yellow onion(brown/all purpose onion)

size: usually fist sized

skin: fairly tough

texture: meaty layers

flavor: strong

tasting: cooked: crunchy, sweeter and more mellow

raw: pungent and spicy

→ work well as the base for variety of different cooking methods especially sauteing frying清炒煎炒 or caramelizing上焦糖色

white onion

skin: thinner, more paperty

flavor: sharper and more pungent

texture: nice and crunchy

tasting: cooked: nice and crunchy, mild sweet

raw: very shape taste

→ onion jam, onion rings

sweet onion

skin: flattened or squashed apperance

Sweet onions tend to be more perishable and should be storage in the refrigerator.

As the name suggests, sweet onions are on the sweeter side of the onion flavor spectrum

tasting: cooked: mild sweet and crunchy

raw: naturally sweet

→ onion jam

red onion

skin: deep purple

texture: reddish flesh, slightly less tender and meaty layers

flavor: fairly similar to yellow onions, mild like sweet onion

→ sandwiches and burgers

white pearl onions

size: one of the thinnest onion on the list

flavor: much milder and sweeter than their large counterparts

tasting: cooked: so good

raw: sweeter than shallot, delicious and sweet

→ best when roasted

shallots

size:smaller, more elongated

have bulbs

skin: orange red(but inside is purple)

flavor: mild and slightly sweet

tasting: cooked: very good

raw: sweeter than the regular red onion

→ often used in vinagarettes, good for eating raw

They are also fabulous when roasted fried and pickled腌制.

white boiler onion

size: slightly larger than pearl onions

typically yellow and white but can be red as well

flavor: like pearl onions

tasting: cooked: not sweeter as pearl

raw: a little bit crunchier than white pearl

Summary:

smaller onions: shallots, white pearl, white boiler

→ mild sweeter and has more flavors into it

big onions: sweet onion, red onion

→ can eat either raw or cooked

yellow onion, white onion

→ pungent and has a really strong onion flavor

better not eat raw