Vidalia Onion

About

Sweet onions first grown near Vidalia, Georgia in the early 1930s. An extremly sweet variety, due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil where the onions are grown.The onions became so popular that growers in other areas of Georgia, and even other states, started to label their onions as vidalias. This left the Georgia state legislature to pass the "Vidalia Onion Act of 1986" which authorized a trademark for "Vidalia Onions" and limits the production area to Georgia or any subset as defined by the state's Commissioner of Agriculture.

Information

Other names: Sweet Onions

Translations: Vidalia Sīpoli, Vidalia svogūnas, Vidalia ceapa, Onion Vidalia, Vidalia प्याज, Vidalia Лук, Vidalia Κρεμμύδι, فيداليا البصل, Vidalia 양파, Vidalia cibule, Vidalia Bawang, Vidalia sibuyas, 维达利亚洋葱, Vidalia Ceba, Vidalia Čebula, Vidalia cibule, Vidalia Cipolla, Vidalia בצל, Видалиа Лук, ビディリアオニオン, Vidalia Cebolla, Vidalia Цибуля, Vidalia Sipuli, Vidalia лук

Physical Description

A large, white, sweet, delicately flavored onion, having a thin yellowish outer skin and poor storage qualities.

Colors: pale-yellow skin

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Sweet

Mouthfeel: Juicy

Food complements: Red wine vinegar

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Peak: april, may, june

Choosing: Generally recognized Vidalia Onion sizes are small (1 to 2 1/4 inches), medium (2 to 3 inches), and jumbo (over 3 inches).

About 70% of the Vidalia crop is distributed through grocery stores as a specialty item. The remaining 30% are distributed through roadside stands and mail order businesses.

Choose a good Vidalia onion like you do any other onion; it should be free of soft spots or discoloration.

Buying: Vidlalia Onions are harvested from late April through mid-June. Due to the introduction of controlled atmosphere storage, stored Vidalia Onions are available through December.

Procuring: Harvesting typically occurs from late April through mid-June. Standard practices in onion harvesting include undercutting the onions, allowing them to cure (air dry) for two to three days, clipping the tops and roots, bagging in burlap sacks, transporting to a warehouse, drying, grading, bagging or boxing, and shipping.

The delicate nature of the Onions requires that they be harvested by hand. To ensure continued quality, Georgia's Department of Agriculture Commissioner, Tommy Irvin, created and implemented the Vidalia Onion Quality Control Inspection Service.

Preparation and Use

Generally recognized Vidalia Onion sizes are small (1 to 2 1/4 inches), medium (2 to 3 inches), and jumbo (over 3 inches).

About 70% of the Vidalia crop is distributed through grocery stores as a specialty item. The remaining 30% are distributed through roadside stands and mail order businesses.

Their mild, sweet flavor makes them a natural for using them raw, in salads or on sandwiches or burgers. They're also delicious sauteed and used in relatively bland recipes where their flavor won't get lost, such as quiche.

Conserving and Storing

To preserve Vidalia Onions for a longer period of time, wrap them separately in paper towels and refrigerate.

Vidalia Onions can also be successfully stored in the legs of clean, sheer pantyhose with a knot tied between each one. Hang in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. Keep Vidalia Onions cool and dry at all times.

Social/Political

The Vidalia onion is a special cultivar of sweet onion which is raised exclusively in the American South. In fact, onions cannot legally be labeled as “Vidalia onions” in the United States unless they come from a specific region of the state of Georgia, thanks to a ruling from the Department of Agriculture. These onions are famously used in Southern cuisine, and they are also popular in some other parts of the United States, along with the sweet Maui onion, grown in Hawaii.

History: Vidalias emerged by accident in Southeastern Georgia in the 1930s, when farmers were struggling to find a new cash crop. They began growing yellow granex onions, but discovered that the crop was sweet, rather than hot, as expected. By the 1940s, onions from this region of Georgia were famous for their mild flavor, which, as it turns out, is created by the lack of sulfur in the soil. In 1986, the legislature of Georgia passed the Vidalia Onion Act, confining labeling to specific counties, and in 1990, it became the State Vegetable of Georgia.