Our Layered History, Part II

​In the 1st millennia B.C. (that is, after 1,000 BC), onions became ubiquitous in the written records of human history. This allows us to understand the remarkable importance and popularity of onions in early civilizations. The Israelites described onions in the Bible and the ancient Sanskrit text on Ayurveda, the Charaka Samhita, promoted onions as one of the most important remedies for heart, joint, and digestive illnesses. 

Alexander the Great brought onions from Egypt back to Greece in the 4th century B.C. It was believed that strong food produced strong men and Alexander the Great made sure his armies were eating a diet high in onions for fortitude.
 
After Rome conquered Greece, the onion became a staple in the Roman diet. The oldest surviving cookbook, originally titled De Re Coquinaria and attributed to the 1st century A.D. Roman gourmet, Marcus Gavius Apicius mentions onions over 100 times! It is fascinating to peruse. Check it out here: 
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/29728/pg29728-images.html)

Excavations of the destroyed city of Pompeii revealed a complex network of onion production, as confirmed by many Roman historians. Onions proliferated, as the Romans introduced them to the rest of Europe, from Italy to Spain, the Balkans, Central Europe, and England. 

When the Roman Empire fell and Europe entered into the Dark and Middle Ages, the dietary staples for many centuries were beans,  cabbage, and onions. 

The onion was so heavily used and valued as both food and medicine, that it was used as a form of currency!
 
With the Renaissance and the new trade routes in the Age of Exploration, Europeans planted onions everywhere they went and onion cultivation was spread throughout the world. According to some records, onions were the first vegetable planted by the colonists who invaded North America. While Europeans brought different varieties and cultivation techniques, onions weren’t a new food to the indigenous North Americans; many indigenous peoples had been foraging wild onions for centuries, perhaps millennia. Interestingly, the name “Chicago” has been traced to an Algonquin word shikaakwa (also seen spelled cigaga and che-cau-gou) meaning “skunk weed place” because so many wild onions grew in the area.
 
Today, onions are grown and eaten around the world more than any other vegetable! It is one of the only truly global ingredients. So next time you slice up an onion, remember you are part of a long tradition and worldwide culinary practice.
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