Sounds better than onion, doesn’t it? Also this group contains leeks and garlic. So why eat onions? They make your hands smell, your house smell and you breath smell.

I once shared a flat in London with a girl from Poland. At the time apples were in short supply in Poland and so she would eat an onion as if it was an apple. As for apples she would eat them in large quantities.

Onions are good for you for several reasons;

Adding onions to a dish, adds to your 5 or more a day, which can only be a good thing.

They add flavour that is unique to just them.

They have been know to protect you from heart disease, vascular disease, colon cancer and are also shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.

And also they have been shown to have anti-bacterial properties too.

I don’t envision myself eating onions like apples although i do like onions in food and certain onions, such as red and salad onions raw. Onions are a good source of polyphenols and flavanoids, these are higher in red onions than white and yellow onions fall somewhere between the two.

Onions are native to Asia and Middle East where they have been cultivated for 500 thousand years. It has been seen that onions were placed in the tombs of the Egyptians and they were also used as currency to pay the builders of the pyramids. Today onions are grown and used throughout the world.

When buying onions look for those who necks are not open and the outer layers are dry and crisp. Onions that are sprouting, soft too the touch, are moldy or have dark brown or black patches are not good news and shouldn’t be eaten. They should be stored in a well ventilated area, away from direct sunlight but not in the fridge, unless they are salad onions. Looks like i will have to take mine out of the fridge, then.

Another reason to buy and use onions is that they are cheap and a very little goes a long way. They add flavour to any dish and most people like them. I have grown brown skinned onions in the past and had varying success with them. Normally if you grow them next to carrots the carrot fly doesn’t like the onions and the onion fly doesn’t like the carrots so they protect each other.

One word of warning apparently non-organic versions are radiated??? couldn’t find out why, so stick to the organic if you can. Also try not to buy them in pre-packed plastic bags, you know the ones i mean. Also don’t think because they are being sold in a market they are any different to the ones in the supermarkets, unless it’s a farmers market.