# The Onion Is the Best Vegetable PERIOD! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792 "2001-08-29T20:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/1 "2001-08-29T20:25:07Z")
I thought instead of all this minial petty discussions like abortion, taxes, big govt etc. we need to discuss a really big topic that has almost daily input in are actual livesof which vegetable is the BEST. I contend onions are the best for these reasons. 1. You can use them for frying 2. You can use them in soup 3. Used in dips 4. They are awesome for stir fry. 5. They can be used raw for so many delicious foods such as hamburger, hotdogs, salad, etc. Now the only vegatable that comes close to measuring up to an onion’s appeal is the tomato. The tomato can also be used raw or cooked. You use them for salads and hamburgers but not hotdogs but I guess you do because tomatoes also make ketchup which I like alot. But tomato soup is not that good. And a tomato ruins in the refrigerator alot faster than a onion. And lets face onion rings are ALOT better than fried green tomatoes(heck the movie wasn’t even that good). Onions do have one draw back, of course, the crying thing when you cut them but I say this is good even because everyone needs a good cry now and then to clean out their tear ducts. Especially if you are a manly man that never cries, nnions give you an EXCUSE so you won’t look less manly. Oh I totally discount the bad breath drawback because most of us that would discuss this issue are married. And I have never of someone getting a divorce over bad breath. There are other reasons that onions are the best but I think these suffice for now to prove my point. If you debate them, of course, I will give rebutal. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/2 "2001-08-29T20:30:25Z")
Bill, sometimes you can be endearing in an idiotic kind of way, but this is a waste of bandwidth in the wrong forum, and I think you know it. Go play in IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/3 "2001-08-29T20:38:18Z")
**Bill** , repeat after me - “Easy-Off Oven cleaner is not meant to be inhaled.” It makes ya act silly, like posting threads in the wrong forum. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/4 "2001-08-29T20:39:39Z")
Yes, this will probably be IMHO by the time I type this. I think onions are cool, too. WB: In the attempt to make this a debate though, I will point out that legumes, and specifically the soybean are equally as versatile as the onion and provide much better nutrition than the onion, packing more vitamins, protein, and pure calories. Onions are also somewhat difficult to cultivate and harvest, make for an innefficient use of the land, and pull a lot of nitrogen and other nutrients out of the ground. Soybeans grow fast, are easy to plant and harvest, are draught resistant and actually fix nitrogen from the air into the ground improving the soil for the next rotation. In conclusion, your premise is wrong. Onions are not the best vegetable. Soybeans are superior, being more versatile, nutritional, better for the environment, easy to grow and harvest, as well as allowing you to do the “pull my finger” trick. Corn would also make a good candidate for the ultimate vegetable, but I’ll just stick with soybeans for now. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/5 "2001-08-29T20:40:15Z")
Bill, this is deliberate trolling. You’ve been here for almost as long as me. You _know_ this goes in IMHO and all you’ve done is make work for the mods. Either that, or those “Mexican fat burners” really have rotted your brain. (Insert comparison of Bill’s intellect to a carrot’s intellect here) Good work, genius. :rolleyes: Fenris ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/6 "2001-08-29T20:45:20Z")
Daaaaamn, guys. Is the Bill-bashing really necessary? I expected better. Tomatoes, Bill. Not even the onion can withstand the mighty kung0fu of the tomato. ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/7 "2001-08-29T20:49:46Z")
What are ya’ll talking about this is my argument that onions are the best vegetable. What makes it less serious than say taxes, missle defense or where we came from ie creation vs evolution(what difference does it make we are hear arn’t we?) Now vegetables are very important in keeping us here if we don’t eat, we die. So I can’t think of any topic more important than food except air of course. I can’t believe the gall of some of you that think that this should be in that opinion thread instead of given the serious thought and debate that goes on in this forum. Scylla Soybeans better than onions. HA! I will address that in my next post. Corn(while I like it to limited in use) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/8 "2001-08-29T20:50:08Z")
“You have spoken the truth. Garlic IS better than onions.” – The King – “Onions and Garlic,” a wise old Middle Eastern folk tale ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/9 "2001-08-29T20:57:58Z")
I posed the question “What is the best vegetable?” to [askjeeves.com](http://askjeeves.com). The first link was for [Best Western Virginia](http://www.bestwesternvirginia.com). Jeeves said it, I believe it. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/10 "2001-08-29T20:59:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andros \* > \*\* > Daaaaamn, guys. Is the Bill-bashing really necessary? \*\* That all depends. If he knows better, then yes. I think he does. If he just thinks it’s really funny, then yes. The same thing is said to any poster who can’t read the forum descriptions or doesn’t take them seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/11 "2001-08-29T21:05:44Z")
WB: > [@](#): > > Corn(while I like it to limited in use) Ha! Can you run your car on an onion? Can you get drunk on onion juice? Can you pop an onion, slather it, butter it and eat it at a movie? Can you making packing peanuts out of onions? Can you make plastic out of onions? Can you dry and store onions for years? Can you make tasty breakfast muffins out of onions? Can you fix a leaky radiator with an onion? Does Cargill Dow have a plant wherein they extract vital proteins and starches and other chemicals for industrial uses from corn? Can you keep livestock healthy and fat from silaged onion? Can you make oil or margarine from onions? Can you make bricks and building materials from onions? Corn, not versatile? Take back your words, Varlot! ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/12 "2001-08-29T21:08:35Z")
