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Onion Trivia
Friday, September 30, 2005

Onions are the source of much puzzlement. Why do they make you cry? What do they provide nutritionally? While I may not be able to answer those questions, here are some onion trivia facts that you probably do not know. These facts are from the National Onion Association, the United States based group set to promote onions to the general public and provide for their lobby.

Remember that first question. Why do onions make you cry? Well, it turns out that we can answer it after all. Onions contain sulfur-based compounds, which cause the eyes to water because of their chemical composition.

Now that you know why you cry, can you prevent it? You should always cut onions after they have been in the refrigerator. The cold will stifle the sulfuric compounds. Also cut the root part of the onion last. This rule applies to all three colors found in most grocery stores: white, red, and yellow. The yellow onion makes up about 88 percent of the onion crop. The reds come in a distant second at seven percent, while the white onion makes up the other five percent.

People around the world eat about 380 semi-truck loads of onions everyday, and the average American family eats 19 pounds of onions annually. Americans are nowhere near the top of the charts when it comes to onion eating, however. The folks of Libya each eat more than 65 pounds of onions every year! Yes, that is every person - not every family. That means that they average eating a pound of onions every 5.5 days. That's a lot of crying.

The United States' 1,000 onion farmers plant about 145,000 acres of onions every year. Let us hope that some of these farmers also plant the subtle herb parsley, which helps get rid of that sometimes rancid onion breath.

The world's largest onion ever produced was in England. This whopper weighed in at more than 10 pounds. Does this love for the onion extend to all of the English folk? Maybe it does. The Beatles recorded the song "Glass Onion" on their White Album.

Lewis Carroll, born in 1832 in Cheshire, England, had a playing card facing the threat of a beheading for not bringing in onions to eat in Carroll’s classic The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Besides Carroll's story, the onion appears in a traditional English children's rhyme. According to this rhyme, a thin onion skin is an indicator of a mild winter. Watch out if the summer's onions have thick skins, however; a rough winter is ahead.

The pearl onion, the small onion that can be boiled, also is used in drinks. It traditionally garnishes The Gibson. Some sources, however, call for the pearl onion's use in the Yellow Rattler, the Patton Martini, and other drinks.

If you aren't looking for alcohol to spice up your onion, try a sweet onion instead. These popular onions can be found in Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington. Each state has its own brand or brands of sweet onions, such as Georgia's Vidalia, Californi's Sweet Imperials, and Washington's Walla Walla Sweets.

Keep in mind these onion facts. You never know when they could come in handy.

By Julia Mercer

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