By: Hettie Basil Lighttower
Imagine you are walking along and your leg brushes up against a tall unusual thick grass and you notice a burst of aroma more than normal. So you dig it up with a convenient stick or rock because you see a rounded bulb at the base of it. You break it open with a rock because you’re curious and an explorer. You have never seen anything like this before.
Just as you do this your eyes begin to burn like fire was just thrown into them. Your nose begins to run and all your nasal cavities and sinuses swell. On top of all that you take a bite of it just be certain the suffering is real. You now have a full-blown headache and uncontrollable dripping from your eyes which are now temporarily blind. But the more you close them as a natural defense to protect them from the burning the more they burn. And your nose which never produced such a stream now has you one step away from dehydration.
You then dig up the other grasses like this and take them back to your village because you want everyone else to suffer along with you. And everyone does. Seriously?? What was wrong with the first person ever to discover an onion? He had to be a special kind of crazy. Who in their right mind consider them as something to eat? But look at us now!
Historians, botanists, and archeologists have no clue as to when onions were originally discovered and decidedly used. But one thing is for certain – they can be traced back further than 5000 years!!! They have even been used in the mumification process according to archeological samples. This makes me imagine that their original purpose was not for food. But perhaps because of their pungent aroma and instant suffering of our senses is why they would be used in preserving or protecting the dead. No living thing in their right mind would want to be around the effects of an onion. Like, they are not fit for man or beast! I’m sure it helped to keep carnivores away, rodents and otherwise. And this is the very reason we should not eat them if expecting anytime in the next 24hrs to be on a heavy date! They clearly are deterrents!
Because the onion is perishable, it leaves no accurate trace of where its origins began. Most speculate in Asia as first written records of it. But a second hypothesis of its domestication by some scientists is in the middle east by Babylonian culture in Iran and Pakistan. Others surmise Ancient Sumeria. One thing is for sure most scientists in these multidiscipline believe it was even before written language.
It is recorded in Egypt that onions were even used as symbols of eternity(probably because their stench seems to linger for eternity). They were symbols of endless life, and part of burial ceremonies especially for Pharaohs. Onions are actually painted on the walls of pyramids and tombs. They are described by Israelites of the Bible. The Indian medical treatise Charaka Sanhita lists them as one of the most important remedies for various heart, joint, digestion and ailments.
Interestingly enough, ancient Greecians who were soldiers and athletes believed onions gave them strength from the gods. They would consume them raw, cooked, and juice them as a rubbing oil!! No wonder those guys always took the gold. Who wants to wrestle a smashed bag of onions?? Let him have the gold, I’ll go mine my own! There is much documentation from the Greeks about onions.
So who knows where the beginnings actually lye. It has always boggled my mind as to how we got started in eating this powerful vegetable in the first place. Guess I’ll never know and my imagination can forever run wild with it, as well as my nose.
What we do know is that these bulbs are extremely healthy and we have come to depend on them for most all of our soups or salads and main courses. They come in a variety and are good any way we want to eat them. Raw, cooked, dried, powdered, deep fried or blended into a sauce. They are hearty to grow and don’t require a lot of care.
This excerpt on onions is brought to you by a request for more information about onions from one my faithful readers. Thanks for the suggestion. It was fun delving into this mystery vegetable. There is a little more to say about it and I believe I will follow up next time with it but include radishes. They are another weirdo root that I have longed to know more about and why did we ever start eating this ridiculous bulb. Both radishes and onions are just about staples in any restaurant on any house salad. We literally can’t live without them these days.
Send in your notions and comments to [email protected]. I will include them in the next available column as per their arrival relative to the publication deadline of Tuesday by 12 p.m. of the same week. If you wish to be anonymous let me know. Kindness is contagious~*