What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions?

Zipper · 08-09-2006, 05:18 PM

For many years we looked forward to Vidalia Sweets and you could count on a mild great tasting product that you could almost eat like an apple.

For the last 2 or 3 years you might as well buy any off-the-shelf onion from anywhere. Somebody or some company has compromised the product and more often than not they are definitely not what they used to be.

We no longer buy Vidalia onions.

We do find Texas Sweet to be the real product and have switched permanently.

It's just like maple syrup. You make a quality product year after year and the label means something.

Mwsinron · 08-09-2006, 05:25 PM

About a month/2months ago we got some Vidalia in the supermarket. They were horrible compared to the year before. Viadlia I believe is just from the Georgia area because of the soil not a particular company. Maybe they had a bad crop?

haha · 08-09-2006, 05:26 PM

You don't make onions, you grow them. So growing conmditions may have been poor this year.
Or the ones you ate may have been stored too long, or whatever.

I don't remember any problem with the ones I ate, and I love sweet onions.

Ha

riskadverse · 08-09-2006, 05:27 PM

Don't know about Vidalias, but modern processing sometimes dictiates the qualities of vegtables. *The modern tomatoe has been engineered to take a 10mph impact when handled by machinery. *It seems that this quality and taste aren't that compatible. *

Mwsinron · 08-09-2006, 05:29 PM

Head to your local farmers market. Nothing beats fresh picked products in my book. We hit the market every Sunday morning during the summer and stockup for the week really super duper good!

Leonidas · 08-09-2006, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zipper

We no longer buy Vidalia onions.

We do find Texas Sweet to be the real product and have switched permanently

That's because the Vidalia onion originated from transplants of the Texas Granex onion. The original has been improved on since then (1952).

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publica.../onionhis.html

Marshac · 08-09-2006, 06:52 PM

We just get walla walla sweets here.... I don't know if I would eat them like an apple though. Whoa!

IntoTheMystic · 08-09-2006, 07:03 PM

Got some Vidalias at Trader Joes a week ago - nobody got up from the table and sang any hallelujahs but they were good and sweet.

Mwsinron · 08-09-2006, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IntoTheMystic

Got some Vidalias at Trader Joes a week ago - nobody got up from the table and sang any hallelujahs but they were good and sweet.

Great cheese at Trader Joes! Plus they got that nice Yellowtail wine. DW and I love that stuff.

IntoTheMystic · 08-09-2006, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mwsinron

Great cheese at Trader Joes! Plus they got that nice Yellowtail wine. DW and I love that stuff.

Great cheeses....great prices...We like the Black Mountain Zinfandel alot....for $5.99 we're getting a really good wine...

unclemick · 08-09-2006, 07:45 PM

Hmmm

Walla Walla and Vidalia I've eaten - Texas?? - not yet.

Call me an old phart but I like the plain old grilled - yellow, white, or red - the eyewatering kind with zip. Especially on a sirloin burger with ketchup.

heh heh heh

Mwsinron · 08-09-2006, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick2

Hmmm

Walla Walla* and Vidalia I've eaten - Texas?? - not yet.

Call me an old phart but I like the plain old grilled - yellow, white, or red - the eyewatering kind with zip. Especially on a sirloin burger with ketchup.

heh heh heh

Pretty good UMick. Sweeter for sure alot more sugar in them but not overly. IF you get a chance give them a whirl. Specially if you dig onions. Shelf life on them is short due to the sugar content verse a red or yellow storage onion.

Dawg54 · 08-09-2006, 08:12 PM

I had a blooming onion the another night at Outback. Those are vidalia's, aren't they? Sure was good with my cold beer.*

* Outback has to be my favorite chain restaurant.

Texas Proud · 08-10-2006, 12:13 AM

I had not heard of Vadalias until a few years ago... love them..

I do remember that there was someone who came up with a rating scale for them... that is because it is the land that gives them thier flavor.. if you planted them anywhere else, they are just an ordinary onion.. so this guy saw there were good crops and bad crops... so he wanted to know which ones were good... BUT, the growing community nixed the idea or rating them... said ANY vadalia is a vadalia... so we do not have the ratings...

I have never seen the others... I will have to start to look... I like the sweets a lot better than the strong yellows or whites.. they can take paint off the wall!!

sailor · 08-10-2006, 09:15 AM

We live 150 miles from Vidalia,GA, are using Vidalias regulary and I haven't noticed any deterioration (but we typically buy our onions from farmers markets, frequently organic ones).
We had drought problems in last two seasons, but the taste was not affected in the ones we buy.
I'll ask Mrs. Sailor, who is a gourmet chef in our house.

tangomonster · 08-10-2006, 09:40 AM

Zipper, I thought it was just me---that my taste buds were decreasing with age or that I was just too cheap to appreciate and pay for the difference between Vidalia and
regular onions. Glad to know I'm not alone, but wish they had kept the quality up....

Marshac · 08-10-2006, 09:44 AM

I still like the sweet onions over the caustic white onions... they are easier on my eyes while cutting. Supposedly if you light a candle next to the cutting area while processing onions, it won't sting your eyes........ I have tried this before....... it doesn't work, although it adds a little ambiance to the kitchen.

Are there any tricks to prevent tears that do work?

HFWR · 08-10-2006, 09:48 AM

Use a sharp knife, and chop real fast...

