In the heart of where each of us live, where daily life unfolds, there exists a humble vegetable that mirrors the essence of the town mail carrier: the onion. Try to imagine a world without mail carriers. Without birthday cards, magazines, thank you notes, cards offering well-wishes, and the occasional, pleasant wave or exchange when in the presence of our mail carriers, how would we feel? Often thanklessly, mail carriers serve us a daily dose of our lives in the form of letters and packages, each filled with intention and emotion. Much like our dependable mail carriers, the onion plays a vital role in the correspondence of our lives through recipes and cooking.

The onion tirelessly shows up to deliver smells, tastes, and feelings that we cherish and need, but too often we overlook and take it for granted. Just as our mail carriers connect us through parcels and letters, the onion delivers its way into so many of our culinary creations, infusing each dish with layers of flavor and depth. Like our mail carriers’, who deliver us necessary but unwanted messages, the onion brings tears to our eyes when we don’t want it to, but maybe need it to. So let us also pay homage to the humble onion, whose presence in our kitchens serves as a reminder to express gratitude for unexpected deliveries of emotions.

Serving Gratitude

Acknowledging the indispensable roles of mail carriers and onions in our lives fosters a deeper sense of gratitude and connection. Whether you're collecting your mail or preparing a savory dish that calls for onions, take a moment to appreciate the significance of these everyday elements. Just as the bond between pen pals, or the exchange of a heartfelt "thank you", can brighten our day, the aroma of sautéed onions wafting through the kitchen or the shared laughter as tears flow while chopping onions brings a sense of unified experience. Indeed, onions possess an infectious quality, stirring emotions and weaving themselves into the fabric of our daily routines.

Cooking with Onions

In cooking, onions are highly versatile and bring out the best flavors. There are many different types of onions, such as, red, yellow, white, and the shallot, pearl onion, leek, and green onion are all part of the same genus, Allium. Recipes call for chopped, diced, minced onions, and for them to be sauteed, browned, fried, cooked to translucence, caramelized, or raw. Transforming the onion changes the texture and taste leading them to be savory or sweet. If raw onion is too strong of a flavor for you, one tip is to soak the cut onion in cold water or vinegar for 5-10 minutes to reduce the flavor from an offensive one to a mild one.

History of Onions

As a food source, onions are entrenched in human history across many different countries and cultures. Julia Child, the famous chef and author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, even said “It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions.” Supposedly, onions originated over 5,000 years ago in Asia. In fact, the Egyptians highly regarded the onion for its physical and symbolic attributes. They believed the concentric circles of the onions symbolized eternal life. Remarkably, the discovery of the medicinal properties of onions dates to Ancient Greek and Roman times, which is linked to the reason why the onion is considered a health food today. Researchers believe that onions were one of the first cultivated crops because they were durable, easy to transport, and able to grow in various climate and soil conditions.

Beyond the Surface

In reciprocal fashion, to appreciate an onion is to appreciate someone that is overlooked, like your loyal mail carrier. Karen Cushman once said, “I think sometimes that people are like onions. On the outside smooth and whole and simple but inside ring upon ring, complex and deep.” Hereafter, every time you cook with onion, remind yourself to express gratitude for the things in life we take for granted the most. Like the mail carrier, remember to appreciate the people and things that aren’t always in the foreground but are the key ingredients to the recipe of life. Thank you, onions, and thank you, mail carriers. Oh, how bland and unemotional our world would be without you.