Eat My Globe

The Layered History of the Onion

(and Other Onion Family Members)

Simon Majumdar (“SM”):

Hey, April.

April Simpson (“AS”):

Yes, Simon?

SM:

What do you call an onion that won’t hold water?

AS:

I don’t know Simon. What do you call an onion that won’t hold water.

SM:

A leek.

AS:

[Groans]

SM:

That is fantastic stuff.

[Laughter]

AS:

Stop.

[Laughter]

SM:

Okay. But let’s move on, shall we?

INTRO MUSIC

SM:

Hi everybody.

And welcome to EAT MY GLOBE a podcast about things you didn’t know you didn’t know about food.

And on today’s very special episode, we shall be looking back at the fascinating history of the onion and all its relatives along the way – things like leeks, spring onions, scallions and chives.

I have to say that every type of onions are favorites from the foundation of a dish like the yellow onion, to the end of a dish like the sprinkle of Spring onions. I just love them.

So, for today’s episode. . .

[Sigh]

. . . we’re going to be CHIVE-ing!

AS:

[Laughter]

SM:

[Laughter]

Thank you lovely wife.

Okay. So, let’s start with the onion itself, which, according to the University of Missouri, is

Quote

“a cool season crop with a fairly long maturity (95+ days).”

End quote.

Onions are one of the oldest vegetables humans have cultivated, which we’ve grown possibly for over 6,000 years.

Today, growers use over 5.2 million hectares to cultivate onions. That’s huge.

China and India are the two biggest producers of onions, with Egypt in third place, and the United States in fourth place. China, India, Egypt, and the US are the   second, third, seventh and fifth exporters of onions, respectively. Global, onion growers produce about 105 – get this – billion pounds of onions annually.

The biggest exporter of onions is actually the Netherlands, which sold nearly $54.2 million worth of onions in just June 2024. Let me put it another way. The global export of onions in June 2024 was $252.33 million. In terms of actual onions sold, in 2016, the world had sold nearly 93,168,548 tons of onions.

The biggest importer of onions in 2022 was the United States. And, as of the month of 2024 alone, it imported $41.03 million worth of onions. That’s on top of the approximately 6.75 billion pounds of onions that American farmers grow per year. And, apparently, Americans eat around 20 pounds of onions annually.

Which, as they say – well I do, anyway – it is a lot o’ onions.

The onion’s name is Allium Cepa. The term “Allium” comes from the Greek, which means to “avoid” apparently because of its smell.

There are many – hundreds, if not thousands –  of onions around the world. I mean, a quick search of the different varieties of onions on Cornell University’s “Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners” site, lists about 185 varieties just for gardeners. I could only imagine about all the other varieties of onions around the world.

The word “Onion” itself comes from the Latin, “unio” or “one,” because it grows as one bulb. It then became the French, “oignon,” which became the word “unyun” in early English. That’s unyun U N Y U N.

As we discovered recently when visiting “the stans” of Central Asia, which is a region that covers Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, many academics claim this to be the area where the onions originated. Although there is also a possibility that it also originated in the modern day territories of Iran, Afghanistan and West Pakistan. In any case, we do have evidence that it was first domesticated some 6,000 years ago, and possibly even longer. It’s impossible to decide exactly where and when it originated, because it is a vegetable that leaves no trace when grown and cultivated. So, the educated guesses are based on archaeological records and genetics.

The theory is that the onion traveled along the Silk Road routes, Laura Kelley, the author of “The Silk Road Gourmet” says.

Presumably, the onion traveled eastwards to China because as far back as 5,000 years ago, the ancient Chinese grew onions in their garden. They also grew chives as far back as 3,000 years ago. And during the Han Dynasty, which lasted between 206 BCE and 220 CE, the Chinese used onions as insect repellants by hanging them on red cords on their doors.

The onion also presumably traveled westwards towards Mesopotamia because

Quote

“Without doubt, onions would have been traded along the Silk Road as far back as 2,000BC, around the time the Mesopotamians were writing down their onion-rich recipes.”

End quote.

In an earlier episode on the History of Lamb, I talked about Yale University’s Babylonian Collection that included ancient recipes that date back to 1730 BCE. Some of those recipes included onions.

For example, a lamb stew recipe included, among other things,

Quote

“salt, dried barley cakes, onion, Persian shallot, and milk.”

End quote.

And another dish included, amongst other things,

Quote

“salt, beer, onion, arugula, cilantro, Persian shallot, cumin, and red beet and . . . leek and garlic.”

End quote.

