Onions don't just make people cry, they provide abundance of nutritional value and a deep rooted history which has been dated 5000 years ago (Shultz, 2010). The onion is the second most widely used and most important crop among vegetables and spices around the world, after tomatoes (Fahmin, 2013). In Canada and the United States, onions are the third most consumed vegetable (The National Onion Association, 2013). Out of all spice crops, the onion has the most significance for its diverse use. The onion is a staple vegetable in the kitchen which can be used raw but often sautéed, caramelized, grilled, and roasted. The vegetables is used in countless recipes which brings a tremendous amount of flavour to everyday dishes and has also been used to prevent diseases. It doesn't matter what the ethnic background or culture is of a person, onions are used by all individuals around the world. Onions are used in almost all food preparations and it an integral part of many individual's diets. Onions have more than 500 species and is a member of the genus Allium which most of them are bulbous plants (Fahmin, 2013). Onions are grown in over 170 countries where the temperature is subtropical and tropical conditions. The onion is a cool season crop which provides many countries economic stability. It has be said by many sources that the onion is the commodity of the quarter (Shultz, 2010). .
The origin of the word 'onion' means ones and unity in Latin (The National Onion Association , 2013). Many often wonder why onions make people cry; this is caused by when the onion is cut, it breaks down cells releasing amino acid sulfides which form sulfonic acids (Fahmin, 2013). The gas that is created causing a reaction with the water in an individual's eyes which causes the eyes to burn. Throughout the paper it will provide an in-depth understanding of the vegetable, the onion. The first topic is the geographic origin of the onion which has been debated by many theorist and researchers for decades and has resulted different opinions of where the onions were first cultivated.