Raw Onions Made Sweet

Raw onions are delicious, provided the sharpness of their bite is blunted. The following method is the most successful I have found in achieving the objective. Ideally, one starts with a naturally sweet onion, such as the Bermuda red, or, in Italy, with the young onions of Tropea in Calabria, which look like very fat purple scallions. But even the common white onion responds to the treatment.

Begin about 1 hour before you plan to use the onion. Cut it into the thinnest possible rings and put these in a bowl with an ample quantity of cold water. Squeeze the rings under water, closing your hand around as much onion as it can hold, then letting go. Repeat it seven or eight times. You will notice the water becomes slightly milky from the acid that is forced out.