How to release pungence out of onion for salads without cooking?
I have been making a pretty standard Mediterranean-style potato salad but replacing the standard vinegar with lemon juice, which I like better. However, I noticed that, when used, red wine vinegar does more to soften the uncooked union and seems to release the pungent juices from it so they spread to other ingredients. Lemon juice tastes better but I don't think it treats the onion as well.
Because I would rather not mix vinegar and lemon juice, I was wondering if there are any way other than using vinegar to treat raw onion so that it releases more juice and also make the onion more palatable?
Best Answer
A simple way is to, upon cutting, place your chopped onions into a bowl of ice water for 10-15 minutes before tossing into your salad (sans water, of course). I find this takes the 'spicy bite' and pungency out of them and leaves the crunch - whereas acid seems to affect the texture of the onion.
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Quick Answer about "How to release pungence out of onion for salads without cooking?"
A simple way is to, upon cutting, place your chopped onions into a bowl of ice water for 10-15 minutes before tossing into your salad (sans water, of course). I find this takes the 'spicy bite' and pungency out of them and leaves the crunch - whereas acid seems to affect the texture of the onion.How do you take the bitterness out of onions in a salad?
Take a bowl big enough to completely sub-merge Onions in water. Now soak the Onions in water for about 30 minutes before serving. The water will steal away the bitterness.How do you make onions less potent for salads?
You can get rid of the strong taste by soaking sliced onions in ice water for 20 to 30 minutes or by sprinkling them with an acid such as vinegar. Onions soaked in ice water will get very crisp while those sprinkled with vinegar will soften a bit, but they will lose the strong taste and become sweeter.What neutralizes raw onion?
Neutralize It A 15-minute soak in a solution of baking soda and water tames the pungent taste of sliced or chopped raw onions.How do you remove pungent onions?
Soaking cut onions in lemon juice or lime juice will cut out some of the bitter taste and also add flavor. Peeled onions (whole) can be also soaked into salted water before slicing. This will render the smell less strong and minimizes your tears while slicing them.How to remove the strong flavor of the onion with this method for any salad
More answers regarding how to release pungence out of onion for salads without cooking?
Answer 2
Marinate the onions in acid for a longer time.
I have a recipe that mixes thinly-sliced red onions with lemon juice and feta cheese, and the mixture sits on the counter for 4 or more hours, until the onions are very soft and translucent, are much less pungent, and they have expressed a lot of liquid.
Answer 3
What I personally do is cut the onions half and put them in a bowl of cold water and then after chopping them, marinate them with lemon juice for a longer period of time. It helps remove pungency out of them and are crunchy as well.
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