Vidalia Onions

[Kent A Bathurst]

Regulated season opened yesterday. Trip to Savannah, veered off the interstate to get some

[Jim Koepke]

What is a "regulated season"?

I love onions. On hamburgers a few of my favorite places would put grilled and raw onions on my burger.

jtk

[Lawrence Duckworth]

they're the champagne of onions....:D

[Kent A Bathurst]

Vidalia isn’t your normal onion. A “sweet “ onion. The name has huge market value so the state protects the brand.to maintain quality. Limited to 7 counties. The ag department inspects and monitors crop. A few weeks ago they announced this year’s ship date as 4/24. Meaning can’t ship/sell before Lotta trademark stuff, growing regulations etc

Keep counterfeit crop out of the hands of miscreants from Mississippi, Texas, etc. :)

Short-term season. Best eaten very fresh. Don’t keep well

absolutely marvelous. You can Google and get some shipped to you

[Kent A Bathurst]

Also - 2 slices of bread, mayo, and a 1/2” slab of onion is a perfect. Sandwich

[Rich Engelhardt]

True fresh Vidalia onions can be eaten just like an apple.

I like a big slab on Peter Pan peanut butter with some French's Yellow Mustard.

'maters (real Summer vine ripened) & Vidalias on two slices of bread = heaven.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I’ll give you the maters zero chance on the peanut butter

[Jim Koepke]

Vidalia isn’t your normal onion. A “sweet “ onion. The name has huge market value so the state protects the brand.to maintain quality.

Thanks, I think the same happens here with Walla Walla onions. You can by seeds and starts but you can't sell them as Walla Walla onions.

jtk

[Brian Tymchak]

Thanks, I think the same happens here with Walla Walla onions. You can by seeds and starts but you can't sell them as Walla Walla onions.
were
jtk

Yep. Love the Walla Wallas. Use to visit an aunt in Spokane in my younger years. Walla Wallas were a staple during our visits.

[Dave Fritz]

I just bought some Walla Walla onion sets in the bare root room at Jung's Seed in Madison, Wisconsin.

Also remember three guys on I've Got A Secret TV show years ago. They were from Walla Walla and their names were: Dick Dick, Tom Tom and Gary Gary or something like that.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We really like the sweet Walla Walla's!

[Larry Frank]

Can not wait for the Vidalia onions to show up here. I love to cook them on the grill

[Jim Becker]

Vidalias are wonderful and amazing. While there are other "sweet" onions that are available to me year round, if I see an actual vidalia, it gets bought.

[Dave Zellers]

they're the champagne of onions....:D

Ha! Good one.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Ha! Good one.


Thanks Dave.....tough crowd tonight. :D

[Stan Calow]

Shriners and Boy Scouts around here used to sell Vidalia's seasonally as fund raisers. Now they show up in regular groceries. I saw one of those cooking shows on TV in which they said cooking onions causes a bunch of chemical reactions that pretty much erase the sweetness component of Vidalia's so that they are best used raw.

[Jim Becker]

Stan, cooking them "low and slow" can help a lot...you get the softening desired without the negatives of higher heat cooking. Honestly, this works well for all formats of onions when cooking is indicated. (Same for mushrooms with or without onions)

[Warren Lake]

sweet onions just went into the buckwheat soup. Also tried a red cabbage for a change but not so keen it just looks bizarre in there. Vidalias are a sweet onion so what is the difference between the two. Ill have to ask at the store though likely get better info here most of the time. Walla walla sounds like they are from Hawaii.

[Derek Meyer]

If you are in the Central Washington area, when Walla Walla Sweets are in season you can drive on Highway 26 east of Othello, and pick as many as you want off the side of the road. They truck so many on that road that they are literally falling off the trucks as they drive.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Vidalia are the real deal. There are others that are good but not the same. Breakfast was bagel, lox, capers and lots of thin sliced vidalias.

I just saw there was a planned site maintenance. I did not know about that

I assumed I could not get on because the huge interest in Vidalia Onions had clogged the pipeline

[Jim Koepke]

Walla walla sounds like they are from Hawaii.

