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Three cheers for the onion
BBC ^ | 4 January 2015 | BBC

Posted on 01/04/2015 1:26:00 AM PST by 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.


(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; History
KEYWORDS: agriculture; allium; animalhusbandry; assyria; babylon; cuneiform; dietandcuisine; france; garlic; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; huntergatherers; jeanbottero; leeks; mesopotamia; onion; onions; shallots
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To: Daffynition

Boys got some onions!


41 posted on 01/04/2015 9:07:03 AM PST by csmusaret (Will remove Obama-Biden bumperstickers for $10)
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To: SunkenCiv

Beautiful, I would love to have that kitchen/dining area in my house. I also absolutely love onions!


42 posted on 01/04/2015 9:22:33 AM PST by Irenic (The pencil sharpener and Elmer's glue is put away-- we've lost the red wheelbarrow)
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To: smalltownslick
Here in Ohio we get Tennessee Tomatoes very early -

I wonder if they're the same variety. The ones we get are larger than the standard Florida shipping tomato, a reddish-yellow color with distinct yellow blotches around the shoulder.

43 posted on 01/04/2015 9:54:26 AM PST by okie01 (THE MAINSTEAM MEDIA: Ignorance on Parade)
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To: moose07

Onion fans should try wild mountain ramps. Takes it to a whole ‘nother level, lol. They grow above 2,000 ft or so in the southern Appalachians with outliers found elsewhere. Sauteed they’re somewhere between spring onions and garlic with a little “kick” that’s hard to categorize, fine restaurants have taken to using them in certain dishes for a regional, wildcrafted flair. Raw, they can hurt you. Seriously. They’re the diametrical opposite of a Vidalia. Nothing mild about them.


44 posted on 01/04/2015 10:04:09 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: RegulatorCountry
Thank you,Just Wikied that:

Sounds like a very useful veg.
45 posted on 01/04/2015 10:12:56 AM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached Radiator Springs; Luigi knows what tyres they need.)
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To: moose07

The Onion, one of gods gifts to the world.


46 posted on 01/04/2015 10:41:05 AM PST by mowowie (`)
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To: null and void

I do, too! Very fond of the small ones you can get at Farmers’ Markets, especially the red ones. The ones that are about 1 to 1-1/2” in size. Very crisp and sweet, perfect size for slicing in salad.


47 posted on 01/04/2015 10:44:38 AM PST by smalltownslick
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To: okie01

They’re probably different, I don’t recall any yellowish on them. I’m sure they grow lots of varieties in Tennessee, it’s just the way the store advertises them. They are really good, and I keep buying them until they’re gone. By that time, some of the local ones have kicked in.


48 posted on 01/04/2015 10:46:38 AM PST by smalltownslick
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To: smalltownslick

Did you click the link and hear the song?


49 posted on 01/04/2015 10:48:06 AM PST by null and void (The aggregate effect of competitive capitalism is indistinguishable from magic)
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To: moose07

50 posted on 01/04/2015 10:50:55 AM PST by null and void (The aggregate effect of competitive capitalism is indistinguishable from magic)
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To: null and void

No, I didn’t. Sorry. I just saw your comment on the new posts to you, and it didn’t show the link. Ii will check it out.


51 posted on 01/04/2015 10:51:55 AM PST by smalltownslick
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To: moose07

You can order them in season from here:

http://www.wild-leeks.com

In the hands of a skilled chef, they can play a role in fairly sophisticated dishes, along with flash-fried fiddlehead ferns and morel mushrooms, sort of the trifecta of southern Appalachian wild foods of Spring.

The more popular, folksy uses are far more humble, though. Fry them up in bacon fat with potatoes, hash browns with a kick. Make a breakfast casserole with hot sage sausage, cheddar cheese, eggs and ramps. That sort of thing.


52 posted on 01/04/2015 10:58:13 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: null and void

Perfect, :)


53 posted on 01/04/2015 10:58:56 AM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached Radiator Springs; Luigi knows what tyres they need.)
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To: Daffynition

Would make some great onion rings!

54 posted on 01/04/2015 12:26:44 PM PST by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
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To: moose07
Nothing on Earth is more foul, more disgusting than onions. Putting onion in food renders it unfit for human consumption. They rate zero, if not negative numbers, for their smell, taste, and texture, and obliterate the flavor of any food they pollute. If a purely evil entity exists, onions are his dastardly creation.
55 posted on 01/04/2015 12:48:48 PM PST by TrueKnightGalahad (When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.)
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To: moose07

Onions have layers.


56 posted on 01/04/2015 12:49:41 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

“Onions have layers” and hidden depths of flavour.


57 posted on 01/04/2015 2:12:30 PM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached Radiator Springs; Luigi knows what tyres they need.)
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To: TrueKnightGalahad
I get the impression from that screed, correct me if i’m wrong, that you don't like Onions.
Coarsely Diced Onion and Bell Pepper lightly fried with a little Garlic, strips of Bacon and slices of Tomato....ooooohhh! No, can't temp you?:)
58 posted on 01/04/2015 2:27:50 PM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached the parking lot.)
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To: moose07

Screed? Think of it more as a perfectly reasonable, 100% factual disquisition on the evils of onions...a truth I discovered when I first encountered those nauseating supposedly edible objects when I was but 3 or 4 years old, a wise-eyed nursery-school innocent.


59 posted on 01/04/2015 3:00:05 PM PST by TrueKnightGalahad (When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.)
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To: TrueKnightGalahad

I see ,Childhood trauma by Onion.
Then i fully understand your predicament, mine was semolina.
That must be the Pudding accompaniment to the evil entity’s main dish of Onion.


60 posted on 01/04/2015 3:19:06 PM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached the parking lot.)
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