They're baaaa-aaaak

[Stinky The Clown]

The first batch of 'em hit the supermarket today.

[canetoad]

1. Are onions seasonal

in your part of the world?

:hide:

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Vidalias are seasonal

[canetoad]

3. Had to google them

I don't think we have them here - never seen them in shops or markets. Being an connoisseur of all types of onions I'd love to try them.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. They're very sweet

Sliced thick and grilled, they're incredible. Almost (but not quite) a dessert item! The best are from Vidalia, Georgia.

From the Wiki:

Vidalia onion
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Vidalia onions

A Vidalia onion is a sweet onion of certain varieties, grown in a production area defined by law in Georgia and by the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The varieties include the hybrid yellow granex, varieties of granex parentage, or other similar varieties recommended by the Vidalia Onion Committee and approved by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

The onions were first grown near Vidalia, Georgia, in the early 1930s. It is an unusually sweet variety of onion, due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil in which the onions are grown. Mose Coleman is considered the person that discovered the sweet Vidalia Onion variety in 1931.

Georgia's state legislature passed 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. The current definition includes:

* The following thirteen counties: Emanuel, Candler, Treutlen, Bulloch, Wheeler, Montgomery, Evans, Tattnall, Toombs, Telfair, Jeff Davis, Appling, and Bacon.

* Portions of the following seven counties: Jenkins, Screven, Laurens, Dodge, Pierce, Wayne, and Long.

The Vidalia onion was named Georgia's official state vegetable in 1990.

[grasswire]

5. we have Walla Walla onions here in NW USA....similar

My dad used to eat an onion out of hand like an apple, and those weren't sweet onions either. I don't think people do that anymore.

[Warpy]

6. I'll keep my eyes peeled

The local market usually gets a couple of bags of them every year and they go very quickly.

Yum. Vidalias.

[Phentex]

9. a couple of bags?...

wow. I guess I take these for granted. There are bins and bins of them here.

[japple]

15. Yes, they have pride of place at Kroger this week! eom

[Lugnut]

7. I bought some today.

Thick juicy cheeseburgers with fried vidlias are in my future. :)

[Phentex]

8. We have a live Vidalia connection...

a young guy in the office is from Vidalia and makes weekend trips home. He brings bags back to the office. I won't pay him otherwise. ;)

He races in the Annual Vidalia Onion Run and in addition to money, you win bags of onions. :)

VIDALIA ONION CASSEROLE

5 med. Vidalia onions, sliced
1 stick (1/4 lb.) butter
1 stack Ritz crackers from sm. size box, crumbled
Grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter and saute onions until limp (not brown). Place half of onions in casserole; sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 of Ritz cracker crumbs. Repeat layers. Bake at 325 degrees until brown, about 20 minutes.

Serves about 6-8.

[Vinca]

10. I love them. I tried growing them once, but it cannot be done

properly without that special Georgia soil.

[japple]

Childrens' groups, like Future Farmers of America, Scouts,

et. al. around here sell boxes of Vidalia onions as fundraisers. The first onions are usually very soft and need to be eaten soon. The later ones have had a chance to dry out a bit and can be stored longer. Folks around here store them (for longer periods) in old, clean, pantyhose that are knotted between each onion. I've found that keeping them in my refrigerator in the crisper works better.

[japple]

11. dupe - delete

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I can practically eat those things raw like an apple. They are wonderful.

[kestrel91316]

13. Walla Walla's are better. Regional bias, I suppose, lol.

[japple]

14. I honestly don't think I could tell the difference in a blind taste test.

eom

[grasswire]

16. the markets here are full of Mayan sweet onions from Mexico this week

HUGE orbs. Must weigh a pound and a half each, and very beautiful. I had some on my burger last night and yumyumyum.

[eridani]

18. Well yes! Of course! n/t

[NMDemDist2]

17. the Shriners were selling em in a parking lot today, but how do I store

5# of onions??

in the fridge? I shoulda grabbed em.......