Onion ring


An onion ring is a form of appetizer or side dish commonly found in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and some parts of Asia, mainland Europe, and Latin America. They generally consist of a cross-sectional "ring" of onion dipped in batter 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. The cooking process decomposes propanethial oxide in the onion into the sweet-smelling and tasting bispropenyl disulfide, responsible for the slightly sweet taste of onion rings.

History

The exact origins of deep-fried onion rings are unknown, but a recipe for onions that are dipped in milk then dredged in flour and deep-fried, appeared in a 1933 advertisement for Crisco in The New York Times Magazine.
A recipe for French Fried Onions may have appeared in the Middletown, New York Daily Times on 13 January 1910. It does not claim to be the originator of the recipe.
One claimant to the invention of the onion ring is the Kirby's Pig Stand restaurant chain, founded in Oak Cliff, Texas, in the early 1920s. The once-thriving chain, whose heyday in the 1940s saw over 100 locations across the United States, also claims to be the originator of Texas toast.
John Mollard's 1802 cookbook "The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined" includes a recipe called "Fried Onions with Parmesan Cheese." The recipe suggests cutting onions into 1/2" rings, dipping them into a batter made of flour, cream, salt and pepper, and Parmesan cheese, and then deep frying them in "boiling" lard. It further suggests serving them with a sauce made of melted butter and mustard.