Onions at all times were valued as a source of vitamins and health, which is completely justified, because essential oils and phytoncides, in large quantities contained in this healthy vegetable, have antiseptic and restorative effect. History stores a lot of examples, when onion talismans were worn by great generals and rulers, as an inexhaustible source of strength and vitality. Today it is absolutely impossible to imagine the usual food without onions. Due to the variety of varieties differing in severity and intensity of taste, onion is invariably used for cooking a huge variety of dishes both raw and after cooking: cooking, frying.
And for the bow to be available for our table all year round, we should take care of a good harvest. The yield of onions directly depends on the correct planting, care and, of course, the selection of varieties of onions.
What are the varieties of onions?
To distinguish varieties of onion is simple, it is enough to see the samples in a photo or live. By the characteristics of branching, that is, the ability to form a number of bulbs in the nest, the onion varieties are divided into:
- small or small - form - bulbs in one nest from one seed;
- medium-earth - able to form 3-4 bulbs;
- multicavity or multichip varieties of onions can form from five bulbs and more.
In addition, varieties of onions are also distinguished by their taste qualities:
- acute varieties contain a large amount of volatile essential oils that irritate the mucous membranes when the onion tissues are damaged, as well as non-volatile oils that cause bitterness and burning sensation in the mouth. The content of dry substances in raw onions is 15%, sugars - 9. The most early varieties of onions are spicy. Bulbs differ in density, therefore sharp grades can be cleaned with the help of agricultural machinery. An important feature is also the good keeping quality of such onions, which makes it available throughout the year. Among the sharp varieties are: Aleko, Arzamas local, Bessonovsky local, Strigunovsky local, Timiryazevsky, Stuttgart rizen, Ufa local;
- semi-sharp varieties - contain 12% of dry matter and 8 - sugars. Contain less volatile oils. They give the highest yield, but also require considerable time. They have a smaller amount of external scales, so they are kept worse than sharp varieties. Common varieties of this species are: Danilovsky 301, Zolotnichok, Kaba;
- sweet varieties of onion are not contain volatile oils, have a pleasant unobtrusive taste, are used for food mainly in the raw form. They give a good harvest, but they can usually be grown only in the southern regions. Bulbs of such varieties are fragile enough, so harvesting is best done manually. The onion is not kept very long. The sweet varieties include: Globo, Comet, Spanish 313;
- shallot is the most delicious variety of onions, the content of sugars in it reaches 20%. Its features are that the head consists of
small teeth connected to each other.
The most common varieties in the central zone are "Kubanskiy Yellow D 332" and "Kushchevka Kharkov".
Separately it is necessary to allocate winter varieties of onion, thanks to the cultivation of which it is possible to get fresh onions to the table all year round, in particular, in the beginning of summer, when the winter stocks of vegetables have already come to an end. Early-ripening winter varieties are sown in 2-3 December, late-ripening in February. Of the most successful and popular varieties, you can name Glasir, Ellan, Swift, Alyx, Radar, Yurzek, Eldorado, Stimul.