WWTBAM Bored

But not the cargo hold.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/15 ... etail.html

I guess there must be some good reason why someone was shipping onions from Italy or parts beyond rather than having them grown on our own continent. Olive oil or really great prosciutto I can understand....but onions? I hope there is some local onion grower having a good laugh at this one.

marrymeflyfree wrote:I guess there must be some good reason why someone was shipping onions from Italy or parts beyond rather than having them grown on our own continent. Olive oil or really great prosciutto I can understand....but onions? I hope there is some local onion grower having a good laugh at this one.

Probably Cipolline onions. It is special variety of onion grown in Italy. I don't know if there is enough demand in the U.S. for growers to specialize in them.

I looked it up. There are Cipolline onions grown in the U.S. but the Italian imported ones are seen as preferable to the domestic ones. Interestingly, Cipolline and pearl onions have a specific exemption to the import regulations for onions listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

I went to the $.99 store a while ago looking for spray bottles for a Jog a Thon. I noticed that they were selling produce in the store and I looked at it. Most of the onions and garlic came from China.

andrewjackson wrote:There are Cipolline onions grown in the U.S. but the Italian imported ones are seen as preferable to the domestic ones.

Ahh...I'd forgotten about the Cipollines. I can accept that. I'm all for eating locally, but some stuff is just plain better coming from its home turf.

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:I went to the $.99 store a while ago looking for spray bottles for a Jog a Thon. I noticed that they were selling produce in the store and I looked at it. Most of the onions and garlic came from China.

I heard something recently saying that most of the loose garlic in grocery stores comes from China. I guess the rule is that packaged produce must have the country of origin noted, but it isn't required for the bulk items that are loose in bins. You have to ask the grocer if you want to know, and even then they aren't required to tell you.