Georgia is home to the delicious Vidalia onion, a sweet onion that only grows in thirteen counties in Georgia and parts of seven others. Typically available mid-April through September, it is synonymous with summer.
When times were hard in the Great Depression, Georgia farmers were on the hunt for a new cash crop, and since onions had promise, they gave it a whirl. The onion those Georgia farmers grew weren’t any ordinary onions though. Instead of the normal “hot” onions, these onions were sweet! It wasn’t an instant moneymaker, but as its popularity rose, it quickly became a favorite from locals and visitors alike, with visitors bringing those sweet onions home to family members who asked for them. Talk about a happy little accident!
It has since become the official state vegetable of Georgia, though it’s no longer a “southern thing”. It is now available in all 50 states and most of Canada. There are annual Vidalia onion festivals held each year in Glennville, Georgia, and Vidalia, Georgia, but if you can’t make it down, you can still get in the spirit with these delicious Vidalia onion recipes!
