Onion ring

Onion ring

A basket of onion rings
Type	entree, side dish, snack dish
Course	Hors d'oeuvre
Place of origin	United States
Serving temperature	warm to hot
Main ingredients	Onions, batter or bread crumbs
Cookbook: Onion ring  Media: Onion ring

Onion rings are a form of appetizer or side dish commonly found in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and some parts of Asia and Continental Europe. They generally consist of a cross-sectional "ring" of onion (the circular structure of which lends itself well to this method of preparation) dipped in batter or bread crumbs and then deep fried; a variant is made with onion paste. Onion rings are sometimes accompanied by condiments including ketchup, mayonnaise or other sauces. While typically served as a side dish, onion rings can also be eaten on their own. Like other cooked onion dishes, the cooking process decomposes propanethial oxide in the onion into the sweet-smelling and tasting bispropenyl disulfide, responsible for the slightly sweet taste of onion rings.

Types

Whole onion rings make for better presentation through a variety of sizes, while those made from a paste offer quantity through consistent size. Consumers of whole onion rings run the risk of pulling the onion out of the batter if they fail to cut it all the way through with their teeth; onion rings made of onion paste break apart easily, while oil absorbency diminishes the onion taste.

History

The exact origins of the onion ring are unknown, but in 1933 a recipe for deep-fried onion rings that are dipped in milk then dredged in flour appeared in a Crisco advertisement in The New York Times Magazine.^[1]

A recipe for French Fried Onions may have appeared in the Middletown, New York Daily Times on 13 January 1910. It does not claim to be the originator of the recipe.^[2]

One claimant to the invention of the onion ring is the Kirbys Pig Stand restaurant chain, founded in Oak Cliff, Texas, in the early 1920s. The once-thriving chain, whose heyday in the 1940s saw over 100 locations across the United States, also claims to be the originator of Texas toast.^[3]

The restaurant A&W is credited with popularizing the onion rings in fast food restaurants, introducing it to its menu in the 1960s.

John Mollard's 1802 cookbook "The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined" (page 152) includes a recipe called "Fried Onions with Parmezan Cheese." The recipe suggests cutting onions into 1/2" rings, dipping them into a batter made of flour, cream, salt and pepper, and Parmesan cheese, and then deep frying them in "boiling" lard. It further suggests serving them with a sauce made of melted butter and mustard.^[4]

• 
  Onion ringlets
• 
  Onion rings with dip sauce (Philippines)

See also

• Blooming onion – a whole onion that is cut into a flower shape that fans out
• Fried onions
• Funyuns – an onion flavored, corn based snack food, shaped like onion rings
• List of deep fried foods
• List of hors d'oeuvre
• List of onion dishes

References

1. "Crisco Advertisement". The New York Times Magazine. November 6, 1933. pp. SM18 "Cut large onions into slices about ¼ inch thick. Separate slices into rings. Dip rings into milk. dredge with flour. … Fry onion rings until brown."
2. The Big Apple. , February 11, 2007.
3. "Oak Cliff Trivia". OakCliff.com. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
4. Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=3nEEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=fried%20onions&f=false