Crazy question/idea

Ok. Fermentable sugar = future alcohol.

What fruit in nature has the most sugar? That's right... the onion. Hmm... Can any good come of fermenting carmelized onions???

i googled "onion wine"

1/2 pound onions
1/2 pound potatoes
1 pound raisins
5 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
2 teaspoons acid blend
1 campden tablet
1 package wine yeast
water
Wash and peel onions. Chop onions and potatoes. Put in a pot with 3 liters (about 12 cups) of water. Boil until well cooked -- about 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the liquid into primary fermentor. Squeeze out all liquid from potatoes and onions. Discard the pulp. Add enough water to the onion liquid to make 1 gallon.

Chop raisins and add to fermentor. Add all other ingredients except the yeast. Let sit overnight. Check specific gravity -- it should be between 1.090 and 1.100. Add yeast. Stir daily for three or four days, until frothing stops.

Strain. Siphon into secondary fermentor and place airlock.

For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle.

Note:
August, 2001

I took a bottle of this wine to a social gathering labeled as "Mystery Wine". Everyone tried some. Everyone liked it. Noone was able to identify the mystery flavour. It will benefit from aging for another year, but I know right now that it was a success.

fascinating, though I will have to ask where you found the information on onions and sugar content; there are many fruits that are higher (figs, apples, many more) and many veggies also higher in sugar content (beets, for example) but from a pure interest standpoint, onion wine or beer would be very cool to try.

TheWeeb said:

fascinating, though I will have to ask where you found the information on onions and sugar content; there are many fruits that are higher (figs, apples, many more) and many veggies also higher in sugar content (beets, for example) but from a pure interest standpoint, onion wine or beer would be very cool to try.

Click to expand...

I think that the Sugar Beet is the highest sugar content, in veggies, the next is the sweet potato, I think. Carrot also has a lot too. It must be more than the onion.

Matrix

Perhaps I just worded it wrong. I believe it might be "easiest fruit to carmelize" or something along those lines. My information was no more well-reseached than the passive watching of a cooking show, but it definitely piqued my interest.

Thank you for the onion wine recipe!!

Hmmmm I may need to give this a try. I think it sounds tasty (I absolutely love onions, to the point of eating sliced onion like potato chips when I run out of chips.) My wife will probably hate it though. Oh well, more for me.

Also, not all sugars are created equally. Some sugars the poor little yeasties just can't handle. Does anybody know what % of the sugars in an onion are fermentable? (think they have to be mono- to be fermentable, I'd have to double check myself) and does carmelizing break those sugars down to a fermentable sugar if it's not naturally?

I have had onion mead before. I'll say also that I hate onions, and I have a minor allergy to them as welll.

It's not bad, doesn't taste anything like onions after fermentation. It has a very unique taste, though.