Laura Dixon, age 9, of Montgomery, Ala., for her question:
WHY DOES THE ONION MAKE YOU CRY?
The onion is well known for its strong taste and odor. The odor is due to a mildly stimulating oil. This oil readily forms into a vapor, which can escape into the air when the onion is cut or peeled. The oil affects nerves in the nose connected with the eyes and can makes tears flow.
Onions first grew in Mongolia. The plant belongs to the amaryllis family.
Today California, Idaho, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Texas are the leading onion growing states. But onions also grow in most of the other states and in the Canadian provinces. Mexico, Italy and Spain are noted for the high quality of their onions.
An onion plant is a biennial, which means that it lives for two years. The upper part of the plant is a set of leaves growing inside of each other. The lower parts of the leaves become very thick.
The flowers are small and white, and grow in rounded clusters. The bulbs are enclosed in a thin papery covering made up of dried outer leaves. The onion plant also has a few shallow roots.
Onions come in all sizes, colors and shapes. There are two general classifications, however: American onions, which are strong, and foreign onions, which are very mild.
The strong type includes the Yellow Globe types and the flatter Ebenezer type. The home gardener can grow these from sets, which are very small onions that have not completed their growth. These onions keep well and they are usually eaten cooked.
The foreign type are mostly Bermuda and Spanish onions. These large, mild onions are generally eaten uncooked.
Most onions that are sold in markets are raised from seeds. But home garden onions are usually raised from sets.
Both sets and seeds are used to produce scallions, a popular name for young onions that are harvested before they have developed much of a bulb.
Onions that have lost their ability to make seeds are raised from bulbs and are known as multiplier onions. Some types produce tiny bulbs called aerial sets.
Onion seeds may be sown in greenhouses or directly in fields. The plants need a very moist soil for good growth.
The onion thrip is one of the worst insects that attacks onions. It can be checked by spraying seedlings with diazinon or malathion.
Onions aren't particularly high in vitamins or in energy value. But many people agree they have much flavor and add a great deal when used with other food items.
Cooking takes away some food value in the onion, but it also makes them more digestible and tends to remove their odor.
Onions may also be pickled.