People often ponder what is the one ingredient you can’t live without; my choice would have to be onion. Onions have been used in recipes for thousands of years. They are the second most important food crop after tomatoes, have universal appeal, are eaten safely by most people, and are used in recipes around the world. They enhance many savory dishes and have many other benefits as well. You can always get these, they store well and are inexpensive given the time they take to grow.
Onions belong to the allium family, which is the same family as garlic, leeks, shallots, and chives, and they come in many different varieties—red, yellow, white, and green—each with their own unique flavor. Onions can be eaten raw, cooked, fried, dried, or roasted. They are used to add flavor to so many things that it would be pointless to start listing them here. Any recipe that combines onions, garlic, and bacon, for example, is a sure winner.
Onions are easy to grow in any rich, well-drained soil. The seeds can be sown directly, but many gardeners prefer to grow them in pots to grow seeds, then plant them in the garden when they are half the thickness of a pencil. Try planting the root end that you cut off when you peel them, they will grow like crazy and ensure a continuous free supply. Once planted, try to keep the weeds down and don’t let them dry out, but essentially leave them until they’re done. They take about six months, which is a long time, but I have found that they seem to grow well when nothing else does, so otherwise the soil would be bare. You’ll know when to pick them because their leaves will wither and in my experience they seem to come out of the ground as if to say I’m ready now. Unlike crops like tomatoes or lettuce, they store well, so plant as many as you like. Many people plant more at regular intervals to ensure a constant supply. There are varieties available that are suited to different climates and seasons, just check to see what is right for your area. Early settlers used wild onions to treat colds, coughs, and asthma, and to repel insects. In Chinese medicine, onions have been used to treat angina, coughs, bacterial infections, and respiratory problems. There is evidence to suggest that they can help prevent certain types of cancer and cardiovascular disease – these really are the magic ingredient.
Possibly the only drawback of onions is the irritation they cause to our eyes when they are peeled and chopped. The list of surefire remedies for this is endless, none of which seem to work, but a lot of time and effort has gone into trying to find a ‘cure’. Just search the internet, there are thousands of pages dedicated to this: peeling with a slice of bread in your mouth to try to avoid the fumes, cutting underwater, burning a candle, chewing gum, and wearing glasses to list just a few. Personally, I find that if I run them under water once they have peeled, I seem to get less irritation when cutting. I also try to stay away from the root area until last, which also seems to minimize the effects. I have tried the burning candle method recently with some success. But, I really don’t think anything works particularly well: each onion seems to have its own tear-inducing personality.
There are many ingredients that people say are their favorite, but in most cases onions are added to make the favorite ingredient a meal. They are versatile enough to be used in dressings, salads, pastas, curries, stews, added to sauces, preserves and soups, the list goes on. The only thing they are not used for is sweets, but I just did a quick search on the internet and found an Apple Sweet Onion Upside Down Cake, amazing!
