Onion

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Onion

The onion (Allium cepa), also known as the bulb onion, common onion is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion (A. fistulosum), Egyptian onion (A. ×proliferum), and Canada onion (A. canadense). The name "wild onion" is applied to a number of Allium species. Onion is most frequently a biennial, although it can also be a triennial or a perennial.
Onions are often chopped and used as an ingredient in various hearty warm dishes, and may also used as a main ingredient in their own right, for example in French onion soup or onion chutney. They are also used raw in cold salads.