I was asked a question in my comments yesterday by Patsy, of My Life and Times http://pattypenny.blogspot.com/ Is an onion an herb? I really wasn't sure, but in researching on the web, I found out that it is an herb. An onion is a pungent herb, protecting against infection, relaxing spasms, reducing blood pressure as well as blood clotting and blood sugar levels. It has expectorant and diuretic properties.
I looked further and here is what I found out... An ancient historian, writes of nine tons of gold being spent to purchase enough onions to feed the builders of the pyramids - this suggests the immense popularity of this vegetable in Egypt of the pharaohs. The ancient Egyptians even offered the humble onion bulb as a sacrificial offering to their god, to the great amusement of the conquering Romans. Thus not only was the onion widely used in the ancient world, but also highly valued by some societies. The onion had other uses during the later stages of the Middle Ages when the onion began to be used as a charm against evil spirits and the dangers of the plague - the strong smell of the herb was probably thought to influence and ward off spirits and disease. Who knew?
I buy onions almost every week. I use them in a lot of my cooking. Onion soup, stew, herb bread, dips, a topping for pizza, sage and onion dressing, deep fried onions, sandwiches, green onions with salt I could go on and on. This is one vegetable that I just take for granted. I love the Vidalia Onions, a nice sweet red onion graces my salads, yellow and white are used without thinking for lots of cooking, and the fresh green (scallion) in the spring...about the first vegetable to pop up out of the ground. We are waiting for Spring...wouldn't it be nice to be able to just go out and pull a few onions for our table today?
Balisha
