15 Interesting Facts About Onions

                  1.      Ancient Egyptian Pharos were burried with onions as a symbol of eternity.

            2.      The ancient Greeks used onions to strengthen athletes before competing in the Olympic games, by eating copious amounts of onions, drinking onion juice and rubbing them on their bodies

            3.      Apicius, the Roman author of one of the first ever cookbooks made use of onions in many of his recipes

4.      In the middle ages onions were not just used as food, but as medicine to relieve headaches, snake bites and to cure hair loss

5.      Pilgrims took onions to America on the Mayflower only to discover that the Native Americans already used them extensively for food, clothing dyes and even as toys

6.      Around 9.2 million acres of onions are harvested annually

7.      Orthodox Hindus and Jainas do not use onions or garlic in their cooking because they believe the strength of the taste confuses the other flavours

8.      Libya has the highest consumption of onions in the world with around 30kg per person consumed annually

9.      The Latin name for onions is “Allium Cepa”. Who else is relieved that the English name is easier?

10.  Onions are from the Allium genus (which is a flowering plant to those of you who, like me, did not study plant biology).

11.  Onions help to relieve coughs, colds, asthma and bronchitis (it’s probably not a good idea to just eat them raw though).

12.  Onion skins have been used in some dyes for things like wool.

13.  You cry when onions are cut because some compounds are released that irritate the lachrymal glands in the eyes which causes tears to be released.

This can be combated by wearing goggles to create a seal around your eyes. These act as a barrier and stop the gases that irritate the eyes from making you cry (it may also make you look a little odd but you’ll be the one laughing when they’re crying over onions)

14.  China produce over 20 million tonnes of onions!

15.  Onions can reduce the risk of tumours developing in the colon.

Ancient Egyptian Pharos were burried with onions as a symbol of eternity.

The ancient Greeks used onions to strengthen athletes before competing in the Olympic games, by eating copious amounts of onions, drinking onion juice and rubbing them on their bodies

Apicius, the Roman author of one of the first ever cookbooks made use of onions in many of his recipes

In the middle ages onions were not just used as food, but as medicine to relieve headaches, snake bites and to cure hair loss

Pilgrims took onions to America on the Mayflower only to discover that the Native Americans already used them extensively for food, clothing dyes and even as toys

Around 9.2 million acres of onions are harvested annually

Orthodox Hindus and Jainas do not use onions or garlic in their cooking because they believe the strength of the taste confuses the other flavours

Libya has the highest consumption of onions in the world with around 30kg per person consumed annually

The Latin name for onions is “Allium Cepa”. Who else is relieved that the English name is easier?

Onions are from the Allium genus (which is a flowering plant to those of you who, like me, did not study plant biology).

Onions help to relieve coughs, colds, asthma and bronchitis (it’s probably not a good idea to just eat them raw though).

Onion skins have been used in some dyes for things like wool.

You cry when onions are cut because some compounds are released that irritate the lachrymal glands in the eyes which causes tears to be released.

• This can be combated by wearing goggles to create a seal around your eyes. These act as a barrier and stop the gases that irritate the eyes from making you cry (it may also make you look a little odd but you’ll be the one laughing when they’re crying over onions)
  

China produce over 20 million tonnes of onions!

Onions can reduce the risk of tumours developing in the colon.

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