Onion Facts for Kids

A Picture of Different Types of Onions
  • Name: Onion, Bulb Onion, Common Onion
  • Type of Food: Vegetable
  • Produced From: Allium cepa
  • Total Calories: 44 (one medium onion, 110 grams)
  • Total Fat: None (one medium onion, 110 grams)
  • Total Protein: 1 gram (one medium onion, 110 grams)
  • Total Carbohydrates: 10 grams (one medium onion, 110 grams)

28 Onion Facts for Kids

  1. Onions are a vegetable cultivated and consumed by humans.
  2. It’s estimated humans have been growing and eating onions for at least 7,000 years.
  3. Onions are the bulb of several different species of plants in the genus Allium.
  4. Onions are also known as the bulb onion or the common onion.
  5. Onions are closely related to chives, garlic, leeks, scallions and shallots.
  6. Onions come in a wide variety of colors, including but not limited to white, yellow, green, brown, red and purple.
  7. There are hundreds of different varieties of onions grown worldwide.
  8. According to FAOSTAT, the world produced over 106 million tons of onions in 2018.
  9. According to FAOSTAT, the largest producer of onions in 2018 was China with over 27 million tons.
  10. According to FAOSTAT, the second largest producer of onions in 2018 was India with over 24 million tons.
  11. Based on FAOSTAT data, China produced over 25% of the world’s onion supply in 2018.
  12. Based on FAOSTAT data, India produced over 22% of the world’s onion supply in 2018.
  13. The composition of most onions is 89% water, 9% carbohydrates, 1% protein with negligible amounts of fat.
  14. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 44 calories.
  15. One medium onion (110 grams) contains no fats.
  16. One medium onion (110 grams) contains no cholesterol.
  17. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 4 milligrams of sodium.
  18. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 10 grams of carbohydrates.
  19. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 2 grams of dietary fiber.
  20. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 5 grams of sugar.
  21. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 1 gram of protein.
  22. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 25 milligrams of calcium
  23. One medium onion (110 grams) contains 160 milligrams of potassium.
  24. Onions are used to season or garnish many different food dishes.
  25. Onions can also be the main ingredient in a food dish, like fried onion rings or French onion soup.
  26. Cutting onions releases a chemical known as syn-Propanethial S-oxide (C3H6OS), this chemical is what causes your eyes to water when you’re cutting an onion.
  27. According to the Guinness World Records, the heaviest onion ever recorded weighed 18 pounds and 11.84 ounces. This record was set on September 12th, 2014 by Tony Glover in the United Kingdom.
  28. According to the Guinness World Records, the fastest time someone ate a raw onion was 29.56 seconds. This record was set on December 13th, 2013 by Yusuke Yamaguchi in Japan.

Additional Resources on Onions

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