Frequently Asked Questions
What is the nutritional value of a Vidalia® Sweet Onion?
Serving Size 1 medium Vidalia® Sweet Onion (148 g), Calories 60, Protein 1 g, Carbohydrate 16 g, Total Fat 0, Saturated Fat 0, Sodium 5 mg, Potassium 200 mg, Dietary Fiber 3 g, Vitamin C 15%, Calcium 4%, Iron 2%
What is the key to preserving Vidalia® Sweet Onions?
- In the refrigerator, wrapped separately in paper towels or newspaper. This method is expensive and takes up precious refrigerator space, but can preserve Vidalia® Sweet Onions for a longer period of time.
- In the legs of clean, sheer pantyhose. Tie a knot between each Vidalia® and cut above the knot when you want one. Hang in a cool, dry well-ventilated area.
- On elevated racks or screens, not touching and in a cool place.
- Vidalia® Sweet Onions can be chopped and dried in the oven. Use the lowest setting and remove when thoroughly dry but not brown. Store at room temperature in airtight containers.
- Vidalia® Sweet Onions can also be frozen. Chop and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen, remove and place in freezer containers or bags, and seal. This allows you to remove the amount you want when you want it. Or, freeze whole. Jumbos can be peeled, washed, cored and dropped into a plastic bag. Once frozen, they can be removed like ice cubes. Freezing changes the Vidalia® Sweet Onions' texture, so frozen Vidalia® Sweet Onions should be used for cooking only. Whole frozen Vidalias® can be baked.
Where does the Vidalia® Sweet Onion originally come from?
The Vidalia® Sweet Onion story takes root in Toombs County, Georgia over 60 years ago, when a farmer by the name of Mose Coleman discovered in the late spring of 1931 that the onions he had planted were not hot, as he expected. They were sweet!
It was a struggle to sell the onions at first, but Coleman persevered, and managed to sell them for $3.50 per 50-pound bag, which in those days was a big price.
What is the planting season for Vidalia® Sweet Onions?
Farmers plant Vidalia® Sweet Onions from September through February. About 70,000 plants are produced on each acre. Approximately 138 growers cultivate Vidalias® on 13,000 to 14,500 acres.
What type of soil is best for Vidalia® Sweet Onions?
Vidalia® Sweet Onions flourish in the sandy loan soil and mild conditions - temperatures average in the mid-50s in the winter and mid-70s in the spring, with an average rainfall of 3-1/2 inches during the growing season.
Where is the region Vidalia® Sweet Onions are grown?
The Federal Marketing Order No. 955 program covers onions produced in the following counties in Southeast Georgia: Appling, Bacon, Bulloch, Candler, Emanuel, Evans, Jeff Davis, Montgomery, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen and Wheeler, as well as portions of Dodge, Jenkins, Laurens, Long, Pierce, Screven and Wayne.
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