I often use onions in tuna, egg, and chicken salad, to flavor soups and meats, and I especially like fried potatoes and onions. But I’ve never made stuffed onions, onion soup, sauces, or any of the other recipes listed below. They all sound delicious.

If you ever get a chance to buy Vidalia onions, grown in the state of Georgia, be sure to give them a try.  They are a sweet tasting onion.

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS:

ONIONS FOR FLAVORING
When only the flavor of onions is desired in a salad or a cooked dish of some sort, the onion should be added in the form of juice and pulp rather than in pieces. Then it will not be possible to observe the onion when it is mixed with the food. To prepare an onion in this way, peel it, cut off a crosswise slice, and then grate the onion on a grater over a shallow dish. Add the juice and pulp thus obtained to any food that calls for onion as a flavoring.

BAKED ONIONS
Put six large, peeled onions into a saucepan of water, or water and milk in equal proportions. Add salt and pepper and boil until tender. When done so they can be easily mashed, work them up with butter to the consistency of paste, cover with breadcrumbs, and bake in a moderate oven. If preferred, they may be boiled whole, put in a baking dish, covered with butter and breadcrumbs, then baked.

ONION RELISH
Chop fine sufficient onions to measure one cup and then place two tablespoons of fat in a frying pan. When hot, add the onions, cover, and simmer slowly until tender. Season with salt, paprika, and three tablespoons of vinegar. Cool and serve as a relish.

CREAM OF ONION SOUP
Slice six medium-sized onions and chop one green pepper. Cook onion and pepper in two tablespoons butter for five minutes without browning. Add one quart water and cook until onions are soft (about forty minutes), then rub through a sieve. Melt one tablespoon butter, add four tablespoons flour and stir to a paste. Gradually add two cups scalded milk, stirring constantly. Combine mixtures and add salt and cayenne to taste. Heat to boiling, remove from the fire, and add the yolk of an egg slightly beaten. Two tablespoons cheese may be added to soup when adding egg yolk. Pass Parmesan cheese and hot, crisp crackers. Serve very hot.

FRIED ONIONS
Peel and slice into even rounds four medium-sized onions. Place them first in milk, then in flour. Fry in very hot fat for eight minutes. Remove them carefully and lay on a cloth to dry. Place a folded napkin on a dish, lay the onions on, and serve very hot. Garnish with fried parsley.

GLAZED ONIONS
Peel the onions and place in a saucepan with a little warmed butter. Add sugar and salt to taste, and pour over it a little soup stock. Place over a moderate fire and cook slowly till quite tender and the outside brown. Remove and serve on a dish. A little of the liquor, thickened with flour, may be served as a sauce.

STUFFED ONIONS
Peel six large onions and cook them in boiling salted water until almost tender. Remove from the water and take out the inner portions of the onions, leaving the outside layers in the shape of a cup. Chop the portions of the onions which have been removed and mix with one cup dried bread crumbs. Melt two tablespoons butter and add to it the chopped onion and bread crumbs. Then add one-half teaspoon salt, one-eighth teaspoon pepper, and one-half teaspoon celery salt. Stir all together for a few minutes over the flame. Add one-fourth cup milk, and if it is not sufficient to make the stuffing moist, add more. Fill the onion shells with the stuffing, place in a hot oven,* and bake until brown. Serve immediately.

*hot oven – A hot (or quick) oven is about 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit

SPANISH ONIONS STUFFED
Take two large Spanish onions,* wash and skin and tie them to prevent breaking. Put them into a saucepan over the fire, cover with boiling water, cook until they can be pierced with a broom straw—from two to three hours, according to size. When done, drain and carefully take out the centers, leaving about a quarter of an inch for the shell. Have ready a stuffing made from a quarter of a pound of mushrooms. Put these and the centers of the onions into a chopping bowl and chop very fine. Cook them together until the moisture from the onions has almost evaporated, then add a generous heaping tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of rich cream, and three heaping tablespoons of grated bread crumbs; salt and pepper to taste. Fill the onion shells with this mixture, smooth the tops nicely, sprinkle with bread crumbs, brush with egg and a little butter.

Put in the oven and brown about ten minutes, and serve with the following sauce:

Rub a generous heaping tablespoon of butter and a heaping tablespoon of flour together. Put a small teacup* of milk into a saucepan on the fire and when hot, stir in the butter and flour and one-fourth pound of mushrooms prepared as before and chopped very fine, season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the onions on a platter and pour the sauce around them, garnish with parsley and serve.

*Spanish onion – the normal yellow onion sold in U.S. grocery stores.
*teacup – same as a jill or gill; four ounces in the U.S. and five ounces in the U.K.

WHITE ONION SAUCE
Peel half a dozen white Spanish onions, cut them in half, and lay them in a pan of spring water for a quarter of an hour. Boil them an hour, or till quite tender, drain them well on a hair sieve,* and then chop and bruise them fine. Put them into a clean saucepan with flour and butter, half a teaspoon of salt, and some cream or good milk. Stir it till it boils, rub the whole through the sieve, adding milk or cream to make it of a proper thickness. This is the usual sauce for boiled rabbits, mutton, or tripe; but there requires plenty of it.

*hair sieve – a strainer with a wiry fabric bottom usually woven from horsehair.

PICKLED ONIONS
Have the onions gathered when quite dry and ripe and with the fingers, take off the thin outside skin. Then with a silver knife (steel should not be used, as it spoils the color of the onions), remove one more skin so the onion will look quite clear. Have ready some very dry bottles or jars, and as fast as the onions are peeled, put them in. To each quart of vinegar, add two teaspoons allspice and two teaspoons whole black pepper. Pour over sufficient cold vinegar to cover them, taking care that each jar has its share of the latter ingredients. Tie down with bladder* and put them in a dry place. In a fortnight* they will be fit for use. This is a most simple recipe and very delicious, the onions being nice and crisp. They should be eaten within six or eight months after being done, as the onions are liable to become soft.

*bladder – animal bladders were used to keep air out of crocks and jars to preserve food.
*fortnight – a two week period.

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Do you have any favorite recipes using onions? Please leave a comment below.

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