The aromatic and flavorful onion has a long and productive history with mankind. The ancient Indians, Sumerians and Chinese, for instance, valued onions for their ease of growth and hardy constitutions, which made them less perishable (and more transportable) than other vegetables grown at the time. The ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, worshiped onions as symbols of eternity due to their circle-within-a-circle structure. And then there were the ancient Romans, who loved onions for…
The common green pea, which is the seed of the Pisum sativum plant, has been a staple food across the world for centuries. Indeed, archaeologists have found that peas were regularly consumed as far back as the late neolithic era of modern Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and Greece. Immature peas were also a popular food in medieval Europe, whose inhabitants often incorporated them into soups and gruel. Due to their small size, sweet taste, and starchy…
The robust and abundant cabbage, which is closely related to other leafy green vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, has a long history as both a food and medicine. For example, the Ancient Greeks would routinely prescribe cabbage or cabbage juice to treat constipation or mushroom poisoning, while the Ancient Egyptians consumed cabbage before meals to lower the intoxicating effects of wine. The British even brought cabbage to the trenches of World War I, since its…
Regular white potatoes are one of the most controversial vegetables from a health perspective. Like many nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers, potatoes are often associated with adverse reactions and can be difficult to find in high-quality form. That they’re the main ingredient in countless junk food products, such as French fries, doesn’t exactly bolster their public reputation either. In reality, however, organic potatoes grown in good soil and prepared properly (i.e. boiled…
Barley is a major grain that was one of the first cultivated grains, and remains the fourth most cultivated cereal grain in the world. Matured barley is commonly used in beer production, and as animal feed. Young barley shoots, however, are consumed almost exclusively as a health food, and for good reason: research suggests that these gluten-free shoots, which are called barley grass and typically consumed in juiced for powdered form, contain a huge number…
