They
have been cultivated from the earliest times, their native country being
Central Asia. Closely allied to the onion are several other bulb
vegetables, including garlic, shallots, leeks, and chives, all of which
are used more extensively for flavoring dishes than for any other
purpose. Fig. 10 shows several varieties of this family, the group of
three in the upper right corner being garlic; the bunch in the lower
right corner, leeks; the bunch in the lower left corner, green onions;
and the remainder of those shown in the illustration, different
varieties of dried onions, that is, onions that have been allowed
to mature.
41. This entire class of food is characterized by a typical, volatile
oil, which in most cases is so strong as to be somewhat irritating and
which causes the vegetable to disagree with many persons. This flavor,
however, can be almost entirely dissipated by cooking, so that many
persons who cannot eat the various members of the onion family raw can
tolerate them cooked. In food value, which is found principally as
carbohydrate in the form of sugar, this class of foods is not very high,
being about the same as carrots, beets, and other root vegetables. Some
persons believe that onions have wonderful medicinal value in curing
colds and preventing them, but there is really no foundation for such
a belief.
[Illustration: Fig. 10]
42. ONIONS.--As has been pointed out, onions are of two general
varieties, dried and green. _Dried onions_, as shown in Fig.
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