And a pigeon stew includes,

Quote

“Breadcrumbs, onion, samidu, leeks and garlic.”

End quote.

These recipes were in cuneiform tablets and were translated around 1986, by a French Assyriologist and gourmet cook, Jean Bottéro, who noted,

Quote

“The most common supplementary ingredients in our texts. . . are the alliaceous plants, for which the gourmets of antiquity seem to harbor a fondness that is certainly too excessive, at least to our taste. . . . These are above all three such plants which we can at least recognize: the leek (karašu); the onion (šusikillu), and the garlic. . . .” 

End quote.

As a quick aside, Bottéro apparently did not want to recreate these recipes and told his translator,

Quote

“[Bottéro] would not wish such meals on any save his worst enemies.”

End quote.

[Sighs]

I guess Bottéro did not find these recipes a-PEELING.

Ugh. Thanks again wife.

Anyway.

By the time the onion reached ancient Egypt around 3500 BCE, it was not only food but also medicine, and it began to be worshipped. Apparently, the onion’s shape and rings were considered to be a sign of eternity.

Dr. Indu Mehta of Kumaun University’s Department of History says

Quote

“Some Egyptologist theorize that onions may have been used because it was believed that their strong scent and / or magical powers would prompt the dead to breathe again. Other Egyptologists believe it was because onions were known for their strong antiseptic qualities, which construed as magical, would be handy in the afterlife.”

End quote.

Ancient Egyptians depicted onions on the walls of their pyramid, placed them on King Ramses IV’s eye sockets when he was buried, and gave raw onions with bread to Egyptian laborers as part of their daily diet. Interestingly, while the workers ate them, the upper class didn’t really eat them because apparently, and as we all know, eating onions caused bad breath.

We also see onions and leeks mentioned in the bible. In the Book of Numbers Chapter 11, verses 4 to 6 of the Old Testament, where the Israelites, who are wandering in the wilderness after their emancipation from slavery in Egypt, complained of their manna every meal diet plan,

Quote

“Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.’”

End quote.

The onions have also traveled to ancient India. There, the onions have appeared in ancient Vedic writings. Ancient Indians grew onions as a medicine. The Charaka Samhita, an Ayurvedic treatise put together by Charaka between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, noted that eating onions

Quote

“makes the man healthy, stout and energetic, his voice turns melodious and his skin becomes lustrous.”

End quote.

Moving out of Asia and the Middle East and on to Europe, in ancient Greece, doctors, and athletes also used onions. According to Dr. Indu Mehta

Quote

“Before competition athletes would consume pounds of onions, drink onion juice and rub onions on their bodies.”

End quote.

I wonder if the Greek Olympic Rings are based on ONION RINGS?

Thank you again.

Ancient Greeks also ate a lot of raw onions.

Homer, in writing “The Odyssey,” also used onion descriptively:

Quote

“Further, I noticed the tunic he wore: ‘twas of linen that glister’d

Like to the delicate skin that is peeled from a shrivelling onion.”

End quote.

In ancient Rome, citizens consistently included onions in their diet. And like the ancient Greeks, ancient Romans also ate a lot of raw onions. They also considered onions and its relatives as medicine.

Author and philosopher, Pliny the Elder, wrote that the Emperor Nero consumed chives to help with his voice, and that leeks not only helped with nosebleeds and coughing, but also served as an aphrodisiac. As for onions, Pliny said that they were good for the eyes, insomnia, toothaches, mouth ulcers, dog bites, snake bites, and more.

Ancient Roman women also appear to have used onion for their beauty routines by using onion and chicken fat to remove spots.

And, archaeologists found onions in the ashes of Herculaneum, which, like Pompeii, was buried after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. And in Pompeii, archaeologists believe that in Regio I, in the House of the Europa Ship, the resident used the areas to plant, among other things, onions, in the garden.

Ancient Romans took, among other things, onions with them as they travelled

In the island of Oland in Sweden, where ancient Romans engaged in trade, archaeologists have found a burnt onion that goes back nearly 1,500 years.

In England, where the ancient Romans had been since 43 CE, they brought many foods including onions.

During the time of the Anglo Saxons in England, they used onions as antiseptic and to aid in digestion.

And, during the Middle Ages, onions and leeks were used in various recipes including one for a cabbage chowder as seen in this book, “Curye on Inglysch: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth Century (Including the Forme of Cury).”

Onions though were not only for cooking. In the Middle Ages, people would give gifts of onions as wedding gifts – not a great present, I would imagine – and as their way of paying rent.

