Radhika Bharai

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the oldest bulb crops, known to mankind and consumed worldwide. It is valued for its distinct pungent flavour and is an essential ingredient for the cuisine of many regions. Onion is the queen of the kitchen (Selvaraj, 1976). The onion is preferred mainly because of its green leaves, immature and mature bulbs which are either eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. Mild flavoured or colourful bulbs are often chosen for salads. The bulbs are used in soups, sauces, condiments, spice, seasoning of many foods and for the preparation of value added edible products. A distinct characteristics of onion is its alliaceous odour, which accounts for their used as food. The pungency in onion is due to volatile compound known as allyl propyl disulphide.