Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, the onion can be deemed the most humble vegetable in the culinary world. Used in nearly every cuisine, it often acts as the “heavy lifter” to elevate a dish.
Indigenous across the world, it is believed that our predecessors ate wild onions before farming was invented over 5000 years ago. They became one of the earliest domesticated crops because they grew with ease, did not perish quickly and could be transported. In early times, onions were highly valued for various medicinal uses and were even buried with Egyptian pharaohs. Somewhere over time, the onion’s importance began to diminish although they stayed a staple ingredient in kitchens around the world.
Most often used for their aromatic qualities and as a culinary accent, the onion’s flavor is spicy when raw, and savory and sweet when cooked. It can be difficult to think of a dish that doesn’t incorporate the onion in some fashion. Nearly every cuisine across the globe utilizes some variety of the versatile root vegetable.