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Onion

This well-known vegetable may be regarded either as a condiment or as an article of real nourishment. By boiling it is deprived of much of its pungent, volatile oil, and becomes agree-able, mild, and nutritious. It is not so wholesome either fried or roasted. There is no vegetable about which there is so much diversity of opinion as there is about the onion, some persons liking a little of it in every dish, and others objecting to it entirely. Generally speaking, however, a slight flavouring of onion is an improvement to the majority of made dishes, but it should not be too strong. The smell which arises from the esculent during cooking, and the unpleasant odour it imparts to the breath of those who partake of it, are the principal objections which are urged against it. The latter may be partially remedied by eating a little raw parsley after it. When onions are used for stuffing, the unpleasant properties belonging to them would be considerably lessened if a lemon, freed from the outer rind but covered as thickly as possible with the white skin, were put in the midst of them, and thrown away when the dish is ready for the table. Onions may be rendered much milder if two or three waters are used in boiling them. Spanish onions are not so strong as English ones, and are generally considered superior in flavour. The largest are the best. Onions, as well as garlic, shallots, chives, and leeks, contain a principle called allyl, to which they owe their peculiar flavour. When young, the onion is eaten raw, and it is also pickled, and made into a sauce by boiling, in which process much of the allyl is got rid of. It grows to a great size in the south of Europe, and when imported into this country is boiled and eaten with melted butter.