All about onions

Red onions
Arguably the prettiest alliums in the bunch, red onions are covered in dark red, almost purple, papery skins. Choose dry, firm vegetables without soft spots or discolouring.

Flavour and use: The sweet flavour of raw red onions is ideal for salads or salsas. Or grill red onions in kebabs.

Storage: Red onions thrive in cool, dark places.

Leeks
If your rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song garners more jeers than cheers, perhaps you should add leeks to your shopping list. According to lore, the Roman Emperor Nero believed that eating this member of the allium family could improve his singing voice.

With long, flat green leaves that lead to a large, cylindrical white stalk and a somewhat bulbous root end, leeks are sometimes described as giant scallions. Choose leeks with unmarked white portions and bright, crisp leaves. If you're looking for a more tender leek, choose one on the smaller side.

Flavour and use: Known for a sweet, mild flavour, whole leeks can be cooked or chopped and used in soups, salads and other dishes. Clean your leeks carefully to remove soil. In her book Garlic, Onion, & Other Alliums (Stackpole Books, 2003), Ellen Spector Platt recommends cutting off the root end and the tough greens and then repeatedly washing to remove any leftover grit. She even suggests giving them one final washing after you've sliced them.

Storage: Wrap your leeks in a plastic bag and store them in the fridge for up to five days.

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Scallions and green onions
Although these two alliums are different varieties, they look very similar and can be used interchangeably. True scallions have no sign of a bulb at the root end but both vegetables are straight and narrow with a white base and long green leaves.

Flavour and use: If you're looking for subtlety, scallions and green onions will give you just a hint of seasoning. You can chop up both the white and green portions of the vegetables and use them raw in soups, salads and other dishes, or you can cook them in their entirety, much like leeks.

Storage: Scallions will keep for up to five days when wrapped in a plastic bag and stored in your fridge's vegetable crisper.

Chives
These bright green hollow stems are the smallest of the onion family and they're considered an herb rather than a vegetable.

Flavour and use: Offering a mild flavour, chives can be chopped up to use as a garnish or added to butter or cream cheese for a savoury spread. Spector Platt suggests using the leaves to tie bundles of vegetables together to create a pretty presentation. Add chives at the end of cooking to retain more flavour.

Storage: Store chives in a plastic bag in the fridge for a full week.

And finally, if you avoid chopping onions for fear of dissolving into tears, try freezing the vegetable for 20 minutes beforehand to weaken its bite.

Now that you know all about onions, try your hand at an Onion Tart with Rye Crust.

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