:P

Leonidas · 08-10-2006, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marshac

I still like the sweet onions over the caustic white onions... they are easier on my eyes while cutting. Supposedly if you light a candle next to the cutting area while processing onions, it won't sting your eyes........ I have tried this before....... it doesn't work, although it adds a little ambiance to the kitchen.

Are there any tricks to prevent tears that do work?

Do it near the sink, and if you start to tear up just run your hands under cold running water until your eyes clear. I've also heard you can cut the onion under running water or put the onion in the freezer for ten minutes before chopping - but i've never bothered to try those.

Marshac · 08-10-2006, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR

Use a sharp knife, and chop real fast...*

:P

I lost about 1/8" of my thumb that way....

08-09-2006, 05:18 PM	#1
Zipper Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 802	What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? For many years we looked forward to Vidalia Sweets and you could count on a mild great tasting product that you could almost eat like an apple. For the last 2 or 3 years you might as well buy any off-the-shelf onion from anywhere. Somebody or some company has compromised the product and more often than not they are definitely not what they used to be. We no longer buy Vidalia onions. We do find Texas Sweet to be the real product and have switched permanently. It's just like maple syrup. You make a quality product year after year and the label means something.

08-09-2006, 05:25 PM	#2
Mwsinron Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 718	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? About a month/2months ago we got some Vidalia in the supermarket. They were horrible compared to the year before. Viadlia I believe is just from the Georgia area because of the soil not a particular company. Maybe they had a bad crop?

08-09-2006, 05:26 PM	#3
haha Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Seattle Posts: 8,482	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? You don't make onions, you grow them. So growing conmditions may have been poor this year. Or the ones you ate may have been stored too long, or whatever. I don't remember any problem with the ones I ate, and I love sweet onions. Ha __________________ "Show 'em just enough to win the turkey."- Former KY Governor Bert Combs

08-09-2006, 05:27 PM	#4
riskadverse Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 652	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? Don't know about Vidalias, but modern processing sometimes dictiates the qualities of vegtables. The modern tomatoe has been engineered to take a 10mph impact when handled by machinery. It seems that this quality and taste aren't that compatible. * __________________ San Diego . . . Hell on Earth!

08-09-2006, 05:29 PM	#5
Mwsinron Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 718	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? Head to your local farmers market. Nothing beats fresh picked products in my book. We hit the market every Sunday morning during the summer and stockup for the week really super duper good!

08-09-2006, 06:52 PM	#7
Marshac Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 904	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? We just get walla walla sweets here.... I don't know if I would eat them like an apple though. Whoa!

08-09-2006, 07:03 PM	#8
IntoTheMystic Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 179	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? Got some Vidalias at Trader Joes a week ago - nobody got up from the table and sang any hallelujahs but they were good and sweet. __________________ Diners Drive-ins Roadhouses Joints and Dives (and Cafes and Delis too)

08-09-2006, 07:45 PM	#11
unclemick Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: north of Kansas City Posts: 5,557	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? Hmmm Walla Walla and Vidalia I've eaten - Texas?? - not yet. Call me an old phart but I like the plain old grilled - yellow, white, or red - the eyewatering kind with zip. Especially on a sirloin burger with ketchup. heh heh heh

08-09-2006, 08:12 PM	#13
Dawg54 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Mississippi Posts: 3,228	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? I had a blooming onion the another night at Outback. Those are vidalia's, aren't they? Sure was good with my cold beer.* * Outback has to be my favorite chain restaurant. __________________ The born loser.

08-10-2006, 12:13 AM	#14
Texas Proud Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3,052	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? I had not heard of Vadalias until a few years ago... love them.. I do remember that there was someone who came up with a rating scale for them... that is because it is the land that gives them thier flavor.. if you planted them anywhere else, they are just an ordinary onion.. so this guy saw there were good crops and bad crops... so he wanted to know which ones were good... BUT, the growing community nixed the idea or rating them... said ANY vadalia is a vadalia... so we do not have the ratings... I have never seen the others... I will have to start to look... I like the sweets a lot better than the strong yellows or whites.. they can take paint off the wall!!

08-10-2006, 09:15 AM	#15
sailor Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 366	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? We live 150 miles from Vidalia,GA, are using Vidalias regulary and I haven't noticed any deterioration (but we typically buy our onions from farmers markets, frequently organic ones). We had drought problems in last two seasons, but the taste was not affected in the ones we buy. I'll ask Mrs. Sailor, who is a gourmet chef in our house.

08-10-2006, 09:40 AM	#16
tangomonster Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 569	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? Zipper, I thought it was just me---that my taste buds were decreasing with age or that I was just too cheap to appreciate and pay for the difference between Vidalia and regular onions. Glad to know I'm not alone, but wish they had kept the quality up.... __________________ A wise woman should have money in her head, but not in her heart---Jonathan Swift

08-10-2006, 09:44 AM	#17
Marshac Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 904	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? I still like the sweet onions over the caustic white onions... they are easier on my eyes while cutting. Supposedly if you light a candle next to the cutting area while processing onions, it won't sting your eyes........ I have tried this before....... it doesn't work, although it adds a little ambiance to the kitchen. Are there any tricks to prevent tears that do work?

08-10-2006, 09:48 AM	#18
HFWR Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: May 2005 Location: DFW Posts: 5,437	Re: What Happened to Vidalia Sweet Onions? Use a sharp knife, and chop real fast... :P __________________ Have Fun When Retired Never mind the furthermore, the plea is self defense...

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