They are grown in the Walla Walla Valley of southeast Washington and northeast Oregon.

Hawaii has their own sweet onion:


Grown in the shadows of Haleakala, a long-dormant volcano on the island of Maui, Maui Sweet Onions are among the sweetest in the world. Known for their smooth, mild flavor and juicy texture, this versatile vegetable is used by professional chefs and home cooks alike for roasting, grilling, frying and much more.

jtk

[Jack Frederick]

In ‘77 I was a welder working on a shut-down at the 100N nuke out in the Hanford area of SE WA. We were on 7/12’s. In the Hogger (lunchroom), Bill a very senior local hand was at a table peeling what I thought was an apple. it slipped out of his hand, fell to the table and split apart. I asked what he was eating and he responded a WW Sweet giving me a qtr. Any onion I had ever seen growing up in NY would have blown your head off, but this, mmmm, sublime.
Bill went on to tell me of his family history in the area. Many of the farmers in the area were granted property as veterans of WWI. He said that the Native Americans tribes used to winter in the Columbia Basin as it had a micro climate that was a bit less harsh than surrounding areas as the Columbia wraps around that section of the State. His father did quite well on the place as the climate allowed the soft fruit to ripen ahead of other areas allowing him to get to the Seattle/Portland market a couple weeks ahead of surrounding areas.1942 or so rolls around and a Capt in an Army car drives up with a check telling his Dad that the family had 10 days to vacate the property as it was about to become a part of the Manhattan Project. His Dad said, “Give me three weeks to get my crop in and you can keep your money.” The Capt said, “10 Days.” And they were off the place never to return as Hanford became nuclear central. Today, the waste leaks into the Columbia and all the nukes are shut down.

[Larry Frank]

I bought Vidalia onions from the Shriners on the way home today. It was $10 for a bag. They will be on hamburgers this weekend.

[Michael Drew]

We get them here, all the way up in Alaska. Shriners bring a few pallets of them here to my home town. As mentioned earlier, they do not keep long, and when we get them, they are already half way to being too old. It's the only time of the year I eat onion rings, as I do not eat fried food, but I make an exception with the Vidalia's. I also make a lot of French onion soup with them, it's terrific. Good excuse to grill a steak too, with carnalized mushrooms and onions..... When you have a bag of them, and not much time to eat them, you end up making all kinds of things.

[Jim Koepke]

Here is something for all of us who love onions > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-aWT2wMF10

jtk

[Kent A Bathurst]

Here is something for all of us who love onions > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-aWT2wMF10

jtk

Jim - reading your posts for lo these many years, I had a certain mental image of you.

I confess - that image has now been adjusted.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I am also a frequent onion cooker and eater, but I don't mind a little bit of irreverent onion music. Here's a sadder one, while we're on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Jndkyunv8

[Kent A Bathurst]

You guys crack me up.

Nicely done. Nicely, nicely

[Rick Potter]

Ewwww. That one was a widdle too much to listen to past the first chorus, but it did lead me down the rabbit hole of watching 'wayback TV' and 15 minutes of a failed, never sold, sitcom about Lil Abner and Dogpatch.

For that, I will never forgive you.

[Rich Konopka]

Made some Oklahoma Onion burgers with Vidalias last weekend. They are the best onions by far.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Made some Oklahoma Onion burgers with Vidalias last weekend. They are the best onions by far.

Never heard of that burger before. Went to the goog. Yum. Thanks, Atlanta bro.

Had yet another breakfast of bread, mayo and Vidalia. Gotta dig in while they last.

[Rich Konopka]

They’re fantastic burgers. My only advice is to use a mandolin and slice up them Vidalia onions as thin as possible and pile them high.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Good grooming tip to save bandaids

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Perfect conditions this year. My Mom is 85. Her arthritis has her down to only one arm. Her onions are always amazing. This may be her banner year.

