Onion and garlic from Asia

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33874, 20 June 1975, Page 15

Onion and garlic from Asia

The onion and garlic are both members of the lily family and both were introduced from Asia. However, while there is a [ more universal acceptance [and use of the former, the' [pungency of the latter, both: [in taste and smell, is rejpulsive to some but delect[able to others. I Garlic has not only a long [association with the' history [of Italy—where, in bygone days, soldiers were made to eat .it in the belief that it , fortified their courage, and ; labourers had to consume it . to build up strength—it is "i also featured as potent stimulus in other countries [ as well. In ancient Greece, garlic | : was fed to convicted [ [criminals in the belief that; it made them better citizens. I | Egyptians conscripted for the [ ' task of building the pyramids I [were made to eat it, pre-' [sumably to enable them to! [work harder. Georgian inhabitants, long; renowned for their longevity, | still claim garlic as the' reason for this fact. In the middle ages, garlic[i was reputed to keep off such|; evils as devils and vampires, ! to cure swellings and bites [ and generally to bring good!, fortune.

[ Bolivian Indians still wearj [a garlic clove for luck when; they go bullfighting. An antibiotic The medicinal properties of garlic are now fully recognised as it has been found that garlic oil contains an antibiotic. Pharmaceutical manufacturers use it and it is used in many tropical countries not only in an effort to combat cholera and: [typhus but also to stimulate 1 ■ digestion. i [ The onion has been eaten - [for centuries as a cold cure, ]

a claim which was widely ridiculed by the supposedly

more informed members of' ithe community. However, not so long ago experiments on some 150 ( plants and vegetables for , their germ-killing powers, [ showed the wisdom of what ,!was regarded as a myth. I The onion was first, • garlic [ second and the horseradish third. It was found that if ,an onion was chewed, it : rapidly destroyed all germs in the mouth, including those of cough and cold. Years ago a health-giving : gruel was prepared by cover- [ ing a plate of sliced onions! : with sugar and consuming [ the resulting syrupy con-1 [ coction and it is probablyl [still being prepared to this day. The antiseptic nature of j the onion makes them ideal [ cleansers of the system; raw or cooked onions are bene-[ [ficial in cases of urinary [ [weakness, acting as a bladder, i tonic. Raw onion I Although nearly 90 per cent of the onion comprises ’water, the remaining 10 per; cent is made up of vitamin | C. sugar, phosphorus, sulphur! [and other substances. It is the release of the [sulphur as a vapour which causes the eyes to weep when [ raw onion is cut, the in-:

tensity of the irritant varying I depending on the variety. The sulphur content is beneficial to blood and[ complexion.