How To Easily Pick Out 1 Pound Of Onions Without A Scale

Appliances like a kitchen scale can be very useful, but they aren't always necessary. It's true that baking requires this sort of precision, but Serious Eats explains that measuring units of mass isn't as critical when it comes to savory recipes. Believe it or not, you can actually ditch the scale when working with ingredients like onions. Instead of aiming for exact quantities, Gills Onions shares that it's the variety, quality, and how you chop, slice, or dice the pungent bulbs that can make an impact in a recipe. So, rather than stress over weighing the onions, there's a simple solution — simply eyeball the measurement.

If precision dictates how you cook, then eyeballing can definitely take some practice. However, MyRecipes notes that you can better visualize measurements by comparing quantities to the size of other familiar objects like coins or sports balls. Luckily, using your sense of sight to figure out the amount of onions equivalent to 1 lb. is a lot simpler.

A building block in cuisine, Bon Appétit confirms that onions (raw, roasted, or sautéed) mean flavor. Learning how to cook with them is important, but figuring out how to measure them without a scale can also prove quite useful. Whether they're red, white, or yellow, the color of the onions doesn't make a difference, but the size does. Based on that, Sweetish Hill states that 2 onions that are roughly the size of a navel orange or an apple, can weigh about 1 lb.

What should you look out for when shopping for two medium-sized onions? According to the National Onion Association, the best bulbs should be firm with dry, papery skin and barely any fragrance as these factors indicate the best quality. Naturally, storing them properly in a dry, cool place with ventilation is also key to prolonging their shelf life.