Throughout our history the onion has been a very important part of our diet. From soups to stews and on sandwiches or in salads, nothing quite matches up to the onion. They can be pickled, boiled, fried, baked or simply eaten raw. Because it is suitable to eat raw, the cancer preventing antioxidant properties of the onion are particularly potent. They also come in a wide variety of types with different colors and flavors.
You can get white onions, yellow onions, brown onions or red onions. You can even get onions that are sweet or shallots for a little more variety. Onions can be dehydrated and even come in a powder form. Red onions also have a higher antioxidant content than brown onions and therefore have greater health benefits.
Onions do have a couple of drawbacks but they don’t impair their worth as a super food. If eaten raw they can leave you with bad breath and when chopping or slicing onions they can make your eyes water. So if you eat a lot of onions, you will need to brush your teeth or pop a mint in your mouth. Otherwise, you may wind up with a few less friends. To keep your eyes from watering just put a little white vinegar on your cutting board when slicing or chopping onions.
Ian Marber, author, broadcaster and health journalist comments:
"The term superfood tends to be applied to nearly everything these days, but the humble onion does offer far more benefits than most vegetables owing to its potent antioxidant and probiotic effects."
Onions…gotta love ‘em!
Staying above the water line!
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5 comments:
Does drying affect the nutrient content? Also, does the smell come out of your dehydrator? (Just curious - ours hold well in the root cellar but are way too fiery to eat raw, but I was thinking it might be handy to have some dried "just in case".
To: Laurie N
The main thing that damages the nutrients of any fruit or vegetable, including onions, is using high temperatures to cook them. The best nutrient values are usually derived from raw fruits and vegetables.Dehydrating your onions shouldn't seriously affect their nutrient value. Onions generally have a high water content of as much as 80% to 85% and sometimes higher.
A vinegar wash should get rid of any onion odors.
Here's a quick tip:
You can also use half of a large onion (raw, uncooked) to remove the paint smell in freshly painted rooms. Just place the onion half in the middle of the room for a few hours.
You could also try pickling some onions as well.
RW
Onions are good for a lot of things...and being from Texas, I've certainly eaten my share over the years.
Nothing like some good ol' pickled onion! Onion rings ain't bad, either!
To: HermitJim
I like to eat a raw chunk of onion with a hot bowl of beans.
Onion rings can have a tendency to be a little greasy Jim!
RW
To reduce the tears from cutting onions, core out the root end. That little piece is where most of those annoying chemicals are.
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