Narrator:
HISTORIANS BELIEVE
CONSUMPTION
OF THIS COMMON VEGETABLE
DATES BACK TO PREHISTORIC TIMES,
WHEN IT GREW IN THE WILD.
MAN EVENTUALLY LEARNED
TO CULTIVATE ONIONS,
AND THIS STRONG-TASTING
PLANT BULB
BECAME A FOOD STAPLE
OF MANY ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
IN ANCIENT EGYPT, THE ONION
WAS AN OBJECT OF WORSHIP,
THE INNER STRUCTURE
OF CONCENTRIC RINGS
SYMBOLIZING
THE ETERNAL CIRCLE OF LIFE.
TODAY MECHANICAL HARVESTERS
PULL THE BULBS OUT OF THE GROUND
AND LAY THEM OUT IN ROWS.
AFTER DRYING FOR A DAY OR TWO,
A TRACTOR COLLECTS THEM
INTO LARGE BASKETS FOR STORAGE.
TO PREVENT SPOILAGE,
THE ONIONS ARE STORED AT BETWEEN
34 AND 36 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
WHEN THEY ARRIVE FROM THE FIELD,
THEIR FIRST STOP
IS A COOLING TUNNEL
FROM WHICH POWERFUL FANS
REMOVE THE HEAT.
THE VEGETABLES
TAKE ABOUT FIVE HOURS
TO COOL DOWN
TO THE STORAGE TEMPERATURE.
THE GROWER SEPARATES THE ONIONS
ACCORDING TO VARIETY AND SIZE,
THEN EITHER BAGS THEM
FOR SALE WHOLE
OR SELLS THEM
TO A PROCESSING PLANT.
AT THE PROCESSING PLANT,
WORKERS LOAD THE ONIONS
ON A CONVEYER
THAT LEADS TO THE PEELING
AND CUTTING STATIONS.
A CUTTER CHOPS OFF EACH BULB'S
TOP AND TAIL SIMULTANEOUSLY.
IT ALSO SCORES THE SKIN
TO PREP IT FOR PEELING.
THE ONIONS THEN MOVE INTO A
CUSTOM-DESIGNED PEELING MACHINE.
IT USES A COMBINATION
OF AIR AND WATER PRESSURE
TO BLOW OFF THE SKIN.
THE ONIONS THEN ROLL OFF
THE PEELER
AND PASS BEFORE QUALITY-CONTROL
WORKERS
WHO SWIFTLY CUT AWAY BRUISES
AND ANY OTHER IMPERFECTIONS,
AS WELL AS ANYTHING THE CUTTER
AND PEELER MIGHT HAVE MISSED.
THE NEXT MACHINE
RINSES THE ONIONS
WITH COLD, OZONATED WATER
THAT KILLS BACTERIA.
THEN THE ONIONS PASS THROUGH
A METAL DETECTOR,
JUST AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE.
AT THIS POINT, THERE'S A FORK
IN THE PROCESSING ROAD.
ONE DIRECTION LEADS TO SLICING,
THE OTHER TO DICING.
ON THE SLICING LINE,
WORKERS LOAD THE ONIONS
INTO TUBES
THAT FEED SLICING BLADES.
THESE BLADES ARE ADJUSTABLE
TO OUTPUT SLICES
ANYWHERE FROM 1 1/2
TO 25 MILLIMETERS THICK.
WORKERS GATHER UP
THE COMPLETE SLICES
AND FILL 5-POUND PLASTIC TRAYS.
A CONVEYER MOVES THE TRAYS
THROUGH A MACHINE
THAT SEALS THEM
WITH PLASTIC FILM.
THE FILM
HAS MICROPERFORATIONS
DESIGNED TO ALLOW IN
JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF OXYGEN
TO KEEP THE ONIONS FRESH.
ON THE DICING LINE, MEANWHILE,
THE ONIONS COLLIDE HEAD-ON
WITH A ROTARY BLADE
THAT CHOPS THEM TO BITS
RANGING FROM 3 TO 25 MILLIMETERS
IN DIAMETER.
THE DICED ONIONS THEN GO
FOR A BATH IN COLD WATER.
CHOPPING AN ONION
RELEASES JUICE FROM ITS TISSUE,
PAVING THE WAY
FOR BACTERIA TO GROW.
THIS COLD-WATER TREATMENT
REVERSES THE DAMAGE,
RESTORING SHELF LIFE.
NEXT, AN ESCALATOR
TRANSPORTS THEM
FROM A SPIN DRYER
TO THE PACKAGING DEPARTMENT.
THERE, AN AUTOMATIC SCALE
PORTIONS OUT THE SPECIFIC WEIGHT
THEY'RE PACKAGING
IN THIS PRODUCTION RUN.
WHEN THE TARGET WEIGHT
IS REACHED,
A TRAPDOOR SWINGS OPEN,
DROPPING THE PORTION
INTO THE WAITING PACKAGE.
RESTAURANTS BUY THEIR DICED
ONIONS IN JUMBO-SIZED BAGS.
THE FILLING MACHINE
AUTOMATICALLY
FORMS PLASTIC INTO A BAG,
ADDS A ZIPPER CLOSURE,
THEN SEALS THE BAG.
FOR GROCERY STORES,
THE FACTORY PACKAGES
SMALLER QUANTITIES
OF BOTH DICED AND SLICED ONIONS
IN PLASTIC CONTAINERS.
KEPT IN THE FRIDGE,
THEY REMAIN FRESH
FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
FOR BUSY COOKS, IT'S A
CONVENIENT, NO-TEARS TIME-SAVER.
