Editorial Content for The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food — Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Mark Kurlansky is exactly the kind of guy you want to be seated next to at a dinner party. It wouldn’t be hard to strike up a conversation with him since he can find (or make) any topic fascinating, historical, educational and downright sublime. After writing about the histories of cod, salt and milk, among other things, Kurlansky takes a deep dive into the life and very flavorful history of the onion in THE CORE OF AN ONION.
From Italy to India and pretty much every continent in the world, the onion is one of the most healthy, easy-to-grow and in-demand vegetables ever cultivated. It was once considered to be part of the lily family, but it is an Allium, a bulb that is best dug out of the ground before it begins to flower and definitely not during a rainy season. Whether you want them sautéed, puréed, roasted or raw, the onion (which comes in about 12 different varieties) is a standard in most cultures around the globe.
"Don’t miss out on this book. You will breathe easier, feel better and heal faster thanks to [Kurlansky's] dogged research."
Kurlansky talks about the onion’s growth as a mainstay of diets since the early days of civilization --- its myriad health benefits, its use as a protective shield (its bulb and its harsh emissions), and its importance in the world of trade. There are a hundred-plus recipes in this slim volume that will help you overcome the flu and impress your dinner guests simultaneously.
Cervantes, Shakespeare and Mark Twain are among the writers who have remarked upon the onion’s import in their fictional and memorial tributes and writings. The ways in which the mere onion have been celebrated and rendered mystical by food critics, cooks and premier chefs in every corner of the world are fascinating, and their subsequent recipes give the reader a chance to consider and try out new ways to use this kitchen staple.
Kurlansky is not a fanciful writer. He is so excited about every new discovery concerning his simple topic that he tends to run from one informative declaration to another as fast as he researches them. It is easy to get caught up in the rapid flow of this short work as he tears through thousands of years of cooking lore and builds up the onion to be the most delightful addition to any dish. Watch out especially for the recipes that make it clear the onion can help us heal as well as maintain health. If the flu season is as bad as the authorities say it will be, every reader will benefit from the variety of uses of this pungent vegetable.
THE CORE OF AN ONION stands proudly along the library of Kurlansky knowledge that graces millions of bookshelves across the planet. Don’t miss out on this book. You will breathe easier, feel better and heal faster thanks to his dogged research.
Teaser
Flourishing in just about every climate and culture around the world, onions have provided the essential basis not only for sautés, stews and sauces, but for medicines, metaphors and folklore. Now they're Mark Kurlansky's most flavorful infatuation yet as he sets out to explore how and why the crop reigns from Italy to India and everywhere in between. Featuring historical images and his own pen-and-ink drawings, he begins with the science and history of the only sulfuric acid–spewing plant, then digs through its 20 varieties and the cultures built around them. Entering the kitchen, Kurlansky celebrates the raw, roasted, creamed, marinated and pickled. THE CORE OF AN ONION also includes a recipe section featuring more than 100 dishes from around the world.
Promo
Flourishing in just about every climate and culture around the world, onions have provided the essential basis not only for sautés, stews and sauces, but for medicines, metaphors and folklore. Now they're Mark Kurlansky's most flavorful infatuation yet as he sets out to explore how and why the crop reigns from Italy to India and everywhere in between. Featuring historical images and his own pen-and-ink drawings, he begins with the science and history of the only sulfuric acid–spewing plant, then digs through its 20 varieties and the cultures built around them. Entering the kitchen, Kurlansky celebrates the raw, roasted, creamed, marinated and pickled. THE CORE OF AN ONION also includes a recipe section featuring more than 100 dishes from around the world.
About the Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of COD and SALT, a delectable look at the cultural, historical and gastronomical layers of one of the world's most beloved culinary staples --- featuring original illustrations and recipes from around the world --- now in paperback.
As Julia Child once said, “It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions.” Historically, she's been right --- and not just in the kitchen. Flourishing in just about every climate and culture around the world, onions have provided the essential basis not only for sautés, stews and sauces, but for medicines, metaphors and folklore. Now they're Kurlansky's most flavorful infatuation yet as he sets out to explore how and why the crop reigns from Italy to India and everywhere in between.
Featuring historical images and his own pen-and-ink drawings, Kurlansky begins with the science and history of the only sulfuric acid–spewing plant, then digs through its 20 varieties and the cultures built around them. Entering the kitchen, Kurlansky celebrates the raw, roasted, creamed, marinated and pickled. Including a recipe section featuring more than 100 dishes from around the world, THE CORE OF AN ONION shares the secrets to celebrated Parisian chef Alain Senderens's onion soup eaten to cure late-night drunkenness; Hemingway's raw onion and peanut butter sandwich; and the Gibson, a debonair gin martini garnished with a pickled onion.
Just as the scent of sautéed onions will lure anyone to the kitchen, THE CORE OF AN ONION is sure to draw readers into their savory stories at first taste.
Audiobook available, read by Mark Kurlansky
