Onion information

Information for onion in our free herbs and spices resources collection.

Onion

Onion is a famous spice commodity grown all over the world and consumed in various forms. It has been in cultivation for more than 4000 years. The maximum diversity of Allium species is found in a belt from the Mediterranean basin to Iran and Afghanistan, i.e. Iran, north Iraq, Afghanistan, Soviet middle-Asia and west Pakistan, indicating the primary centre of origin. The earliest record comes from Egypt where onions appear as carvings on pyramid walls and in tombs from the third and fourth dynasties (2700 BC). It is thought that Romans took the onion north of the Alps. The onion was among the first cultivated plants taken to the Americas from Europe. Europeans took the species to East Asia during the last century.

The distinctive flavour of alliums have established plants as an essential part of the cuisine of the world. It is used as immature, mature bulbs as vegetable and spice as well as food for poultry and non-milking cattle. In India and China, onion is the basis of many dishes. Nearly every Indian recipe starts with the same procedure. Fry chopped or sliced onion slowly, add spices (frequently fresh garlic and ginger and dried spices like cumin, turmeric, chillies) and fry until the onion turns golden. The mixture (wet masala) may afterwards be pure’ed, simmered with tomatoes or yogurt or just added to boiled or fresh vegetables, meat, chicken and fish to form curry. The onion rings can be fried and used as fast food. Onion pakodas made out of sliced onion and chickpea flour is an important snack item in Indian hotels. Onion can be eaten raw or cooked; mild flavoured or coloured bulbs are often chosen for salad.

Alliums are also used widely in food processing. However, handling of bulk of onion and storage of bulbs for 5-6 months is cumbersome. Losses of fresh onion in storage have been reported to be about 25 to 30%. Value addition of raw onion in the form of processed products is the most practical solution. Whilst onion is traded in its raw form, the international market is increasingly focused on dehydrated products such as flakes, rings, granules, powder, etc., and processed onion as frozen or canned, or onions in vinegar and onions in brine.

Allium cepa is cultivated mainly as a biennial, but some types are treated as perennials. It is propagated by seeds, bulbs or sets (small bulbs). Very wide variation in shape, size and colour is observed in this species. Intensive selection during domestication and natural hybridization might have created variability. There is a lot of controversy regarding the taxonomic position of Allium and related genera. In early classification onion was placed in the Liliaceae. Some British and American botanists included onion in Amaryllidaceae. In a more recent taxonomic treatment of monocotyledons, Allium and its close relatives are recognized as the distinct family Alliaceae, close to Amaryllidaceae.

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