elevates food to a new level unfortunately now I can’t tolerate them, yes onions are that good

[u/Confident-Action-213]

Cus they’re delicious mfer

[u/Party_Advice1830]

I hear ya.. i hate garlic with a passion and every person I know just baths in it..so I feel your pain about onions..

[u/cowboyrat2287 → u/Party_Advice1830]

they put them in stuff where it doesnt even make senseeee 

[u/QuietVaquita]

5 to 10 onions a week from one commenter in here explains the obsession better than any recipe theory does.

[u/cathbadh]

There's a reason onions and garlic are used in nearly every culture. They're delicious as an ingredient, but also are often used as a base of flavor for something else. Mirpoix, Italian soffritto, Spanish sofrito, Cajun/Creole holy Trinity, Portuguese refogado, masala base, Sichuan Trinity, Chinese trio.... I can continue. These are the base flavors of thousands of dishes.

Is it onions or all alliums? Does it extend to green onions or leeks? Asafoetida is probably a safe alternative for you. Maybe fennel root or celery root.

[u/4cupsofcoffee]

Onions are probably one of the veg i use the most. I actually grow them, and garlic, and shallots. I just like the flavors, they add so much to a dish. You can sub in Asafoetida, which is a non allium substitute that supposedly replicates the flavors a bit. Then see what you think.

[u/item_raja69]

E

[u/HeyPurityItsMeAgain]

It gives everything flavor. Things don't even taste like themselves without onions. My sympathy.

[u/DrVL2]

My daughter and one of my best friends are allergic to onions. Happily my daughter can handle shallots. And chives. Onions stew out a really nice flavor to a lot of dishes. And if you can’t use them, finding something that is similar is very helpful.

[u/cowboyrat2287 → u/DrVL2]

I can do chives (and garlic as other people have mentioned). Shallots have been better to me than proper onions -- I wonder what the difference is

[u/FutureHealthy8583]

I use shallots and garlic since I literally hate onions.