Why are red onions much more expensive than white onions?
It’s a matter of economics; nothing to do with taste or problems of production. For some reason, red onions are specified more often in recipes than are white-skin onions or the normal brown-skin ones. It may also be seasonal, related to salads, sauces, sandwiches and so on. As a result, the demand exceeds the supply at some times and the wholesale price rises at the producers’ auction. That is passed on to the shop price. Actually, for hot cooking purposes, such as pasta sauces, curries and ragouts, big white Spanish onions are better in flavour. For stews, casseroles and for grilling, the normal brown-skin onion is better in flavour and it shrinks better. The red onion thing has been promoted by celebrity chefs and it makes you wonder if they do that to show how exclusive and clever they are. However, I have to agree that red onions look nice in salads and we all eat with our eyes to some extent !
