10 Things You Didn’t Know About Vidalia Onions (2024)

FAQs

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Vidalia Onions? ›

A Vidalia onion is a type of sweet onion. It has a mild flavor, a uniquely flat shape, and a relatively high sugar content. The soil in Vidalia, Georgia has an unusually low amount of sulfur — that's why this variety is more sweet than sharp. It doesn't have the pungent, intensely acidic flavor of other onions.

A Vidalia onion is a type of sweet onion. It has a mild flavor, a uniquely flat shape, and a relatively high sugar content. The soil in Vidalia, Georgia has an unusually low amount of sulfur — that's why this variety is more sweet than sharp. It doesn't have the pungent, intensely acidic flavor of other onions.

According to the Vidalia Onion Act of 1986, there are only 20 counties in the United States that are allowed to grow Vidalia onions and sell them under the trademarked name. All of them are in Georgia, centered around the small town of Vidalia, GA.

Mose Coleman of Toombs County accidentally discovered the Vidalia onion during the Great Depression. Piggly Wiggly was the first retail store to sell Vidalias. The Vidalias are named after the town they are grown in, Vidalia, Georgia.

Because it is not as pungent in flavor, the Vidalia onion is a great nutrient-dense food to incorporate into the diets of both adults and kids alike. Onions are packed with antioxidants! Vitamin C supports the immune system by decreasing inflammation and fighting off free radicals that harm immune function.

The Vidalia Onion is certainly unique in all the world. The sugar content of this onion is comparable to that of an apple, or a bottle of cola. It's a mild, succulent onion that is delicious raw on hamburgers, sliced alongside your steak, in a garden salad, or just eaten raw.

Substitutes for Vidalia Onions

There are many other types of sweet onions available, including Walla-Walla (after the city in Washington State) and Texas Sweets, and these can easily be used in any recipe calling for Vidalia Onions.

In 1982 Delbert Bland and his late father, Raymond, began growing Vidalia® sweet onions on just five acres at Bland Farms. Today, Bland Farms is the largest producer of the Vidalia sweet onion volume annually.

The crop is named for the community of Vidalia, which is located in Toombs County and known as the "Sweet Onion Capital of the World."

The bulb of the onion grows underground, with green tops shooting upward. Onions grow in over 20 states and California, Oregon and Washington are the top producing states. Onions contain fiber and vitamin C, which boosts the immune system. Onions are part of the allium family with scallions and leeks.

Is Vidalia Onion a hybrid? ›

The Vidalia Onion is now grown from a yellow Granex hybrid seed developed to produces the sweet-flavored, flat-shaped onion.

The Vidalia sweet onion, declared the official state vegetable in 1990, is perhaps the greatest agricultural success story in Georgia's history. Mose Coleman, a Toombs County farmer, is believed to have been the first grower of the now popular commodity.

The Vidalia Onion Act of 1986 granted the trademark of the name "Vidalia® onions" and defined the growing region in South Georgia. Vidalia onions are grown from a distinctive Granex seed, then packed and sold on or after the official pack date annually.

Want Vidalia Onions delivered to your door? The thirteen counties include: Toombs (where we're located), Tattnall, Treutlen, Bacon, Bulloch, Candler, Evans, Appling, Jeff Davis, Wheeler, Telfair, Montgomery, & Emanuel. And the portions of these seven counties: Laurens, Screven, Jenkins, Wayne, Dodge, Long, & Pierce.

Sweet onions, like Maui and Vidalia, are technically white onions - but they have a much higher sugar content, and a lower sulphur content, so they don't have that sharp bite to them. They often have a limited season, from spring to summer, so it's always great to pick up a few when they're available.

The best way to preserve Vidalia onions and other sweet onions: Store them in a place that's cool and dry and keep the onions separated. You can store your Vidalias in the refrigerator, wrapping each in a paper towel. Treated that way, they can last up to a year.

According to Rodrigo Velásquez, produce category manager at Imperfect Foods, "all Vidalias are sweet onions, but not all sweet onions are Vidalias." He says the key difference is in the flavor: "What sets them apart is their sweetness and sulfur levels—[Vidalias] have the highest sugars and lowest sulfur levels of all ...

If you find an onion with the long greens still attached (mostly in spring), don't throw those greens away! They have a lovely mild onion flavor and you can use them just as you would use a scallion. Chop them up and mix them with Neufchâtel cream cheese to spread on a cracker or add them to fresh salsa.