French Onion Soup wasn’t the only reason Julia Child said, “It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions.” As far back as 3200 B.C., the onion was so central to our daily diet that it appeared in Egyptian tomb paintings, providing snacks for the dearly departed on their trip to the afterlife.
In 1493, Christopher Columbus made room for onions on his space-challenged Santa Maria bound for the Caribbean, introducing onions to the New World.
Today, onions rank second or third in U.S. vegetable sales, with the National Onion Association estimating that Americans each eat about 20 pounds of onions per year.
And right now is my favorite onion season!
“Ode to the West Wind”, Percy Bysshe Shelley (English Romantic poet, 1792-1822)
Winter onions are the familiar white, brown, yellow and red globe onions. These are harvested fully mature and stored to be available year-round. Over time, winter onions lose moisture, concentrating the sulphury pungency that often has us wishing we had a toothbrush handy.
But Spring is sweet onion season. Georgia’s Vidalia onions are available throughout Chicagoland in April. (To guarantee you’re buying a bona fide Vidalia, look for tags with PLU# 4159.) Specialty shops may stock Washington’s Walla Walla onions beginning mid-June. Other sweet onions are Maui and Texas Spring Sweet, which I’ve never seen in this market.
Sweet onions are harvested before full maturity, with a high water content making them juicy but limiting shelf life to about 60 days. High water content also means sweet onions need longer cooking. But with plenty of natural sugars (particularly fructose) and less sulfur, sweet onions are enjoyable raw – like a crudité - as well as in dishes prepared for folks sensitive to pungent flavors.
There are plenty of recipes online, but for a deep dive, there will be Vidalia's galore at the Vidalia Onion Festival, April 24-27, 2025 in Vidalia, Georgia.
Sweeter for the Sweets
Even the delicate sweetness from a sweet or caramelized onion will morph bone-dry wine into bitter flavor. Georgia isn’t known for wine, but the folks who brought us Tarte à l’Oignon (Onion Tart, Alsace, France) and Kasnocken (Austrian spaetzle with onions and cheese) are.
The Chopping Block offers these delicately sweet wines to complement sweet and caramelized onion dishes:
- Pinot Blanc, Domaine Emile Beyer "Tradition" 2020/2021, Alsace, France ($26.00): Inviting aromas of white flowers with just-ripe pear and apple flavors and bright acidity.
- Riesling, Schloss Gobelsburg "Gobelsburger" 2021, Kamptal, Austria ($31.50): Dry but lush with nectarine flavor intertwined with mineral complexity and refreshing finish.
An Onion Fiesta
On a recent trip to Spain’s northern Catalonia region (the current World Region of Gastronomy according to International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts, and Tourism), I was treated to a Calçotada, the spring fiesta that no Catalan will do without. With grills ablaze with vine trimmings, Calçots - the regional spring onion – are charred black, then stripped of their outer layer, dipped in Romesco sauce, and eaten with head thrown back, as we would a slice of pizza. Here’s yours truly, enjoying a Calçotada, followed by a traditional assortment of meats:
For wine, Catalans serve their local Garnatxa (in French, Grenache), as well as Spain’s premium sparkling wine, Cava. TCB plans to add both to our list, but in the meantime, here’s my Daily Herald column with Cava recommendations. Note: There’s a paywall after 1 view per month.
When TCB’s patio opens, our Spanish Wine & Tapas class will feature this recipe for Grilled Spring Onions (though not grilled over vines and not charred black) with Romesco sauce.
We are thrilled to welcome a special winemaker all of the way from Tuscany, Italy for a meet and greet tasting today from 5pm-6pm at Lincoln Square. Meet Roberto Stucchi Prinetti of Badia a Coltibuono in Chianti as he leads a tasting of three of his organic wines.
Roberto's mother Lorenza de Medici founded the first cooking school in Tuscany and it is there where our Cook Like a Tuscan travelers enjoy one of the four cooking classes on our tour. Roberto is a trailblazer among the new generation of winemakers, seamlessly blending his family's legacy with a modern approach to winemaking. Don't miss your chance to meet him today!