I recently made a post on my Instagram which stated that about 920 Different species of Onion exist in World. About 30 of them are most widely used in India. (Click Here to see post)
Onions are known to be amongst the earliest food items cultivated by humankind. It has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years and there are doubts as to whether today it exists as a wild species. The exact place of the origin of the vegetable is not clear and researchers have ascribed onions to a region stretching from northwest India, parts of modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west to parts of China and Central Asia in the northeast.
One of the earliest recorded history of the vegetable dates back to the 4th BCE when labourers working on the famous pyramids in Egypt were fed onions to keep them in good strength. The Romans are known to have introduced the vegetable to different parts of Europe. (The Indian Express)
But the ancient world also had an ambivalent relationship to onions. In ancient Mesopotamia, writes the cultural geographer Fredrick J Simoons in Plants of Life, Plants of Death, though leeks and onions were freely eaten, they were banned in certain times of the year, especially during ritual occasions. Their pungent smells, propensity to introduce certain “baser sentiments” and supposedly aphrodisiac attributes gave the onions bad press in several parts of the world, including India.
Over centuries, the onion has risen to become the root and backbone of Indian food, No matter what the prices of Onions sore high to Indian and Onions are two things which cannot be separated. The love for this vegetable is so strong that Government had to keep check on export of Onions and Increase import from Egypt and Turkey to meet demands of Onion in Indian Markets.
Origin of Onion
Because of all those benefits of onions, it was not strange to see that this vegetable quickly entered into religious ceremonies of several ancient civilizations. This was most apparent in Egypt, where onions were symbols of eternity, endless life and were part of burial ceremonies (especially during funerals of Pharaohs). Egyptians pained onions on the walls of their structures, pyramids, tombs, and were present in both ordinary meals, celebratory feasts and offerings to the gods. Onions were also important part of the famous Egyptian mummification process.
With all that popularity, Onion became more and more present in the written records of human history in 1st millennia BC and early centuries of AD. It was described several times by the Israelites in the Bible, celebrated by the Indian medical treatise Charaka Samhita as one of the most important remedies for various heart, joint, digestion illnesses, and used heavily in Ancient Greece not only by physicians, but also by soldiers and athletes who believed onions gave them strength from gods (they consumed it raw, cooked, as juice and as rubbing oil).
Romans also consumed large quantities of onion, taking it wherever they went, from Italy to Spain, Balkans, majority of Central Europe, and England. Excavations of destroyed city of Pompey which was overflowed by lava from Vesuvius revealed to modern scientist complex network of onion production that was described beforehand in the writing of many Roman historians.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe entered into Dark and Middle ages where main sources of food for entire population were beans, cabbage, and onions. During that time, onion was heavily used as both food and medicinal remedy, and was often more valuable than money. With the arrival or Renaissance and the new trade routes of the Golden Age of Sail, onions were carried to all four corners of the world, enabling European colonist and native people from newfound continents to grow this incredible vegetable on countless soil types. According to some records, onions were the first vegetable that was ever planted by the first colonists who landed in North America.
A burnt onion more than 1,500 years old has shed new light on close trading links between the ancient ring fort dubbed 'Sweden's Pompeii' and the Roman Empire.
A brief history in India
The onion didn’t always this reverenced position in Indian society. Thousands of years ago, no one was bothered about onions, because there was no simply demand for them. In fact, it was looked upon with some disdain for a very long time.
The Chinese traveller Xuanzang (also spelt as Hiuen Tsang or Hsuan Tsang), who came to India in the seventh century AD, observed that few people ate onions, and those who were found out were “expelled beyond the walls of the town”.
Before the arrival of Mughals in India, India relied on a more ginger-based diet. Onions and garlic were virtually unused. It was only after the Mughals arrived, between 1526 and 1556, that onions won over the mainstream. Certain sects still avoid garlic and onions — religious Brahmins and Jains, for example, but even then there are exceptions.
Different locations, different styles
Certain states use particular kinds of onions — in Tamil Nadu, the pinkish Bellary onion dominates, while in Karnataka, it’s the more spherical rose onion (which earned a GI tag in 2015).
“I’m particularly drawn to an onion found in the Northeast, which is tear-drop shaped and quite garlicky — except it isn’t garlic,” said Vanshika Bhatia, chef at Together at 12th in Gurugram.
With local produce comes local practice, too. “If you lay an onion on a flat surface and smash it with your fist, it isn’t pungent at all. Farmers in Maharashtra discovered this technique and eat it raw with their rotis,” Reshii said.
In West Bengal, ‘onion payesh’, a kind of kheer made from onion, is a popular dish. (The Print)
If you like this post then Subscribe to my Blog. And share your views in Comments. It motivates me to work harder and write more such blogs for you.
DID THE ONION ORIGINATE IN MESOPOTAMIA ?
This was so informative. I am just so fond of your work be it writing or baking. I'm waiting for more posts like this. Keep up the good work Prakhar ❤