You want fries with that? Is a potato considered a vegetable? I think I’ve heard people say it’s a “starch”, not a vegetable. That may be correct when grouping foods for nutrition, but I think for the purposes of this thread, potato should be considered a vegetable. You can’t beat the potato for its tremendous popularity. I’d venture to guess that it’s the single most popular vegetable in the world. Baked, boiled, fried, ground up and sprinkled on your cereal, there’s nothing better than a good spud. They’ll also grow in a wide variety of climates and rocky soils. They also have that creepy way of propogating: you don’t need seeds. Just drop a chunk of potato that has an “eye” in the ground and it’ll grow into a whole new plant. Tomatoes are fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/13 "2001-08-29T21:15:24Z")
\*Originally posted by Scylla \* > [@](#): > > Can you get drunk on onion juice? I don’t know but I am willing to try. > [@](#): > > Can you pop an onion, slather it, butter it and eat it at a movie? > Can you making packing peanuts out of onions? > Can you make plastic out of onions? > Can you dry and store onions for years? > Can you make tasty breakfast muffins out of onions? > Can you fix a leaky radiator with an onion? > Does Cargill Dow have a plant wherein they extract vital proteins and starches and other chemicals for industrial uses from corn? > Can you keep livestock healthy and fat from silaged onion? > Can you make oil or margarine from onions? > Can you make bricks and building materials from onions? > > Corn, not versatile? > > Take back your words, Varlot! First, I had to look up Varlot. Why would you call me a “young nobleman”? But I do take back my words corn is pretty versatile but it doesn’t serve as good as the onion in food preparation. Now does it? ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/14 "2001-08-29T21:38:12Z")
In times like this I find it best to sit back and invent a completely unreasonable hypothesis with which to test a completely unreasonable idea. What i came up with: If I was stranded on a desert island of moderate size and could have an unlimited supply of fruit, poultry, beef, and fish, and could also request one vegetable, which would it be? Well, tomatoes are out since they’re fruit. Corn? Well, corn oil would be nice for cookin’ but I have no means to obtain it. Soybeans? Well, if I could figure out how to get soymilk out of them they might when the day, but I think, in the end, the onion as acomplimentary food wins out over every other vegetable known to man. now, about sour cream and mayo… ---
**Author:** ![Lucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/15 "2001-08-29T21:51:41Z")
> [@](#): > > The tomato can also be used raw or cooked. You use them for salads and hamburgers **but not hotdogs** but I guess you do because tomatoes also make ketchup which I like alot. **Blasphemy!** Good God, man, what _are_ you talking about? Let’s review: A proper dog is topped with mustard, relish, onion, pickles, tomato, celery salt and hot peppers. **Ketchup** on a hotdog? :::shudder::: ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/16 "2001-08-29T21:52:20Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] Shoo. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/17 "2001-08-29T21:54:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by erislover \* > \*\*If I was stranded on a desert island of moderate size and could have an unlimited supply of fruit, poultry, beef, and fish, and could also request one vegetable, which would it be? > > [snip] but I think, in the end, the **onion** as a complimentary food wins out over every other vegetable known to man.\*\* You gotta be kidding me. You’d choose onions over potatoes as your _only available_ vegetable? That’s just sick. Potatoes are so versatile. As I found at the [National Potato Promotion Board](http://www.potatohelp.com/) site: > [@](#): > > Because everyone loves the taste of nutrient-rich potatoes, it’s easy to prepare a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner that both adults and kids will eat. You can’t argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/18 "2001-08-29T21:59:58Z")
Err, actually I was of the opinion that potatoes aren’t vegetables… err, are they? I thought they had their own wacky family like-- well, the Bundys? Seriously… are squash considered vegetables too? Peanuts? I think it would help if we got a biologist or ultra-serious gardener in here to sort this out. I would like to mention that there should be a **Wildest Bill’s Law of Implication** which states that when the OP is known for any specific behavior, posters will likely exhibit that behavior as well as they secretly laugh at the OP for it. (hint: I made some _phonetic_ spelling errors in my last post: when for win?!? CHRIST) ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/19 "2001-08-29T22:03:57Z")
WB: Varlot is a mild epithet. I was being good-humoredly facetious. A varlot was known for his enthusiasm, eagerness, naivete, and ability to get himself in trouble, but not for his common sense. “Unhand my woman you Varlot or I’ll run you through” being a good usage. Glad to see you bowed down before the superiority of corn’s universal versatility. Now, give in to the Soy and your transformation will be complete. Everybody else: I am pretty sure a tomato is a fruit, technicaly a berry. ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792/20 "2001-08-29T22:05:17Z")
I can not believe Gaudere had the audacity to move even shooing this very important topic to our survival FOOD out of the great debates into this forum.(not saying anything bad about this forum or anything I like this forum) but this was such an important debate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-is-the-best-vegetable-period/78792.md?page=2)