Onion in our A-Z (Page 117) - Cooking Index
Onion in our A-Z (Page 117) - Cooking Index
The familiar and popular onion is a bulb of Allium cepa, a low growing plant. Botanists classify it in either the lily family or the amaryllis family.
Use Onions in almost anything except sweets! Dried Onion can be added straight to liquids, but should be rehydrated before being added to drier dishes such as casseroles and stir fries. Rehydrating them also increases potency. Onions make the perfect foundation for meats, poultry, soups, salads, and stews. Dried Onions release flavor more rapidly than freshly chopped Onions when added to a recipe.
Fresh onions are pungent and have a sharp bite. Cooked onions lose this heat and develop a rich sweetness.
The onion is believed to have originated in Asia, though it is likely that onions may have been growing wild on every continent. Dating back to 3500 BC, onions were one of the few foods that did not spoil during the winter months. Our ancestors must have recognized the vegetable's durability and began growing onions for food.
World onion production is estimated at approximately 105 billion pounds each year. The average annual onion consumption calculates to approximately 13.67 pounds of onions per person across the world. Libya has the highest consumption of onions with an astounding average per capita consumption of 66.8 pounds.
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