I bet they did this when they were in an. . .

[Sigh]

. . . ONION JAM.

AS:

[Laughter]

SM:

[Sigh]

Ugh.

Anyway. People in the Middle ages also hung onions with garlic as a way of protection from diseases.

In 1597, reprinted in 1633, and then 1636, in his work, “Herball: Or the General History of Plantes,” the author John Gerard talks about onions. Gerard writes, of the onion,

Quote

“All Onions are sharpe and moue teares by the smell. They be hot and dry as Galen faith, in the fourth degree, but no so extreme hot as Garlicke. The juice is of a thinne waterie and airie substance: the rest is of thicke parts.”

End quote.

He also says that onions’ virtues includes, among other things,

Quote

“The Onions do bite, attenuate or make thin, and cause drynesse: being boiled they do lose their sharpnesse, especially if the water be twice or thrice changed, and yet for all that they doe not lose their attenuating qualitie. [¶] The also break wind, prouoke vrine, and be more soluble boiled than raw; and rawt heynourish not at all, and but a little though they be boiled.”

End quote.

And, the famous herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, who lived from 1616 to 1654 and is described in the Journal of Royal Society of Medicine as quote, “the household name for herbal medicine,” end quote, noted in his 1652 book, “The English Physician,” that onions

Quote

“are so well known that I need not spend time about writing a description of them.”

End quote.

Indeed, by this time, onions and leeks were very much a part of the British diet that their seeds were readily available on the market for people to grow. Typically, these seeds were imported from places like the Netherlands, Spain and France.

As for the onions themselves, the British also imported some of them. In 1828, a French farmer from Brittany named Henri Ollivier began to cross the English Channel over to Britain to sell his pink onions also known as Roscoff onions. The British loved these onions, which are sweeter. Ollivier’s success encouraged other French pink onion sellers to follow suit.

[Sigh]

He was essentially a RING leader.

These are not me, I hasten to add, they're not me. Anyway, mine are much funnier. Much, much funnier.

Anyway, these onion sellers from Brittany, France became known as “Onion Johnnies” or sometimes, “Jennies.” The Onion Johnnies and Jennies walked the streets carrying their pink onions on poles. With the arrival of the bicycle, they continued to sell them but with less walking. This became such a popular stereotype of the French that, even today, the British still think of the French, particularly the Bretons, the people from Brittany, as wearing a beret and a stripey shirt while on a bicycle and with onions as a necklace and around the handle bar of the bike. And I still recall them from pictures I looked at in my own youth.

By the time of World War II, onions became a rare commodity in the UK. An entry from the 17th of September 1942 from the diary of Vere Hodgson says,

Quote

“Such a struggle to get an onion. Tried the Old Pole. None. Went to Mr Bybest – he had a few, but they were all booked. I took his refusal humbly, and bought a pound of carrots and a stick of celery, thinking sadly of the onion.”

End quote.

However, other British folks who resorted to the black market got onions because

Quote

“my mother did get things where she was probably being naughty, but we did have onions, onions were priceless. Most of the cooking was like tasteless if you didn't have an onion. It was a very strong black market in those days.”

End quote.

While onions and other vegetables were not rationed during the war, they were still hard to find because the war cut off their supplies from places like the Channel Islands and places like Brittany – where the original Onion Johnny, Henri Ollivier, was from. As Norman Longmate,  put it in his book, “How we Lived Then: A History of Everyday Life During the Second World War,”

Quote

“The taste of this humble vegetable [the onion], so long taken for granted, seemed suddenly the peak of gastronomic pleasure.”

End quote.

This is true. Ugh. Onions are the ROOT. . .

AS:

[Laughter]

SM:

. . . of all gastronomic pleasure. Again not me.

So now, we should look at how the onion arrived in North America.

North America is home to 70 types of wild onions. The indigenous population ate them raw or cooked.

One of these wild onion was known to the local inhabitants as

Quote

“cigaga-wunj.”

End quote.

According to author Mark Kurlansky, this word apparently means “Onion Place.” And, here is another fascinating fact for you to bore people with at dinner parties. “Cigaga-wunj” is apparently where the name, Chicago, is derived from. So, Chicago is the onion place. Now, isn’t that fascinating?

Christopher Columbus is said to have brought onion seeds for cultivation to the Americas during his second sailing in 1494. His crew planted them in what was then Hispaniola, and is now referred to as the Dominican Republic.

However, in Mexico, they were already eating onions, leeks and garlic when the Europeans arrived. Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortez, found the locals ate what was called in the local language of Nahuatl,Quote

“xonacatl.”