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My sets were were purchased on the same trip to Morgan County Seeds and planted at the same time. Mine are lame. Evidently a green thumb is not genetic.
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[Rich Engelhardt]

True Vidalia onions can only come from one place. Vidalia Ga.
Vidalia Ga is also the home of the Paul Anderson Youth Home - he holds the Guinness record for lifting over three tons!
He used his fame to open the Youth Home.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Perfect conditions this year. My Mom is 85. Her arthritis has her down to only one arm. Her onions are always amazing.


Sorry to hear about your Mom's health. Apparently hasn't interfered with the gardening.

There is no replacement for a Mom.

[Jim Koepke]

There is no replacement for a Mom.

An African proverb says, When an old man dies A library burns to the ground. And when an old woman dies a school burns to the ground.

jtk

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Sorry to hear about your Mom's health. Apparently hasn't interfered with the gardening.

There is no replacement for a Mom.

She can tuck her her hoe under her stiff arm and eradicate weeds with her not quite as stiff other arm. About this time last year she shared a few onions. Before the onions were handed over I was required to sit and listen to a parable
("Since you STILL haven't read Brothers K").

A wicked woman who was infamous in her town passes away from old age. God condemns her to eternal damnation in the afterlife since she has not done a single act of good during her life. The guardian angel pleads for mercy and desperately searches for even a small act of good the woman could have done. It finds that she once gave an onion from her farm to the wandering beggar and presents it to God as evidence. God declares that the guardian angel can try to lift the woman from the lake of fire with the onion. If she is carried up to heaven with it, she would be allowed to stay. However, if the onion were to snap, the woman would remain in hell forever. The angel shared the verdict of God to the wicked woman and stretched out the onion for her to grab. The woman was slowly rising from the pit of fire as she held onto the onion. Meanwhile, nearby sinners saw what was happening and began to cling to the woman. She responded by furiously kicking at them while yelling, “This is my onion! It is not yours to have!” As the last words left her mouth, the onion snapped, and the angel wept as the woman plummeted back into hell.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

True Vidalia onions can only come from one place. Vidalia Ga.
Vidalia Ga is also the home of the Paul Anderson Youth Home - he holds the Guinness record for lifting over three tons!
He used his fame to open the Youth Home.


Vidalia GA sets the bar high!

The yellow ones are merely Vidaila type; Garnex Yellow F1, One of the varieties used in Vidalia County, GA where they grow the famous Vidalia onions.

The red ones are Red Candy Apple; Very, very sweet! Deep red, flattened globe shape, sweet, hybrid. Red Candy Apple has proved to be a reliable red intermediate day onion year after year. Although smaller in size, this onion can be pushed to grow larger in long days areas with additional nitrogen.

[Alan Lightstone]

Are they in season now this year? I don't see them in our Publix, and I always buy them when I see them.

On a vaguely related, Georgia note. When are the freestone peaches coming?

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I don't know when they harvest in GA. In MO mine started falling over two weeks ago. Moms are still growing!
I do have an email from my SIL in Brunswick GA this morning. He wishes Florida would keep their very hot very humid air on their side.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I don't know when they harvest in GA.

The state of Georgia has very strict and wide-ranging controls over Vidalia onions. They - the State - has it codified in law, and the Dept of Ag has tight regs. Application required to get a permit to grow and sell under that name. There are actually 20 counties where it is permitted - but don't be mislead - GA has 159 counties. But its still a big area - centered around the hamlet of Vidalia. The State aggressively pursues miscreants nationwide.

You can buy and plant seed, and grow them, but holy hell will be visited upon your miserable soul if you dare to market them as Vidalia. The penalty is your first-born male child.

The AG board sets the allowable ship date for growers. 2024 it was April 17, IIRC. No Vidalia onions may be shipped from the farms before then - this includes neighborhood roadside stands. Sales continue through mid-Sept.

[Stan Calow]

I heard that it was the soil conditions there that made them so special. Up until about 10 years ago, you would only see them for sale by Shriners on the side of the road. Now I see them in most major supermarkets.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

The state of Georgia has very strict and wide-ranging controls over Vidalia onions. They - the State - has it codified in law, and the Dept of Ag has tight regs. Application required to get a permit to grow and sell under that name. There are actually 20 counties where it is permitted - but don't be mislead - GA has 159 counties. But its still a big area - centered around the hamlet of Vidalia. The State aggressively pursues miscreants nationwide.

