Last week I cooked up some French Onion Soup. It's not a difficult recipe to follow, it just takes some time and patience, and lots and lots of onions. I chose to do it at this time of the year because the new crop of Vidalia onions are just now being harvested. They are not like the rest of the members of the allum family that includes garlic, chives and leeks. Vidalias are uncharacteristically sweet onions that are planted in September through February and are harvested by hand due to their delicate nature, from late April into mid-June. They are planted at the density of anywhere between 70,000 to 80,000 plants an acre and it's all about location.
The production area of Vidalia onions is defined by Georgia law and the United States Code of Federal Regulations. They are only permitted to be grown in 13 counties in the Peach Tree State and in portions of 7 other Georgia counties.
Moses Coleman is credited with first developing the different onion on his Vidalia, Georgia farm in 1931. He noticed that his onions didn't taste hot like all the others, but were sweet instead and soon learned that it was due to the sandy loam soil that was lacking in sulphur content. This gave the onions their sweetness. He capitalized on his discovery and began to sell fifty pound bags of his new product at the unheard of price in the depression of $3.50. It was a big hit and soon other nearby farmers found economic viability doing the same. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Now Vidalia onions are a major cash crop for those fortunate farmers who live within the regulated boundaries of those Georgia counties. It has become so much of a way of life there that each April there is a Vidalia Onion Festival. Mark your calendars for 2014!
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