Substitute for Onion and Garlic
Asked by JessicaY. Answered on 18th June 2011
Full question
My husband is allergic to onion and anything in the same family (leeks, spring onions, shallots, chives etc.) and can only tolerate very small amounts of garlic. Plus he hates hot and spicy food. I substitute onion with celery where applicable, and sometimes use stock powder for flavour, however I am wondering if you have any suggestions as to what I can use as an onion or garlic substitute in savoury recipes?
Our answer
Although allium allergies are quite rare, they are frustrating as most cuisines use onions and/or garlic as a base for savoury dishes. As well as using just celery in dishes, you could use a combination of celery and carrot or celery, and green (bell) pepper to add more base flavour to your dishes. These reflect the ingredients of mirepoix (onion, celery and carrot) in French cooking and the trinity (onion, celery and green pepper) in Cajun cooking. Fennel is in the same family as celery and carrot and can also be used if you like a mild anise flavour.
Asafoetida (also known as giant fennel or hing) is also sometimes used as a substitute for garlic in cooking. It is used in Indian and Middle eastern cooking and you are most likely to find it in powdered form in specialist stores or on-line. Unfortunately it has quite an unpleasant smell in its uncooked form (one of the common names for asafoetida is devil's dung) so should be kept in a well-sealed jar or container. However, this smell disappears on cooking and leaves a flavour which is said to be similar to sauteed onion or garlic.
Recipes you might like
Tell us what you think
Thank you {% member.data['first-name'] %}.
Explore more questionsYour comment has been submitted.
What 1 Other has said
-
Posted by 68Monkeys on 21st October 2019
Show more commentsMy onion allergy means that if I have it then I don't have a life worth living. It's not death but it's not life. When I'm cooking I find not using onion does not alter flavour for me as much as the missing texture. I've used many things to get the texture without disturbing the flavour, and the best I've found is sliced green tomatoes with seeds removed. We grow a huge crop of tomatoes now just to freeze the green ones for year round use. Love them.