The little valued humble onion has some amazing uses, besides being added to savoury dishes. After reading this article you will give your humble onion a higher priority in your kitchen.
Ancient Origins
The onion is a vegetable that is believed to have its origin in the Bronze Age in central Asia and is one of the most ancient food sources.
In Ancient Egypt it was an object of worship and was buried with the Pharaohs, as it symbolised eternity, as it was a circle-within-a-circle. When the Hebrews were on their desert travels, they lamented the lack of the taste of onions, leeks and garlic. India considered onions as a medicine, but there are many amazing day-to-day uses for the humble onion.
Remove Rust
Do you have an old pair of rusty scissors, or other tool. Cut an onion in half and rub it on the rusted parts. If it is a rusty knife, simply plunge a few times into an onion. Bingo, the rust disappears.
Avocado Saviour
Do your cut avocados turn brown when left in the fridge. Isn’t it so disappointing, when you want to use the remainder? A simple tip is to rub a cut red onion over the cut edge of the avocado before placing in the fridge. Next time you can use all the delicious fruit, with no distasteful browning. Alternately,, store the cut avocado in a zip bag with a red onion.
Lethal Glass Shards
When you drop that glass object on the ground and then have to find all the dangerous splinters. Simply pick up the big pieces of glass, then reach for an onion. Cut the onion in half and dab it over the area where the glass shards are. The clever little onion grabs hold of the deadly shards and you can safely remove them. The humble onion could save your life.
Cry Baby
Don’t you hate the way you become a stinging cry baby when you have to cut up or slice onions. An old chef’s trick is to leave one end of the onion on. Believe it or not, this keeps that eye-stinging juice captive inside the onion. No more cry baby.
Pain Salve by Humble Onion
The next time you burn yourself rub a cut onion onto the affected area to relieve the pain. Will also work for sunburn. Onions have natural antibacterial properties that keep the area from becoming infected.
An insect bite, bee or wasp sting does well with the treatment of onion juice to quell the pain. Squeeze the juice into a bowl of water. Using a cotton bud, gently massage the liquid onto the affected area and in just two days, your skin will be back to a healthy normal colour. Lay a slice of onion on top of a splinter and cover with a piece of tape. Leave for half an hour and the splinter will be easier to remove, inflicting a lot less pain.
Clothes Salvager
What to do when you forget you put the hot iron down and leave an annoying scorch mark on your favourite blouse. Don’t despair. Reach for the cut onion. Rub the onion all over the scorch area, then put the blouse through you normal wash cycle. Your blouse will come out as good as new. Repeat the same process when your favourite shirt become perspiration stained.
Unwanted Critters
Beat those leaf-eating caterpillars by soaking grated onion in water overnight. Spray the water on the affected plants and those leaf-eating critters will find their feast somewhere else. Spray the same water on any plant that some cheeky pest keeps eating, like a possum. Fed up with racoons, chipmunks, or your neighbour’s cat? Sprinkle a couple of onion slices around the yard to keep the nuisances away.
Ants in the cupboard? Simply place onion slices in a bowl on the shelf and the ants will disappear. Also, your cheapest insect repellent is onion juice. Just rub a cut onion on your exposed areas, though I wouldn’t try the face.
Bodily Comfort From Humble Onion
Some people have trouble digesting onion, even though they enjoy the taste. Before adding to a dish, boil in a teaspoon of sugar. This counteracts the acidity of the onion.
Another unusual use for onions is as a dandruff cure. Apply grated onion to the affected area and you will find the dandruff will beat a hasty retreat.
Suffering from a head cold. Then make yourself a tea drink, by boiling slices of onion, ginger, lemon, and anise. A cut onion also works wonders as smelling salts.
Frost Free
A cut onion works wonders as an anti-frost method. If you live in an area where your windscreen frosts over, rub an onion on the glass the night before. The sugar in the onion juice creates a barrier between your car and the water condensation in the air.
Deodoriser and Cleaner
Absorb paint smells by placing a half-cut onion on either side of the room. You can clean BBQs, gunky pots, shine grills. For this method slightly heat the offender and spear a piece of onion with a fork and rub away until the dirt is gone.
Ever badly burnt a pot and are left to deal with the smell? It takes a lot of washing to get rid of it. No longer. Simply slice an onion into the offending saucepan and put the lid on. Leave for 15 minutes.
Polish cutlery by crushing sliced onions and mixing with water then rub on the tarnished cutlery.
Conclusion
Me thinks the humble onion will truly have a much higher position of honour in the kitchen. It can even create a beautiful piece of art.
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