Onion/onions

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

Should it be "onion" or "onions" if I don't mention the exact amount of onion. OAD says it can be countable and uncountable.
"Mix the ingredients with onion."

 

[tedmc]

"Onion" is treated as an ingredient. You prepare it by cutting up onions.

 

[Rover_KE]

We need more context Rachel.

"Mix the ingredients with onion" doesn't mean much, as onion is presumably one of the ingredients of the recipe.

In a recipe, you're likely to see '1 small/medium/large onion diced/sliced/grated'.

 

[Rachel Adams]

We need more context Rachel.

"Mix the ingredients with onion" doesn't mean much, as onion is presumably one of the ingredients of the recipe.

In a recipe, you're likely to see '1 small/medium/large onion diced/sliced/grated'.

So using "onion" in same way as "food" or "foods" is not possible. I wish I could provide more context. Maybe "Mix the ingredients with some onion" will make it sound more natural?

 

[Rachel Adams]

You are still mixing the ingredients with an ingredient, which is not natural.

That's why I seldom cook. Maybe "onion" can be used in a title such as "Onion soup" or when we are talking about one onion? But in my sentence it cannot be used as "onion".

 

[Rover_KE]

Click here to read how 'onion' is used in many contexts. Then change the headword to 'onions' for different examples.

(Bookmark the site for future reference.)

 

[Rachel Adams]

Click here to read how 'onion' is used in many contexts. Then change the headword to 'onions' for different examples.

(Bookmark the site for future reference.)

The first sentence is exactly what I was asking about. If it is ever used without "s" and an article.
"She was served a nice roll stuffed with fried tofu, asparagus, onion and carrot."

Why is there an article in the second sentence? The first "the".
Add the onion and carrots and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's part of the method of cooking a recipe.

The onion will have previously been mentioned in the list of ingredients.

 

[PeterCW]

The first sentence is exactly what I was asking about. If it is ever used without "s" and an article.
"She was served a nice roll stuffed with fried tofu, asparagus, onion and carrot."

Why is there an article in the second sentence? The first "the".
Add the onion and carrots and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

The article indicates that it is the quantity previously specified in the recipe. This is a convention of food writing, without the article it would normally be part of an instruction to add an unspecificed amount according to personal taste.

With regard to the original question, whole onions are countable but chopped or sliced ones are not.

A recipe is a series of instructions, if the other ingredients have already been cooking in a pan you would say something like "add the onion to the pan and mix well".

 

[Rachel Adams]

It's part of the method of cooking a recipe.

The onion will have previously been mentioned in the list of ingredients.

I don't want this thread to turn into another long thread but if in my original sentence I was talking about a mixture of sliced onions and an unspecified amount of onions as PeterCW suggested then perhaps my sentence would be correct.

 

[emsr2d2]

Recipes do not include "an unspecified amount of onion(s)". A recipe that did that would be useless.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Recipes do not include "an unspecified amount of onion(s)". A recipe that did that would be useless.

Recipes do not include "an unspecified amount of onion(s)". A recipe that did that would be useless.

I must have misunderstood PeterCW. I thought I could also say "Mix the ingredients with onion." If "onion" has been cooked previously sliced and fried and its amount is not specified.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Recipes are often written in a kind of shorthand. Words might be omitted. Expressions like "Mix onion with" and "Mix onions with" are short for "Mix the onion with" and "Mix the onions with."

Likewise, you'll see "Bring to boil" for "Bring it to a boil" and "Serves 12" for "It serves twelve."

 

[emsr2d2]

I must have misunderstood PeterCW. I thought I could also say "Mix the ingredients with onion." If "onion" has been cooked previously sliced and fried and its amount is not specified.

OK, yes, that's possible. The list of ingredients would have specified how much onion. If the ingredients list says "2 medium onions, finely diced", the method would then say, for example "Heat the oil in a medium frying pan and sauté the onion until soft". "the onion" means "the 2 medium onions that you have already diced". As you can see, the ingredients list would use the plural "onions" but the instructions would just refer to it as "onion". Later on, the instructions might say "Mix the rest of the ingredients with the sautéd onion".

 

[probus]

This thread reminds me of my attempts to extract recipes from my Central European grandmother, who was a wonderful cook.

Q. How much onion should I use?

A. Not too much. Just the right amount.

Q. How long should I cook it?

A. Until it's done.

 

[GoesStation]

My mom brought back a Polish-language cookbook from her first postwar trip to Poland. She hadn't looked at it closely in the shop, and found the recipes with instructions like "put some peeled beets, a little sugar, and some chopped onion in a pot of stock" to be not all that useful.

 

[Rachel Adams]

As you can see, the ingredients list would use the plural "onions" but the instructions would just refer to it as "onion". Later on, the instructions might say "Mix the rest of the ingredients with the sautéd onion".

I understand now why there is "carot" in this sentence not "carrots". It's an instruction.
"She was served a nice roll stuffed with fried tofu, asparagus, onion and carrot."

 

[emsr2d2]

I understand now why [STRIKE]there is[/STRIKE] it says/you see "carrot" in this sentence not "carrots". It's [STRIKE]an instruction[/STRIKE] a description.

"She was served a nice roll stuffed with fried tofu, asparagus, onion and carrot."

It's not an instruction. It's simply that when we describe a food we've eaten, we rarely want or need to mention the quantity of the individual components.

You wouldn't hear:
Mum: What did you have for lunch?
Sam: Roasted aubergine stuffed with half a diced onion, a third of a red pepper, two tomatoes, and three cloves of garlic.

You would hear:
Mum: What did you have for lunch?
Sam: Roasted aubergine stuffed with onion, pepper, tomato and garlic.