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About

About the veg wiki

Philosophy

Cooking is better with more hands in the pot.

A wiki gets more useful the more it's used. Every recipe links to the ingredients and techniques it uses — and every ingredient links back to the recipes built around it. Nothing here is static: pages grow as the household cooks, and what we learn goes straight back into the site.

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Who we are

A household that cooks together

This is a family project, not a publication. Everything is written by and for the people who cook from it, and every recipe is tested at least twice before it's published.

Why we built it

One connected place for what we cook

Most recipe sites are a pile of one-off pages. We wanted the recipes we've actually made, the ingredients and techniques behind them, and a meal planner that remembers everyone's allergies, preferences, and dislikes — all woven into a single system. A family cookbook that never goes out of date.

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Ingredient · Amaryllidaceae

Onions

Allium cepa · Amaryllidaceae

OriginCentral Asia SeasonYear-round FlavourSweet when cooked, sharp when raw Typical cost~£0.70/kg (approx, curated UK price list (approx) · checked 11 Aug 2026) Edit
40 kcal per 100g 2% RNI
Carries the calories a body runs on day to day from carbohydrate, protein, fat and alcohol. How much you need varies widely with age, activity and goals.
Reference: 2000.00kcal per day (UK Reference Intake)
Full nutrient page →
1.7g 6% RNI
Plant-based carbohydrate that humans cannot digest. Linked in research with digestive comfort, steady blood-sugar response and healthy cholesterol levels. Pulses, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables are the main sources.
Reference: 30.00g per day (UK dietary guideline)
Full nutrient page →
7.4mg (8% RDI) 19% RNI
A water-soluble antioxidant that also helps with collagen formation and boosts the absorption of plant iron. Citrus, peppers, berries and brassicas are rich sources. UK RNI is 40mg — notably lower than the US figure.
Reference: 40.00mg per day (UK RNI)
Full nutrient page →
Quercetin present

Physical wellbeing

Rich in prebiotic fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria.
Quercetin, a flavonoid in onions, is studied for its antioxidant properties.
The base of most savoury cooking worldwide — sweetness and depth come from slow cooking.

Mental wellbeing

The slow caramelisation of onions is often described as one of the most meditative cooking tasks.
Crying when cutting onions is caused by a sulfur compound — chilling them first helps.

Wellness framing here reflects traditional use and ongoing research, not medical claims.

This reflects research on standardised extracts in clinical studies of diagnosed conditions, not a claim that cooking with this ingredient treats a mental health condition. If you're struggling with your mood, please speak to a GP or a mental health professional.

Recipes using onions

Auto-generated — populates whenever a recipe tags this ingredient.

Cross-references

Pairs well with
Garlic Butter Balsamic vinegar
Substitutes
Shallots (milder) Leeks (sweeter)
Research →