Three cheers for the onion

BBC ^ | 4 January 2015 | BBC

[moose07]

Onions are eaten and grown in more countries than any other vegetable but rarely seem to receive much acclaim. It's time to stop taking the tangy, tear-inducing bulb for granted and give it a round of applause, writes the BBC's Marek Pruszewicz.

Deep in the archives of Yale University's Babylonian Collection lie three small clay tablets with a particular claim to fame - they are the oldest known cookery books.

Covered in minute cuneiform writing, they did not give-up their secrets until 1985, nearly 4,000 years after they were written.

The French Assyriologist and gourmet cook Jean Bottero - a combination only possible in France, some might say - was the man who cracked them. He discovered "a cuisine of striking richness, refinement, sophistication and artistry" with many flavours we would recognise today. Especially one flavour.

"They seem obsessed with every member of the onion family!" says Bottero.

Mesopotamians knew not just their onions, but also their leeks, garlic and shallots.

[T-Bird45]

Everything is just bland without them!

Tell me about it!! My daughter-in-law is from an Upper Midwest family that has a very bland flavor palate. It's only relatively recently that onions could become obvious in any dish. This has been an on-going project between my son and me to show her flavor does not equal death from overstimulation of the taste buds.

[mrs. a]

Comments on the Weekly Gardening Thread have inspired me to try Egyptian Walking Onions this year. We’ll see how it goes. I live on a farm and I’m good at raising livestock. Plants, not so much...

[okie01]

I come from the area of Georgia known for Vidalia onions. You really can just ‘eat ‘em like an apple’.

With all due respect to the Vidalia onion -- which we seek out and employ most of the time -- it is not "the bestest onion on the block".

Here in Texas, we have Noonday onions -- named for a small town in East Texas, near Tyler. Somehow, the sandy soil, the climate and rainfall combine to produce a superior onion. They're smaller than Vidalias, but even milder and sweeter.

Come summertime, for the few weeks they are in season, Noondays replace the baked potato -- baked in foil on the grill, with butter, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

[SunkenCiv]

Except that the Roman ruin is in much better condition, particularly the bathrooms.

[real saxophonist]

That’s a good recipe, I’ve done that. Here in northern Colorado, if Vidalia onions aren’t available, Walla Walla onions are a good substitute. And there are some locally grown onions that are pretty sweet as well.

[left that other site]

Bwahahahahahahahahaha!

[Rodamala]

I’d like a #4 extra value meal, no ketchup, extra onions, large size with a Coke.

[okie01]

if Vidalia onions aren’t available, Walla Walla onions are a good substitute.

Hear of them, but never seen them in a store down here.

We'll try them if we get a chance.

While we're on the subject of "special produce", have you ever encountered Tennessee tomatoes? They come from East Tennessee, over around Marysville, and are purportedly better the higher on the mountain they're grown. They come off in late summer -- late August thru September. Outstanding!!! Even better than the East Texas vine-ripes from around Quitman, TX.

[moose07]

That sounds good. Just got to try and find the onions now.
Any excuse for a trip up the smoke. :)

[Rodamala]

Thanks so much for the note on Noonday onions. I knew about the tomatoes in Jacksonville, but not the Noonday onions. I hear that Tyler is known for it’s Aparagus.... hahaha I just crack myself up.

I love that part of Texas... good people... well except for the inmates in Rusk.

[ExCTCitizen]

The recipe on the clay tablet was written by a lady called ‘The Babylonian Chef’. She was an ancestor of Julia Child (The French Chef).

[moose07]

Hmmmm, impressed.!
Your Cuneiform reading has come on in leaps and bounds ,Grasshopper.
:)

[ExCTCitizen]

Thanks..unless it was Emeril Lagrasse’s an ester... I think I read ‘Bang’ and ‘Its not Carriage Science’ (to paraphrase Mr.Lagrasse famous saying about cooking).

[SunkenCiv]

Yeah, and they’ve only got three showing on the wall, some renegade centurion would leap out and run ya through! ;’)

[samtheman]

you know, George, that's an onion

[Rodamala]

FDA to shut them down for not displaying calorie and nutrition data on their menu in 3...2...1...

[Rodamala]

I hear this guy makes a wicked onion soup.

[moose07]

French onion soup : Delicious the first time around, shame about the repeats.

[smalltownslick]

Here in Ohio we get Tennessee Tomatoes very early - they are the first of the season at Buehler’s.

[null and void]

Oooo I Love Onions