The story of the Walla Walla Sweet Onion began over a century ago on the Island of Corsica, off the West Coast of Italy. It was there that a French soldier, Peter Pieri, found an Italian sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley. Impressed by the onion’s winter hardiness, Pieri, and Italian immigrant farmers who comprised much of Walla Walla’s gardening industry, harvested the seed.

This sweet onion developed over several generations through the process of carefully hand selecting onions from each year’s crop, ensuring exceptional sweetness, jumbo size, and round shape. Today, growers realize they’re not just raising sweet onions, they’re cultivating a tradition.

Walla Walla Sweet Onions get their sweetness from a unique blending of natural ingredients. First, there’s the low sulphur content. It’s half that of an ordinary yellow onion. Second, Walla Walla Sweets are 90 percent water. Finally, combining those elements with Walla Walla’s mild climate and rich soil grows an onion that’s wildly acclaimed for all its sweetness.

Walla Walla sweet onions are available mid-June through mid-August. No bite, no tears, just exceptional sweetness. For a complete list of handlers write to the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee, P.O. Box 644, Walla Walla, WA 99362 or visit www.sweetonions.org.

Enjoying your Sweets

These summertime Sweets taste best fresh, tossed in salads or make wonderful toppings for pizzas or fillings for quiches. Look for a round shape, elongated neck, and dry, paper-thin skin when buying Walla Walla Sweet Onions.

Avoid storing your Sweets with apples, celery, and pears, as onions will absorb the odors of other vegetables.

If kept separate in a cool, ventilated location, the Sweets can be stored for up to six weeks. Or chop the Sweets and place them in sealed bags in the freezer and you’ll be able to enjoy the taste year round.