Onions

If you're like me, you go through around 5 pounds of onions a week.  NOT so my friend, who might buy an onion on a special occasion because she's neither a cook or particularly fond of onions and only requires them for a recipe that requires them.  How to pick one onion out of the barrel at the store?  Well, obviously, look for an onion that is blemish free on the skin.  Beyond that, you can tell if it is fresh if the "rings" are more tightly packed, and this can be felt if the stem end is tight and firm.  If there's any give, that means the onion has lost some moisture over time and the rings are, as a result, more loose.