Like an Onion

A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don’t know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox’s or bear’s, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.

Meister Eckhart

I didn’t expect to be fascinated by my quest to find out why onions have layers, yet here we are. The Foods Guy has an article that answers the questions “Why Do Onions Have Layers? How Many Layers? ”. The gist is that an onion is a bulb and, as they grow, new layers of cells are added to the previous layer. Makes sense. The outermost layer made of dead cells “is to protect the onion from external damage, such as pests, bacteria, and fungi.” Bonus tidbit: the papery onion skin we usually discard can be used to make stock, just simmer with herbs and spices for an hour or two.

About the author

Meister Eckhart , (c. 1260 – c. 1328), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, Master Eckhart or Eckehart, claimed original name Johannes Eckhart, was a German Catholic theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Gotha in the Landgraviate of Thuringia (now central Germany) in the Holy Roman Empire.