Vidalia onions are known in Georgia for their mild and sweet flavor. But did you know Georgia is the only state that can legally grow these Vidalia onions? And only in 20 counties.
In 1986 Georgia’s Legislation passed a law giving Vidalia onions legal status. So how did these sweet onions get invented here, if you will?
There was a farmer in the Vidalia, Georgia area in the year of 1931 by the name of Moses Coleman that had decided to plant a crop of onions to sell to the public. But when Mr. Coleman went to harvest his onions they were not at all what he was expecting them to be. Instead of having a strong odorous flavor they were really sweet and mild.
Since Mr. Coleman had grown these onions to sell to the townspeople he loaded them up and took them into town to sell them but no one wanted to buy them at first because of the mild taste. After much persuasion he was finally able to sell all of his onions at a much higher price than he had orginally planned. Since this was during the Great Depression this opened the other farmers eyes around him and they wondered if their land in the area would produce these sweet onions as well. And it did!
So, in 1940 the town of Vidalia started a farmer’s market and begin selling these sweet, mild onions to anyone that would come and word spread fast about these wonderful, sweet and mild onions.
The Vidalia onion was named as the state of Georgia’s official vegetable in 1990.
Gracie Latrelle 
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