Onion
Allium cepa
Bulb onion. Day-length sensitivity (short/long/intermediate) decides whether a variety bulbs in your latitude. Shallots and potato onions are groups within or beside this species complex; scallions may be this or A. fistulosum.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
Bulb onion. Day-length sensitivity (short/long/intermediate) decides whether a variety bulbs in your latitude. Shallots and potato onions are groups within or beside this species complex; scallions may be this or A. fistulosum.
From the existing encyclopedia
Meal planners keep Onion on hand because it pairs with multiple herbs in the aaaLifetime encyclopedia. Toast whole seeds briefly in a dry pan to wake volatile oils before grinding. Balances with honey or dates in warm drinks when used as food sweetening. Rotate Onion with other staples in weekly meal plans so pantry kits stay versatile without repeating the same flavor profile every day.
Edible portions
- bulbs
- green tops
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Grown as annual; sets or seed
- Light. Full sun
- Soil. Rich, well-drained, even water
- Planting. Match day-length to your region. Sets, transplants, or seed.
- Harvest. When tops fall; cure in air until necks are dry.
Processing, drying, storage
- Storage. Cured bulbs cool, dry, ventilated. Sweet onions store poorly. See also Make → Storage.
Preparation and culinary uses
- The start of most savory cooking
Nutrition and compounds
- Plant compounds. sulfur volatiles. Presence is not a dose, a cure, or a reason to buy a capsule.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
- Integrated from the existing aaaLifetime / quantum-biohack encyclopedia corpus (unique text preserved where it was not boilerplate).
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.