Can you imagine a kitchen without onions? I can’t. Onions (yes, that smelly eye-watering vegetable) have been around kitchens for about 5,000 years. Egyptians worshiped them. They believed that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life. Today we worship the onion in a different way, flavoring our food. Cooks all around the world would be lost without it. Onions are so prized that some people refer to them as “lilies of the kitchen”.

Onions and garlic are members of the Allium family, one of the largest plant genera in the world. These two cooks’ friends have a very distinctive pungent odor. The reason is their powerful sulfur-containing compounds, which are also responsible for their health promoting effects.

Health you said? Yes, onions not only give food from all over the world a richer flavor, they also have a lot of health benefits such as:

· Blood sugar lowering effects
· Cardiovascular benefits
· Support gastrointestinal health
· Protective against many cancers
· Boost bone health
· Anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial activity

Sources: The world’s healthiest foods. Wikipedia

There are many ways to eat onions. If you have read some of my recipes you might have noticed that I like to use onion a lot. Mexican food wouldn’t be the same without them. But there are also tons of recipes where onions are the main ingredient. You can find many delicious recipes on this site.

Onions are also great raw, especially when served in salads and pico de gallo (aka salsa) If you worry about the strong smell onions leave in your mouth you can use this TIP that my friend Miguel Cane shared with me.

In a container cover onions with water and the juice of a lime. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before using. That should take care of the smell.

¡Buen provecho!

Also check out these recipes:

• Stuffed Onions
• Stuffed Onions with homemade queso fresco