IntroductionOnions are best known as the staple in today's food world, with almost every dish using some form of onion to combine or enhance flavor. Onions come in so many different colors, shapes, sizes, and flavors, making it one of the most intricate ingredients you can have in your pantry. Onions are full of layers and each represents the quality and value of one onion over another. Onions travel and grow all over the world, but some countries are specialized and quite dominant when it comes to production, import and export. Origin The onion otherwise known by its taxonomic classification as Allium cepa of Carolus Linnaeus is one of the oldest crops known to man today. First, according to Fritsch and Friesen (2002), representations of onions were present in Egyptian artifacts dating back to 2700 BC which state that onions were in use then. The Egyptians believed that onions had a great quality that would help them in the afterlife, leading them to become incorporated into their culture. The Columbian exchange was in effect for the Romans as they transported them to places like Germany and England, during the Middle Ages onions had become one of the three main vegetables of Europe served to both rich and poor. Finally, onion strings were already growing in North America when the Pilgrims first arrived in Brewster (2008). How Onions Are Grown, Harvested, and Stored/Preserved Onions are grown from a seed that takes about 65 days or less to form good sized bulbs depending on what type the onion was wanted. Green onions are the youngest onions and can be pulled quite young. According to Tindall (1996) onions like cool weather in the early stages of their growth as they have t...... middle of paper ......v.in/product_profileExchange, A. (2011). Onion: the top 10 exporters. Retrieved from http://agriexchange.apeda.gov.in/product_profileFaostat. (2012, August 27). Onion statistics. Retrieved from http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=567Fritsch. and Friesen, (2002). Evolution, domestication and taxonomy.. (pp. 5-30). Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing.Garden Association, N. (2012, May 3). Store the onions. Retrieved from http://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse/veggie/onions_harvesting/502Griffths, G. (2002). Onions: a global health benefit. Research on phytotherapy. Cipolle Association, N. (2012, 25 April). All about onions. Retrieved from http://onions-usa.org/all-about-onions/colors-sizes-seasons-and-flavorsLibrary, H. (2012). Onion consumption per capita. Retrieved from http://www.helgilibrary.com/indicators/index/onion-consumption-per-capita