Pearl onions also known as cocktail onions, baby onions, picklers or button onions are small size onions with an average size of between 1 cm and 4 cm. They are used in a variety of culinary recipes. They have a slightly stretched globe-like shape with pointed ends.
Pearl onions are from the species Allium cepa. They are generally available in grocery shops under the produce section. Examples of cocktail onion varieties are white pearl onion, gold pearl onion and red pearl onion. Furthermore, specialty onions such as Cipollinis can also be grown into pearls. Specific varieties include Crystal Wax or White Bermuda, Barletta, White Mexican or El Toro and Eclipse.
Table of Contents
Pearl Onion Description
Pearl onions are often and easily confused for other varieties and sizes of onions. As mentioned, they have a globe-like shape with pointed ends. They can be white, gold or red in color. In the United States and the UK, white button onions appear to be most common.
Pearl onions have small bulbs that have a shiny parchment-like covering which falls off as flakes when rubbed with the fingers. This skin is removed before use. Pearl onions have a reputation of being difficult to peel.
If it wasn’t for the cloves and the pungent flavor, cocktail onions could be mistaken for garlic. They have firm yet juicy white flesh and thin rings which are nearly see-through. Overall, pearl onions take their name from pearls which tend to roughly fit this outward description.
Pearl Onions in Cooking
White pearl onions are more commonly used in kitchens. This is in contrast to gold or red pearl onions. Specific application of pearl onions for cooking include in pot pies, as caramelized or glazed pearl onions and creamed cocktail onions. Baby onions are also a favourite on skewers or kebab sticks.
Pearl onions fit in a variety of recipes in this manner due to their savory yet sweet taste. Furthermore, once cooked, they are less pungent than their regular sized companions.
Cocktail onions are also consumed pickled. They can be pickled in small amounts of tumeric and paprika. Another method of pickling pearl onions involves the use of malt vinegar, sugar and spices. This is the English Pickled Onions method. The pickled onions can be eaten straight from the jar in sandwiches.
Unless the recipe obligates the use of cocktail onions, pearl onions can be substituted with shallots, or spring onions. Furthermore, cocktail onions can be successfully substituted with 3/4 cup of chopped white onion per each half a cup of pearl onions needed. In addition, caperberries can be used instead of pickled pearl onion.
Pearl Onion Equivalents
- 1 pearl onion is approximately 15g
- 1 cup pearl onions is approximately 185g
- 1 2/3 white onion raw is approximately 1 cup or 185g of pearl onions
Pearl Onions Vs Shallots
Pearl onions are from the species Allium cepa. Shallots are from the species Allium ascalonicum. Although they could substitute each other in recipes, pearl onions and shallots are not one and the same.
These onions, nevertheless, come from the same broader onion genus Allium. This is the same family as other onion varieties, garlic, leek and chives.
Due to their peculiar flavor profile, shallots bring a soft onion undertone to dishes. They also bring a noticeable acidity which leans towards garlic. On the other hand, cocktail onions bring to the table a rather non-sweet to somewhat-sweet flavor and are less pungent than garlic.
The appearance of shallots is small in size, pale purple and white flesh. They are often confused for pearl onions due to their matching papery skin which is however off-white. One distinguishing factor in appearance to look out for, is that unlike pearl onions, shallots have clustered bulbs that look like garlic cloves.
Growing Pearls
Cocktail onions can be easily grown under the right conditions. They thrive in loamy sands with the right temperatures and daylight. In the United States North Dakota, Minnesota, and Washington have the right soils for the production of pearl onions.
Baby onions germinate at an optimum temperature range of between 9 degrees Celsius and 90 degrees Celsius. This represents a generous range to work with in most cases.
As day length increases, onion bulbing also increases. Light quality and its intensity also influence how onions bulb. In order to produce small bulbs as achieved by pearl onions, the onions must bulb early. Bright days tend to cause early bulbing.
Pearls are generally planted in high density. Under the right conditions, the yields are very high at about 20 tons per acre. An acre of land would require between 35kgs and 50kgs of seed. The density of the plants will influence the shape of the pearl onion.
At high density, pearls are produced taller. However, cocktail onion varieties can also be used to determine the produced shape. For example, there are varieties that naturally produce a round shape.
An important factor when growing onions is their shallow roots. Onions are not efficient at absorbing moisture. The soil should not be allowed to lose moisture. Maintaining moisture is key to root development and bulbing vigor. Pink root is a common disease which attacks pearl onions. Onions are made susceptible to this disease by poor moisture management.