End quote.

Xonacatl is a type of onion with what they call a “split roof” which, might suggest that it was a form of shallots.

The Pilgrims were also thought to have brought onions with them when they arrived on the Mayflower. While the European settlers did cultivate onions, by 1674, they have also been consuming these wild North American onions.

Today, one of these wild onions has become the favorites of the American food cognoscenti. They are native to the eastern areas of the US and Canada, including Quebec to Georgia and west to Iowa and Minnesota. Now, what are these wild onions, you ask? Well, they are called “ramps.”

And as the late food writer, Josh Ozersky, told Huffington Post

Quote

“The Church of the Ramp is one of the fastest-growing denominations in the religion of seasonality.”

End quote.

They are now being watched by those in the know and being produced by farms for supermarkets and stores.

[Sighs]

One could even say, they are RAMP-ing up production.

I’m so sorry everyone.

Let’s go back to the type of onions brought by the Pilgrims for cultivation. George Washington was fond of them and began to have them planted at his Mount Vernon residence. And by the period of the Civil War, the United States was producing 14 varieties of onions.

And, according to Mark Kurlansky, George Armstrong Custer, a military commander and probably most well-known for his death at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 and his mistreatment of native peoples, was rather passionate about his love of onions.

When writing to his wife in 1873, who was not as fond of onions as he was, Custer wrote,

Quote

“I supped on RAW ONIONS; I will probably breakfast, lunch and dine on them tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after ad libitum ad infinitum . . . Go it old fellow! Make the most of your liberties! . . . If you intend to eat raw onions now is your only time for ‘missus is comin.’”

End quote.

Now, let’s have a look at some of the types of onions that we can see in the supermarket and in farmer’s markets.

Yellow Onions are as Bon Appétit puts it

Quote

“one of these old faithfuls.”

End quote.

This is because nearly 90% of all storage onions in the US are these yellow onions. I always tend to have these in my kitchen. They are indeed “old faithfuls.” And, as I will explain later, many dishes around the world use these types of onions.

Red Onions. These are the type of onions I will always try to use if I make Indian Food. Particularly, if I try to make a kachumber salad, or onion bhaji. Or, if I try to make pickles. If you want to check out these dishes, I have recipes on my website.

White Onions are popular in Latin American and Central American cooking. According to Bon Appétit, they are

Quote

“served raw, like in pico de gallo or atop huevos rancheros.”

End quote.

Oh.

Now, I’m really hungry for huevos rancheros.

Okay.

Sweet Onions include onions like Vidalias and Washington Walla Wallas. I have to be honest. I don’t really like these sweet onions. I prefer something with a bit more bite. But, I do recognize how people love these sweeter onions and there’ll be some areas where they fit in cooking.

Shallots. Or as you Americans say, shallots. I love using shallots if the taste of an onion may be too sharp or biting. I love using them in a vinaigrette with a little Dijon, some red wine vinegar, and a little olive oil, for example. Or, I put them into the oven to cook with a roast joint of meat, like lamb. Oh.

Green Onions or Scallions, and Leeks. While green onions or scallions are the same, they’re NOT the same as leeks at all. Although, many people do sometimes get them mixed up. I love to use the scallions in scallion mashed potatoes. The Irish version of Champ mashed potatoes, and Chinese scallion pancakes.

Oh, so hungry now.

And leeks are one of my favorites.

Being half Welsh, as I am – my mother was Welsh – I have a particular fondness for leeks as they are the national symbol of Wales. I have even been known to wear one when I go and visit the Wales rugby team. Rugby, being Wales’ great love in sport.

Quite how it became such a symbol is hard to tell, but it likely goes back to the year 640 CE. At that time, the Welsh and the Saxons fought each other. The Welsh king, Cadwallader, ordered his men to wear leeks on their caps so they would recognize each other on the battlefield and not attack their own countrymen. So, there you go.

Oh, and, from personal experience, I know that the leek is bloody hard to remove soil from the layers. Being how it is made of multiple layers where dust and soil can stick forever. For those who have tried cooking these before, you know what I am saying. For those who have not, you have a lot to look forward to.

Finally, let us look at some of the dishes that have made onion both the star in its own right and a terrific supporting act to others.

First, let’s look at one of the most famous onion dishes probably in the world.

