onion

Everyday

1. A round vegetable with layers, papery brown, red or white skin and a strong smell and taste, used in cooking. tree →
2. The plant this vegetable grows from; the onion is a bulb that grows under the ground. tree →

In the lessons

In science, an onion is a bulb: it stores food in its layers so the plant can grow again; onion skin is used under the microscope to see plant cells clearly. Cutting onions makes your eyes water because they release a gas that irritates your eyes. In cooking, onions are used in soups, sauces and salads; spring onions (scallions in the USA and Ireland) are young onions. In safety, use a knife only with an adult's help, and keep onions away from dogs and cats because they are poisonous to pets. Phrases: "chop an onion", "onion rings", "spring onion", "layers like an onion", "French onion soup".

Examples

• Chopping onions makes my eyes water. tree →
• We looked at onion skin cells under the microscope. tree →
• Mum fried the onions until they were soft and golden. tree →
• An onion is a bulb that grows underground. tree →
• Never feed onions to your dog; they can make it ill. tree →
• Ogres are like onions — they have layers! tree →
• I like onion rings with my burger. tree →
• Spring onions are thin and green at the top. tree →
• The first thing he saw was Mr. McGregor hoeing onions. tree →

Note

Use "an": an onion (starts with a vowel sound "un"). Countable: one onion, two onions. Pronounced "UN-yun". In maths recipe problems, "2 onions for 4 people" means 1 onion for 2 people, so 3 onions for 6 people.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: The Israelites in the wilderness longed for Egyptian foods like onions, and the rabbis read this as complaining and missing slavery's small pleasures. In the primary lessons: In science, an onion is a bulb: it stores food in its layers so the plant can grow again; onion skin is used under the microscope to see plant cells clearly. Cutting onions makes your eyes water because they release a gas that irritates your eyes. In cooking, onions are used in soups, sauces and salads; spring onions (scallions in the USA and Ireland) are young onions. In safety, use a knife only with an adult's help, and keep onions away from dogs and cats because they are poisonous to pets. Phrases: "chop an onion", "onion rings", "spring onion", "layers like an onion", "French onion soup".

Examples

• We remember the fish, which we were wont to eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; (Torah NUM.11.5, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Use "an": an onion (starts with a vowel sound "un"). Countable: one onion, two onions. Pronounced "UN-yun". In maths recipe problems, "2 onions for 4 people" means 1 onion for 2 people, so 3 onions for 6 people.