Allium cepa
Onions are a long-keeping Northeast storage vegetable with a balance of sweetness, sharpness, and sulfurous aroma. Variety and maturity make a real difference: spring onions are green and mild, while cured onions are denser and sweeter.1
Cutting an onion breaks cells and allows previously separated chemicals to react. Thiosulfinates and related sulfur compounds shape both its pungency and its eye-watering effect.2
The degree of damage changes the flavor: chopping, pounding, and pureeing expose different amounts of tissue and produce different mixtures of sulfur compounds. For onion that will be eaten raw, rinsing the cut pieces removes reactive compounds from the damaged surfaces before they become harsher in the air.3
Onion and leek both need a long seedling phase in Maine: Extension lists globe onions at 6–8 weeks indoors and leeks at 10–12 weeks.4
Footnotes
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University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Food & Nutrition for the Home Gardener,” accessed July 17, 2026. ↩
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U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, “Boosting the Nutritional Bounty of Carrots and Onions,” 2022. ↩
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Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, rev. ed. (Scribner, 2004), PDF p. 325. ↩
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University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Maine Vegetable Gardening: Keep Your Garden Growing,” accessed July 17, 2026. ↩