Tropea Red Onion

Tropea Red Onion dates back to 2 millenniums ago, it was imported by the Greeks, but the Arabs improved its cultivation, it seems that even the Phoenicians experimented its cultivation.  It is the main ingredient of the Calabrian cuisine both for its sweetness and for its digestibility.  It can be eaten raw, fried, stuffed etc.
 

The original red onions only grow along Calabria’s coast areas, in fertile and sandy soil, and more  precisely along the “Costa degli Dei” which goes from Nicotera to Pizzo, but also along the coasts of Lamezia Terme up to Amantea, Cosenza’s province.
Tropea Red Onion is protected by the "PGI" Protected Geographical Indication mark, overseen by the European Union. 
Tropean Onion has a delicious taste, due to the presence of: glucose, fructose, saccharose, starch and it can be easily digested.  Within the field of medicine, there have been various theories; Bakin, a Russion doctor, demonstrated that the onion bulb in general has antiseptic properties against thyphus bacteria, staphylococci and other harmful germs. An American dermatologist confirms what the ancients used to believe in, they thought that the use of an onion paste would treat sores, blisters, papules and other skin infections.
Other studies consider onions as an analgesic against rheumatisms, whilst other studies demonstrate that if you chew them for a few minutes, your mouth remains sterilized.
Many years ago, onions in Calabria were eaten a lot and the mortality rate caused by heart attacks was low.  Nowadays, unfortunately people eat much less of it, because once eaten, onions leave a bad breath.
Many scholars want Tropea red onion to be the only one of its kind because of the many organoleptic properties due to the Calabrian soil, sun and sea.  Therefore, you are advised to be careful when buying them because of fake producers.
Nutritional properties: It contains potassium, iodine, iron, calcium, sulphur, zinc, selenium, magnesium, vitamins C and E, carbohydrates and few fats, all this makes it a healthy and precious food.

Therapeutic properties: onions are thought of as a remedy against skin diseases, colds and flus, they are antihemorrhagic and tone up veins and arteries, they are beneficial to diuresis and hypertension.  They are also traditionally used for treating intestinal infection, to prevent cardiovascular diseases, renal calculosis and whooping cough, they are diuretic and antitumoural