The French Onion Soup had its nascent beginnings in the broth of ancient Roman times. A recipe has also appeared in the famous cookbook, “Le Viandier de Taillevent,” which I discussed on a prior Eat My Globe episode on the History of The Cookbook. Le Viandier may have been written in the 13th or 14th or 15th century. The 1892 edition I found of Le Viandier says via Google Translate

Quote

“Onion soup. To make onion soup, pluck the onions and mince them very finely or in strips, and bake them in butter for a long time, and put a little water in it to keep it from burning, and combine it with mashed potatoes or of water, and put in some green juice and parsley.”

End quote.

Legend says, however, that this dish was created when French King, Louis XV, who lived between 1710 and 1774, was at his hunting lodge and had nothing to eat but onions, butter and Champagne. And voila, according to legend, the French onion soup was born. I don’t know that this is accurate since, as I said earlier, the combination of onion, butter and some liquid has been around since at least the 13th century and probably earlier.

According to author Martha Jay, author of “Onions and Garlic: A Global History,” the French onion soup, may have gained popularity due to Stanislaw I, the Polish King who was also the Duke of Lorraine. Stanislaw was on his way to visit his daughter, Marie, the queen of France and the wife of Louis XV. As Stanislaw broke up his journey in Châlons, the innkeeper served him onion soup. Apparently, he loved it so much that he introduced the dish to Louis XV’s court. And because the royalty were trendsetters, the dish became sought after.

I’m not sure that this is true either.

According to writer Shane Mitchell, the type of onion soup with the melty cheese became widespread in the 19th century at French brasseries and soup stalls that catered to the workers and artists. He said, these used Comté cheese and topped with Cognac.

That sounds TEAR-iffic!

Ugh. This is what happens when you get your wife to come in and just check everything. Anyway.

Whatever the origin, the French onion soup has been so integral to French cuisine that I am told it is now a French tradition to serve wedding guests this soup at the end of the reception. Hmmm.

And now, I am reminded that I should add a version of my French onion soup to my website. It is, although I say so myself, a thing of beauty and just so perfect to eat when the nights are drawing in.

Another one of my favorite onion dishes is Calçots con Salsa Romesco. Catalan News describe Calçots as

Quote

“a cross between a leek and a spring onion.”

End quote.

They were first found near the town of Valls, near Tarragona, in Catalan. It is one of the dishes I always run to when the season is upon us. Calçots – although you could use spring onions or leeks – are roasted over an open fire, or in an oven, until they become slightly charred, and it is typically served with a romesco sauce. I do love it. The sauce is made with tomatoes, sherry vinegar, roasted red bell peppers, bread cooked in olive oil, garlic cooked in the same olive oil which is as well, roasted almonds and salt. This is then put into a blender and pulverised until you like the texture. I like mine with a little texture with tiny bits of tomato, and bell peppers and garlic to the fore. Others may prefer whipped until it is almost a paste. In either case, the Calçots, being dipped into this sauce, is without doubt one of the greatest pleasures. Oh. Oh.

Another dish that we might remember from our youth – or still today – is the Outback Steakhouse “Bloomin’ Onion.” An onion that is slit across the top in every direction and then is dipped in a batter, and various spices and then deep fried. According to Outback Steakhouse, one of the founders of Outback, Tim Gannon, invented this dish in 1988. He created it after a similar dish at a place in New Orleans. Outback served their original Bloomin’ Onion in 1988 in Tampa. Originally, employees cut each onion by hand, but these days, each restaurant now has an onion cutting machine which employees have named “Gloria” which makes making this dish a lot easier. Which is just as well, because according to Outback, they sell 8 million Bloomin’ Onions per year.

Bloody heck. Or, blooming heck, I should say.

Whether you make these dishes, or just use onions to add to your Costco hot dog, onions are something that most cooks cannot live without. 

Well, that’s SHAL-LOT then.

AS:

[Laughter]

SM:

Time to get back into the kitchen.

See you next time folks.

OUTRO MUSIC

SM:

Make sure to check out the website associated with this podcast at www.EatMyGlobe.com where we will be posting the transcripts from each episode, along with all the references and resources we used putting the episodes together, in case you want to delve deeper into each subject. There is also a contact button, so please do let us know if there are any subjects that you would like us to cover.

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Thank you and goodbye from me, Simon Majumdar, we’ll speak to you soon on the next episode of EAT MY GLOBE: Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know About Food.

CREDITS

The EAT MY GLOBE Podcast is a production of “It’s Not Much But It’s Ours” and “Producer Girl Productions.”

[Ring sound]

We would also like to thank Sybil Villanueva for all of her help both with the editing of the transcripts and her essential help with the research.