pickling onions are of various kinds. They may be small round onions (see onions), or shallots, or rakkyo (see oriental onions).
The bunching pearl onion is a variety of A. ampeloprasum, the species which is better known as that of the cultivated leek. Rather than having a leek’s thick stem, this variety has a cluster of little round bulbs which are used for pickling: they are the small, mild-flavoured, pure white ‘pearl’ pickled onions which are used as a garnish for food and also as a constituent of the ‘Gibson’ cocktail (a martini containing a pearl onion instead of the usual cocktail olive or lemon zest).
