This little fact is something that has hounded me my entire life. From a very early age I just hated eating onions. They were soggy, gross, and made me gag, so I would spend an eternity to pick them out of my meals as a child.
This is odd, as for a good chunk of my adult life, I was a professional chef/cook. Italian, Mexican, Seafood, bistro food, catering, large banquet cooking, I did it all. Yes, I used onions when needed, but to this day I remain not a fan of the onion.
Not sure how this started, but I have strong suspicions. My mother (rest her soul) was a heavy smoker. She cooked for us growing up, and being a smoker her taste buds were impaired. So she compensated with onions (strong yellow onions) and salt.
Every meal was loaded with large chunks of onions. Cooked, raw, or partially cooked, they were in everything. Blech.
Add to that the fact that she was never skilled ad dicing and chopping, all the onions were large, stringy, and gross. Ewwww.
Of course, being a professional chef, I know how to keep a knife sharp (essential for any knife handling), and how to slice and dice from 1/16″ up to quarters. As the recipe calls for.
I do use onions on occasion, as some recipes demand them (a good chile verde, or a lamb vindaloo), but as often as not, I will substitute garlic or some other aromatic herb, and nobody notices.
No doubt, you will not find me making french onion soup for myself to eat. There are some limits.
