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| * Nutritional information for Sweet Onions | |||
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Revision as of 20:59, 8 August 2006
Sweet onion is a variety of onion that is not pungent. There are several varieties of sweet onion. Although all onions have sugar, sweet onions have a very low sulfur content as compared to typical onions. Also, the water content is comparatively very high. These differences emphasize the sweetness of the onion.
Origins in the Americas
American sweet onions appear to have originated in two places, both around the year 1900.
Texas
The Bermuda onion was first harvested in Texas in 1898, with seeds imported from Bermuda. The first harvest was sent primarily to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they were very well received, prompting Texas to increase the acreage used for growing the onion. The three main breeds grown in Texas around the turn of the century were the Yellow Bermuda, the White Bermuda, and the Crystal Wax.
Walla Walla
The Walla Walla Sweet Onion originated on the island of Corsica, off the west coast of Italy. A French soldier named Peter Pieri found an Italian sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley around 1900.
Impressed by the new onion's winter hardiness, Pieri, and the Italian immigrant farmers who comprised much of Walla Walla's gardening industry, harvested the seed. The sweet onion developed over several generations through the process of carefully hand selecting onions from each year's crop, ensuring exceptional sweetness, jumbo size and round shape.
Carzalia Sweets, New Mexico
Carzalia Sweets have earned a place in American's kitchens for their outstanding super-sweet flavor and appearance. Available early June through August, the Carzalia Sweets are the sweetest onion grown.
W.R. Johnson Sr. came to the high deserts of southern New Mexico when it was still part of the untamed west. New Mexico had only been a state for six years, and Pancho Villa had raided and burned nearby Columbus only two years earlier, but W.R. Johnson saw a valley with enormous beauty and potential - the Carzalia Valley.
Originally founded as a cattle operation, W.R. Johnson Jr. turned to farming the rich soil after the drought of the 1950's. The first irrigation well was drilled in 1953, allowing him to produce high-valued crops, such as sweet onions. An extensive irrigation network soon followed, and the outstanding climate, fertile soil, and family dedication combined to create lush fields of green where they had never before existed.
Today, five generations later, the Johnson family continues to call the Carzalia Valley home, and take pride in raising high-quality produce. Home of the Carzalia Sweet Onion.
Other American varieties
Vidalia Onion
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.
Sources
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