50 ways to eat a Vidalia Onion

April 20 was the official “Shipping Date” that began the 2009 Vidalia® Onion Marketing Season. The onions have started arriving in stores, and some of Georgia’s leaders as well as regular citizens are sharing their favorite ways to eat the world’s favorite onion.

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin shows his rural roots when he says he is especially fond of eating them with black-eyed peas and cornbread for lunch at the office. For Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Terry Coleman, it’s a couple of Vidalia onion slices on whole wheat bread with mustard, mayo and some salt and pepper. State Representative Tom McCall likes them microwaved with butter and a little salt and pepper. State Rep. Butch Parrish says “My wife makes a dip with Vidalia onions, cheese and lite mayonnaise that is perfect for any kind of chip or cracker.” State Senator John Bulloch says “They’re great as a side dish for about anything.”

A quick survey of employees at the Georgia Department of Agriculture revealed even more alternatives including Vidalia onions marinated in soy sauce and olive oil and grilled, baked in foil with butter or a bullion cube, thinly sliced on a peanut butter sandwich, in salads, cut up in vinegar with banana peppers and tomatoes, in baked beans, marinated in Italian or balsamic dressing and grilled until slightly tender, in a sandwich with tomato, as onion rings, in Vidalia onion and rice casserole, and straight as a complement to the meal and not part of any dish.
The Vidalia onion is truly versatile as well as tasty.

There must be at least 50 ways to eat one:

Dice it in your dip, Chip,
Chip it in your beef, Chief,
In your tartar sauce, Boss,
And your seafood, Dude,
On your burger patty, Mattie,
Raw and plain, Elaine,
With a little salt, Walt,
With your cornbread, Fred,
Along with your greens, Eugene,
On top of your chili, Willie,
With any cheese, Louise,
With green eggs and ham, Sam,
In a caboose, Dr. Seuss,
With bacon, in Macon,
With your pâté, Kay-tay,
Wrestle it with a fork, Mickey Rourke,
With your bare hand, Ms. Streisand,
Grab one to go, Joe,
Take it a la carte, Bart,
With butterbeans, Billie Jean,
With any veggie, Reggie,
Now with a ‘mater, not later,
Sliced thin, Ben,
With buttermilk-a, Mr. Rilke,
On a sandwich, Rich,
At the church picnic, Rick,
As an hors d'oeuvre, Merv,
In French cuisine, Celine,
With tomato aspic, Nick,
With fried okra, Oprah,
Dining at the Ritz, Fritz,
Chew it with joy, Roy,
Bite it with glee, Lee
In your sa-lad, Vlad,
Mince it, Vincent,
Slip it in your stew, Lou,
Pop it in your squash, Josh,
As an appetizah, Liza,
In a casserole, Dr. Scholl,
Put it in a quiche, capice!
Without sweat, Chet,
Sauté it in a pan, Stan,
With a fine sherry, Terry,
Or a cabernet, Renee,
Right off the grill, Phil,
On a kebob, Rob,
With biscuits and gravy, Davy,
With a pickled beet, Pete,
In a pocket of pita, Rita,
Any way, Kay.
Today, Ray.

Vidalia onions are a uniquely Georgia crop and are only produced in a 20-county growing area in the southeastern part of the state.

What is your favorite way to eat a Vidalia? For more recipes see http://www.vidaliaonion.org/index.php .

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