How to use Onions Skin to prepare varieties of Food

5 minutes read.   

  

Do you know that onion skin is incredibly nutritious and even more beneficial to health than the succulent fresh part you cook with?  I never knew this until one day I thought to myself, “Why should we be removing onion skin in the first place?

What if I just wash it thoroughly and slice everything into my stew or soup will it affect my health? Do you know what? As a scientist and a deep researcher, I like backing anything I do with scientific proof if any has been established on the topic.

So I pick up my phone and hit the internet with the question “What have scientific studies found in onion skin, are they beneficial to health?”

The result I found from different research articles surprised me. Since then I stopped removing onion skin when cooking with it.

The amazing health benefit of onions peel I found out is what I decided to share just a few with you today, so you too can start reaping the benefits. Follow me closely    

Onion is the most common vegetable used in kitchens for preparing most of the dishes in a day. Imagine how many onions are used worldwide and how much onion skin is trashed out in the waste bin. What if I tell you that those papery onion peels you thought were useless are actually worth eating?

Now, if you are thinking what on earth can those insignificant onion skins do after their important succulent fresh part is taken off, you are in for a big surprise.

According to scientific research, onion peels (skin) are actually more nutritious than the inner fresh part of the onion!

Are you surprised to hear this?

The food you eat is supposed to serve as medicine to your body because the origin of every ingredient that make-up drugs or medicine you buy from the drug store can be traced from plants and animal products which form all the food you eat. Are getting the gist now?

Let’s go ahead and see what makes onion skins so useful.

Is Onions Skin Good for Health?

What does the research say about onions peel?

Many studies have proved that onion skins are highly rich in polyphenols, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins A, C, and E, and heart-friendly flavonoids. Catechin and quercetin are the most common and widely consumed flavonoids and are found in abundance in the onions peel than the inner part, especially the red/purple onion.

The large amounts of flavonoids are responsible for their antioxidant activity, immune enhancement, and anticancer property. (2)

The bioactive compound in onion peels exhibits antioxidant, boosting immunity, antidiabetic, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective effects.

Particularly, quercetin found abundantly in onion peel, but in less amount in the succulent fresh part you mostly consumed has been known to have anticholesterol, antithrombotic and insulin-sensitizing properties.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study thirty-seven healthy obese participants were randomly placed on consuming onion peels for twelve weeks.

These findings indicate that onions peels extract (OPE) consumption may exert an antioxidative effect by preventing the decrease of superoxide dismutase( SOD) activity as well as the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in obese women.

The study concluded that OPE consumption may be beneficial for obese individuals as a means of reducing oxidative stress to eventually prevent chronic diseases associated with continued oxidative stress.

Increased ROS production leads to tissue damage associated with inflammation. Superoxide dismutases (SODs) convert superoxide to hydrogen peroxide, which is then removed by glutathione peroxidase or catalase.

Thus, SODs prevent the formation of highly aggressive ROS, such as peroxynitrite or the hydroxyl radical.

Another randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study revealed that onion peel extract supplementation for 2 weeks is beneficial as it reduces the possibility of developing key risk factors for cardiovascular disease by altering the lipid profiles in healthy Korean young women.

Health Practitioner, nutritionist, and Macrobiotic Health Coach, Shilpa Arora say, “Generally, the skin of almost all vegetables and fruits are loaded with nutrients. Onion peels have also proven their own nutrition contents in many studies.

I hope you’re getting value.

How do you add Onions Skin to your Diet?

 Note if you want to add onion skin to your diet, be sure to thoroughly wash the whole onion with a pinch of salt and rinse with running water. I normally remove the skin and wash them separately, then rinse them together.

Here are a few ways you can start lipping the benefits of onion skin:

1. Add onion peel to stew, yam porridge, Jollof rice, moimoi or akara (beans cake), soup, or sauce.

Gently cut off the rough mouth and tail of the whole onion, wash it thoroughly with water adding a pinch of salt, and rinse in running water.

Then slice them all into small pieces and add to your stew, sauce or soup, etc.

If you want to slice the onion into big sizes, be sure to remove the skin and reslice them into smaller pieces because it will be difficult for the peel to soften and melt in the food if left in big sizes and all you will see is onion skin spread on the food after cooking. 

2. To improve Soup and Gravy

Add onion peels while boiling soup, stock, and gravies. It will help thicken the gravy and will also infuse a beautiful purple hue into it. Remember to take the peels out after boiling them for some time.

3. To add Smokiness

Smoked spices are popularly used to add some heat and depth to foods. You can make onion ash by roasting onion peels in the oven till they turn dark (almost black) in color. Then grind them to make a fine powder and sprinkle away.

4. Add onions peels to your tea

Onion skin tea is known to soothe the mind and also improve the immune system.

Pour hot water into a cup containing tea bag/green tea leaves and onion peels and let both seep for some time. Strain the tea and relax with a healthy cup of tea.

Or simply wash onion peels and boil them in the hot water you want to use for tea, then remove and strain the onion skin and use the water to make tea.

Related: What are the medicinal benefits of Red onions?

Related: What are the medicinal uses of White Onions?

5. Make onions peels juice water

Wash onions and boil in a cup of water for 10 minutes, allow to cool, remove the peel from the water, and gently enjoy the water.

This may provide you its anti-inflammatory properties and may also take care of the lingering muscle cramps.

6. Add to bone broth (mmiri okpukpu anu)

You can throw the whole onions (including the skin) into a pot of bone broth.

Or cut off the tough mouth and tail, thoroughly wash the whole onion with a pinch of salt in the water and rinse in running water, then slice to your choice into the pot of bone broth.

7. Add more flavor and nutrition to Rice

Biryani, pulao, fried rice, jollof rice, jeera rice – almost all rice dishes can be enhanced by cooking the rice along with onion skins.

You will love the subtle bitter flavor of onion skin in your rice. Try it out. You can oven-dry the skin and crush it to powder then sprinkle in the rice just as you add other spicy herbs.

I hope you get the value worth your time. I appreciate the time you spend with me. Leave a comment below if you find this blog post helpful and feel free to drop your questions if any. Cheers!

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The content provided in Living Good Blog is for informational and educational purposes only. It’s not intended to provide medical advice or take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal doctor. All readers/viewers of this content are advised to consult their qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Living Good Blog takes no responsibility for possible health consequences of any person(s) reading or following the information in this educational content. Viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medication, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.