Can you actually taste a difference between Onions?

Summary by Krater

An in-depth guide on how onions work and taste differently depending on the variety, cooking method, cell damage, and aroma compounds. The video concludes that different onion varieties have unique aromas driven by volatile organic compounds released upon cell damage, and their flavor changes substantially when cooked, with red onions and shallots offering greater pungency for raw applications and yellow, white, or sweet onions preferred for caramelization.

From the video

Answers: Do different onion varieties taste and smell different, and how does cooking change them?

• Onion varieties
• Flavor equation in cooking
• Taste, aroma, texture, sight, physical and human elements of onions
• Cell damage and aroma release
• Caramelization and Maillard reaction
• Raw application of onions
• Cooking and sautéing onions

Ingredients

• null white onion
• null yellow onion
• null red onion
• null sweet onion
• null shallot
• null garlic
• 120 g tomato
• 5 g serrano pepper
• 14 g cilantro
• 10 g lime juice
• 1 g salt
• null ground beef
• null American cheese
• null mayo
• null lettuce
• null cropa
• null mortadella
• null salami
• null provolone
• null olive oil
• null vinegar
• null refried beans

What it concludes

• Different onion varieties have unique aromas depending on their combination of volatile organic compounds that are released.
• Onion aroma molecules are volatile and reactive, changing over time when exposed to air, heat, light, water, and fat.
• More cell damage equals more aroma molecules released.
• Raw onion aroma compounds change fast during the initial 10 minutes after cutting.
• Red onions and shallots provide the strongest pungency and aroma for raw applications, while yellow, white, and sweet onions are milder and ideal for caramelization.