You can buy and plant seed, and grow them, but holy hell will be visited upon your miserable soul if you dare to market them as Vidalia. The penalty is your first-born male child.

The AG board sets the allowable ship date for growers. 2024 it was April 17, IIRC. No Vidalia onions may be shipped from the farms before then - this includes neighborhood roadside stands. Sales continue through mid-Sept.

Great info! Copied and pasted into an email to myself. The farmers market in Mexico MO often has onions from near by Vandaila MO. I fear that those onions may be a roundup ready variety.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

It was strange to hear my Mom reiterate Dostoevsky's Onion parable. She never had an unkind moment. She has shared lots of onions.

[Belinda Barfield]

I grew up, and my mom still lives, about 35 miles from Vidalia. When there was nothing going on in my small hometown on a Saturday night Vidalia was the next stop down the road. At the time the only Pizza Inn restaurant anywhere around was Vidalia. It was a big deal when your date took you there. Maybe I should put together a group "onion buy" next time I am going home. :D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I grew up, and my mom still lives, about 35 miles from Vidalia. When there was nothing going on in my small hometown on a Saturday night Vidalia was the next stop down the road. At the time the only Pizza Inn restaurant anywhere around was Vidalia. It was a big deal when your date took you there. Maybe I should put together a group "onion buy" next time I am going home. :D


The shipping to me would result in them growing sprouts before they got here and would be terribly expensive! Besides we get Walla Walla Sweets locally.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I grew up, and my mom still lives, about 35 miles from Vidalia. When there was nothing going on in my small hometown on a Saturday night Vidalia was the next stop down the road. At the time the only Pizza Inn restaurant anywhere around was Vidalia. It was a big deal when your date took you there. Maybe I should put together a group "onion buy" next time I am going home. :DCount me in for that!!!

(BTW - nice to see you grace our forum once again! You have been missed!)

[Bill George]

The shipping to me would result in them growing sprouts before they got here and would be terribly expensive! Besides we get Walla Walla Sweets locally.

I ordered some from Hendrix Farms down there and they promised 2 Day UPS, but it really took 5 days... the box had broken open and no one at UPS could be bothered to throw a little tape on it! Had some of them last night, I would call them mild but certainly not sweet, so maybe they are not the real ones??

[Kent A Bathurst]

Nah. They’re real - no one in Ga would risk the wrath of Ag department

Too long out of the ground I’d register a complaint by and see what they say. Vidalias are somewhat delicate. They could well have .”cooked” in 5 days in a truck in this miserable weather.

Edit: as an FYI - this is very late in the season, practically speaking. Just highlights the nature of the beast. Next year, jump in early - as early as they will accept the order.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

The similar variety has started to fall over in MO.

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I keep thinking of the Onion in the Foyle's War episode The French Drop.

Foyle goes to his office, leaving Sam at the desk. She asks Rivers if she may smell the onion because she hasn't seen one since Christmas. She takes a long, appreciative sniff, whereupon the sergeant announces, "That'll cost you a penny!"

[Maurice Mcmurry]

We drove through Georgia's Coastal Plain last Christmas / New Years. I felt right at home. It is a lot like the Missouri River valley. I bet sweet corn does well there too. Our corn is rather remarkable this year. James McMurtry's song Levelland resonates with me. I think its about Texas and Oklahoma.

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https://youtu.be/L-D824LHti4?si=Gffnb6IkqMnbJYLY

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Several late frosts this spring in Missouri lead to no peaches : (
Thanks Georgia for being reliable : )
And to Schreiman Orchards for also being in the trucking business.

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[Robert Engel]

We tried to grow them several years ago with out success. We had a gardening show on our local PBS and one day a lady called in asking how to grow Vidalias in Florida. So no doubt my ears perked up.

His answer was, "Hire you a dump truck and get a load of dirt from Vidalia, GA". That kinda tickled me.