by At this point, chefs around the world are standing in their kitchens, slicing and dicing onions and crying collectively. Those tears are the price they pay for that soul-warming stew, heady stir-fry, delicious custard pie, clay bread or tongue-in-cheek salsa that will soon grace their tables.
All thanks to the humble onion.
Onions are the second most produced vegetable in the world, second only to tomatoes, which are fruits, botanically speaking. Julia Child famously said that it was “difficult to imagine civilization without onions.” Her friend and fellow TV culinary pioneer James Beard, who often said he was an onion sandwich enthusiast, considered the ubiquitous vegetable “a thing of beauty in itself, and certainly a gastronomic joy that should never be taken for granted.” .
In his new book, “The Core of an Onion,” Mark Kurlansky presents a lively collection of fun facts and lore to help us better understand the importance of the plebeian pantry staple in our kitchens and throughout world history.
Kurlansky also provides insight into how onion cooking has evolved through the ages with recipes gleaned from ancient texts, including the 18th century.th century onion soup that was a favorite of King George II and the lemon pie made with pureed cooked onions that won first place in the cooking at the 1987 Vidalia Onion Festival.
Kurlansky is known for choosing a seemingly singular subject — often, but not always, edible — to unravel a global story. His 1997 book, “Cod: A Biography of a Fish That Changed the World,” became an international bestseller that has been translated into 15 languages. “Milk!” His other titles include “Paper: Paging Through History” and “Salt”.
I called Kurlansky at his home in New York City to learn more about peeling back those layers.
This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
CNN: What inspired you to go on this onion odyssey?
Mark Kurlansky: I thought onions were underrated. They are always around, and everyone uses them. You know, there is a difference between being popular and being normal. Onions are common, but they are really unusual. They are very unusual – biologically and gastronomically. And because of these extraordinary qualities, they are used almost everywhere in the world. One of their unusual characteristics is that they can grow anywhere – in tropical, arid and even arctic climates.
CNN: Do people really eat whole onions?
Kurlansky: In some parts of the world it’s a thing to eat onions whole — and not even sweet onions. Especially in parts of central Europe. I remember traveling around Yugoslavia on the train as it was then, and people sitting around munching on onions.
CNN: That’s hard to imagine.
Kurlansky: Some people have done it, and they are always looked down upon. It is often considered a low-class thing. It’s even in “Don Quixote,” when (the mad knight in the 17th-century novel) tells Sancho Panza (the illiterate farm worker who serves as his squire) that he looks very lowly eating onions.
The English in the Middle Ages and even later would talk about the backward people that the Scots were. I went to Scotland and you cannot believe these people; They sit around munching on onions. And when the Arabs ruled Sicily, they claimed that the people of Palermo were very dumb and backward because they ate raw onions. Onion on bread was a food for poor people in London and in many places, in fact. Portugal, too.
CNN: You also developed a taste for this combination early in life?
Kurlansky: Onion rye – yes! I probably took an onion rye loaf and hid under the bed and ate it. I remember loving the onion rye. I don’t remember the “under the bed” part. It could be true.
CNN: I don’t think onions are like children.
Kurlansky: I did! I might be an odd child. When I was a kid, one of my favorite things was vichyssoise soup. I love vichyssoise! This cold, creamy soup (potatoes and leeks) topped with some chives.
CNN: Did you come from a culinary family?
Kurlansky: My mother was always in the kitchen cooking something. We were a family of six, and she cooked every night. She did a huge amount of baking. We had pies and cakes sitting around the house all the time. And her mother cooked a lot too. They were from Lithuania, and my grandmother moved to the Lower East Side of New York when she was a child, so she basically grew up on the Lower East Side. She always cooked Jewish food. And he made a lot of strudel.
CNN: How and when did you get into Basque culture?
Kurlansky: In the 1970s when Franco was still in power in Spain, and Spain was like a fascist state in the 1930s giving fascist salutes, the whole thing. And no one was writing about it. So, I went to all the American newspapers and …. said I want to go to Spain and write about the resistance against the last fascist government. And everyone said great! No one was doing anything to oppose him except the Basques. I went there, and it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s a really interesting culture, so I was just totally hooked. Really great salt cod dishes – better than anywhere else.
CNN: Onions are part of almost every cuisine. Are there differences you’ve seen with onions from the different places you’ve lived?
Kurlansky: There are differences, and some things are true everywhere. Everyone who makes a stew starts with onions. There is an Andalusian thing that “trying to sing a song without a tambourine is like making a stew without onions.” And then there are strange local things everywhere. The elaborate Hungarian-stuffed onions. And the Basques use onions instead of rice as a filler to make blood sausages. Blood and onions is a Basque thing, but it’s also a Catalan thing. And a Hungarian thing, and it is also in some French cuisine. It’s something that keeps turning up.
CNN: Your recipes are fascinating to read, but not exactly designed for the modern kitchen. Have you done any of them?
Kurlansky: All I can say is this is an interesting recipe. I am not guaranteeing that this will be a great dish. There is a Peruvian one called encebollada, which is one of my favorite onion dishes (and it literally means “onion). And if you look at the recipe, you will notice that it is almost the recipe exact ceviche – but with onions instead of fish. It was like a poor man’s ceviche.
CNN: I could see how the texture of the marinated onions could come out fish-like.
Kurlansky: I like to make a bunch and keep it in the fridge and just spoon it over different dishes. It brightens the plate, and is this wonderful condiment. Onions and lime are two of the strongest flavors, so you put them together and ask them to dish it out. But it’s nice how the acid from the limes releases the red pigment from the red onions and turns it all this bright fuchsia color. It brightens up anything, both visually and taste wise.
With encebollada, there is all this controversy whether to sprinkle cilantro over the top or not. And of course, cilantro seals just like ceviche, right? But a bit of bright green on top of the bright fuchsia is really just perfect.
CNN: Do you have a favorite onion?
Kurlansky: For raw onions I like red. For cooking … I get whatever kind of sweet onions are available. For certain types of things, you want stronger onions. And for certain cuisines. Onions in India are quite strong as it is a hot climate. So, if you want to make Indian food that tastes like India, you have to create strong onions.
CNN: Let’s talk about crying while chopping onions. Some methods to prevent it are quite creative – like lighting a match or biting the hand of a wooden spoon.
Kurlansky: Most of them don’t work. The simplest solution, which is never recommended, is to wear glasses. It’s not 100%, but it helps. And you can get onion goggles.
CNN: You need to cover up your nose, too.
Kurlansky: You do! Lead from the nose to the eyes. That’s why wearing glasses doesn’t quite work. Another thing that has some science to it is chopping onions under running water. It doesn’t work completely, but the reason it helps a little is because what happens when you cut into an onion is that the onion fights back by releasing this sulfur gas, which is drawn to water. When it hits the water in your eyes, it turns into sulfuric acid, which is why it stings. But if you have another water source, it will divert some of that gas.
Susan Puckett He is the former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and author of “Eat Drink Delta: A Hungry Traveler’s Journey Through the Soul of the South.”
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