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The pyruvate scale measures pungency in
The standard onion has an eight rating, while " sweet onions" have a two or three rating on the scale. The lower the score or scale the more "sweet" the onions are rated. Anything less than five is considered a sweet onion. The Vidalia onion variety is considered sweet and must have a score of 5.0 μmol/gfw or less. The HoneySweet brand onion is claimed to consistently rate with a pungency level of 3.5 or less.
The Supasweet onion (usually grown in
The National Organic Program
— by the
onions
An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...
and garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...
with units of μmol/gfw (micromoles per gram fresh weight). It is named after pyruvic acid
Pyruvic acid (CH3COCOOH) is the simplest of the keto acids, alpha-keto acids, with a carboxylic acid and a ketone functional group. Pyruvate, the conjugate acid, conjugate base, CH3COCOO−, is an metabolic intermediate, intermediate in several m ...
, the alpha-keto acid co-product created in the biochemical pathway that forms ''syn''-propanethial-''S''-oxide, the main lachrymatory agent in onions.
Examples
The standard onion has an eight rating, while " sweet onions" have a two or three rating on the scale. The lower the score or scale the more "sweet" the onions are rated. Anything less than five is considered a sweet onion. The Vidalia onion variety is considered sweet and must have a score of 5.0 μmol/gfw or less. The HoneySweet brand onion is claimed to consistently rate with a pungency level of 3.5 or less.
The Supasweet onion (usually grown in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
, England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
) registers 1.5 to 2 on the scale. A standard brown onion is usually in the range of 6–7 out of 10.
Influential factors
Soil type, rain, and sunlight affect the pungency in onions and garlic and, therefore, their score on the pyruvate scale.See also
*Scoville scale
The Scoville scale is a measurement of spiciness of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
The scale ...
References
External links
The National Organic Program
— by the
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...
Scales
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