onion ring

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Onion ring

| image = OnionRings.JPG

| caption = Basket of onion rings

| alternate_name =

| country = United Kingdom

| region =

| creator =

| course = Hors d'oeuvre

| type = Entree, main dish, snack dish

| served =

| main_ingredient = Onions, batter or bread crumbs

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Onion rings (also called French-fried onion rings)"French Fried Onion Rings", The Big Apple, [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/french_fried_onion_rings/ February 11, 2007] generally consist of a cross-sectional "ring" of onion dipped in batter and/or bread crumbs and then deep fried; a variant is made with onion paste. While typically served as a side dish, onion rings are often eaten by themselves.

Onion strings are a variant where the onion is cut vertically first, resulting in strips rather than circles.{{Cite book |last1=Berkowitz |first1=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5hIqsnj7FwC&q=onion+strings |title=The New Legal Sea Foods Cookbook: 200 Fresh, Simple, and Delicious Recipes from Appetizers to Desserts |last2=Doerfer |first2=Jane |date=2003-05-13 |publisher=Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed |isbn=978-0-7679-0691-3 |pages=259 |language=en}}

History

The earliest recipe for onion rings dates back to 1802, when British food writer John Mollard published The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined. It called for cutting onions into slices, dipping them into a batter including Parmesan cheese, and deep-frying them in lard. The recipe also suggested serving them with a sauce of melted butter and mustard.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3nEEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA152 |title=The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined |last=Mollard |first=John |date=1802 |edition=second |pages=152}}

Many recipes for deep-fried onion slices or rings are found starting in the early 20th century. There are various processes:

no coating: 1902,{{Cite book |last=Rorer |first=Sarah Tyson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTpAAAAAYAAJ&q=%22onion+rings%22 |title=Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book |publisher=Arnold and Company |year=1902 |location=Philadelphia |pages=404 |language=en |chapter=Fried Onions}} 1907;{{Cite book |last=Freshel |first=Mrs Maud Russell Lorraine Sharpe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cWcEAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22french+fried+onions%22&pg=PA125 |title=The Golden Rule Cook Book: Six Hundred Recipes for Meatless Dishes |date=1907 |publisher=Little, Brown |pages=125 |language=en}}
dipped in milk or egg and coated in flour: 1902,{{Cite magazine |date=January 1916 |title=Recipes from Public Demonstrations: French Fried Onions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oe7NAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22french+fried+onions%22&pg=PA468 |magazine=The Boston Cooking School Magazine |language=en |publisher= |volume=6 |pages=468 |number=9}} 1908,Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, 20 June 1908, p. 15 col 3, cited in Barry Popik, "The Big Apple", February 11, 2007, https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/french_fried_onion_rings/ 1909,{{Cite book |last=Beeton |first=Isabella |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L7NGAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22onion+rings%22&pg=PA1549 |title=Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management |publisher=Ward, Lock & Company |year=1909 |edition=New |location=London |pages=1549 |language=en |chapter=German and Austrian Cookery: 3710.―Wiener Steaks}} 1910,Middletown (New York) Daily Times, quoted in The Big Apple [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/french_fried_onion_rings/], 11 February 2007. 1916;{{Cite magazine |date=January 1916 |title=Queries and Answers: Fried Onion Rings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_lDAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22onion+rings%22&pg=PA468 |magazine=American Cookery; Formerly the Boston Cooking-school Magazine |language=en |publisher= |volume=20 |pages=468 |number=6}}
battered: 1919,{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZsUAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22onion+rings%22&pg=PA63 |title=Stevenson Memorial Cook Book |date=1919 |publisher=Sarah Hackett Stevenson Memorial Lodging House Association |language=en}} 1922;{{Cite book |last1=Yeager |first1=Albert Franklin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yc9PAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22onion+rings%22&pg=RA27-PA49 |title=North Dakota Pure Seed Law: Interpretations and Suggestions |last2=Schalk |first2=Arthur Frederick |last3=Bolley |first3=Henry Luke |last4=Waldron |first4=Lawrence Root |last5=Stevens |first5=Orin Alva |last6=Webster |first6=Robert Lorenzo |last7=Stoa |first7=Theodore Ellinson |date=1922 |publisher=Agricultural Experiment Station, North Dakota Agricultural College |language=en}}
breaded: 1914.{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Ethel Longley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02BCAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22breaded+onions%22&pg=PA53 |title=Wholesome Cooking, a Practical Book for a Practical Cook: Two Hundred Well-tested Recipes |date=1914 |publisher=Rand, McNally |pages=53 |language=en}}

File:MahonysOnionRinglets.JPG|Onion ringlets

File:Onionjf.JPG|Onion rings with dip sauce (Philippines)

Food chemistry

The cooking process decomposes propanethial oxide in the onion into the sweet-smelling and tasting in bispropenyl disulfide, responsible for the slightly sweet taste of onion rings.{{cite web |last1=Schwarcz |first1=Joe |title=Why do onions make you cry when you cut them? And why are they sweet when you fry them? |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/general-science-you-asked/why-do-onions-make-you-cry-when-you-cut-them-and-why-are-they-sweet-when-you-fry-them |website=McGill Office for Science and Society |access-date=2 August 2022 |language=en}}