Onion

From the Latin word unio, meaning a "single large pearl", which lead to the French word oignon and the English "onion." Onion is an edible bulb of a plant, Allium cepa, with a dry, yellow outer skin and crisp, layered, white flesh. Onions, along with shallots, leeks, chives and garlic, belong to the Allium family, of which there are 325 members. All have the characteristic onion smell, which is caused by volatile acids beneath the skin. Archeological and historical records show that onions have been cultivated for more than 5,000 years. They're believed to have originated in Asia, and their easy cultivation suggests that their use proliferated quickly. The onion was widely eaten in Egypt, where it was considered a sacred fruit, the symbol of eternity and the sun god, because of its sphere-like shape; the concentric rings of the sliced onion represented heaven, hell, earth and the universe. There's an inscription on the Great Pyramid that records how many onions, radishes and garlic were consumed by the laborers who constructed it. The total is 1,600 talents of silver (1 talent of silver is the equivalent of 57 pounds/26 kg). In fact, onions were even found in Tutankhamen's tomb. In Europe, onions were known and used extensively by the Greeks and Romans. In addition to the flavor they added to other foods, onions were thought to make soldiers brave. Greeks preparing to compete in the Olympics would consume pounds of onions and even drink onion juice for extra energy. By the Middle Ages, onions were a common vegetable throughout Europe and one of the few available equally to commoners and kings.

Onions were believed to have the power of absorbing poison, so they were examined carefully before cooking, as a bad onion was considered poisoned. A raw onion was said to be a quick cure for a cold and able to prevent baldness. No vegetable as well known as the onion could pass through medieval history without collecting its share of superstitions. In Elizabethan days, peeled onions were hung about the house to collect diseases that would otherwise afflict its inhabitants. To foretell droughts and blizzards, one could cut an onion on Christmas Eve to produce 12 onion cups, put salt in each, line them up in a row, assigning each a month of the year. If, the next morning, the salt was found to be wet, that month would be wet. To prognosticate in matters of love, an Irish maiden would take four onions on Christmas Eve, placing one in each corner of her room, each named for a man of her acquaintance. The man whose onion sprouted first before Twelfth Night (January 6) would become her husband.

Christopher Columbus brought the onion to the New World on his second voyage in 1493. Ulysses S. Grant refused to march his army during the American Civil War until his onion stock was replenished. Because onions contain vitamin C, they probably helped the soldiers fight off scurvy and other diseases associated with malnutrition. They were also prized medicinally, with claims that onions could cure almost anything, from dog bites and earaches to poisonous snakebites. Onions were even prescribed for warts; those afflicted were supposed to cut an onion in half, rub it on the wart, tie the onion halves back together and bury them. When the onion decayed in the ground, the wart was guaranteed to disappear. Research shows that onions may help guard against many chronic diseases; onions contain a flavonoid called quercetin, which may protect against cataracts, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. The same sulfuric compounds that have been credited with the health benefits of onions also are responsible for bringing on tears.

There are more than 1,000 onion varieties, including Vidalia, Maui and Bermuda, to name only a few. The National Onion Association organizes the categories into "fresh summer" or "storage winter", available in white, yellow and red. Fresh summer onions, such as Vidalias and Mauis, have a shorter shelf life than storage winter onions, which are available year-round. At 87 percent of the overall onion crop, yellow onions are the most readily available and are often used in soups, casseroles and sandwiches and for grilling. White onions have more of a bite than red or yellow, so they're more commonly used in salsas and other Latin dishes. Red onions are usually used raw, as they tend to be the mildest. Dehydrated onions are manufactured through a drying process, which preserves the natural integrity of the onion without any loss of flavor, color or aroma. They are available kibbled, minced, chopped, granulated and powdered. Their shelf life is two years, and most of them have a large amount of MSG added. See also chive, green onion, leek, pearl onion, scallion, shallot.

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