Tears Run Rings? Not With Vidalias

About author / Josh Gunn

Bachelor chef; southern cooking; mixologist; university professor. Josh's recipes will delight (and sometimes terrify) you.

Who knows what Mark Almond is getting on about when he sings "tears run rings around my eyes?" Not me! But I'm pretty sure he's not singing about cutting a soft-celled onion. And even if that song is about onions (well, some would say it stinks like one), I am darn sure it's not about Vidalia onions, which are just starting to go out of season.

Unlike a spicy or "hot" onion, Vidalias are sweet and you can bite into 'em like an apple! And because they are sweet, they don't make your eyes burn when you cut 'em. So, you bachelors out there who are not fond of onions, seek out a Vidalia---you don't have much time left!

Vidalias are officially grown in a certain region of southern Georgia. Their discovery begins during the Great Depression, when a Georgia farmer discovered the onions he planted tasted different. According to the InterTubes, he had trouble selling them at first, but soon people learned to appreciate and enjoy the onions. Other farmers in the area started growing them, and they ended up in a farmer's market in Vidalia. These "sweet onions" eventually were dubbed "Vidalia Sweet Onions" because they were simply sold in a market in Vidalia, Georgia.

As the industry grew, the Georgia legislature passed a bill that protected the name "Vidalia Sweet Onion" to a certain defined area in south Georgia. As a favor to the state, the feds also followed suit and now the onion variety is officially trademarked and off limits to farmers in other states! Heck, Georgia even made the Vidalia onion the official state vegetable in 1990.

Now, my home state of Texas made the sweet onion its state vegetable in 1997. I must confess, however, the Vidalia onion tastes much better, and apparently this is because of the unusually low amount of sulfur in the soil in southern Georgia. The onions are so mild, I can remember eating them on a slice of cheddar cheese at my grandmother's house as a kid—that and Diet Coke, which was granny's favorite drink next to coffee (and, er, buttermilk—yuck!).

I got to thinking about onions because at a Georgia barbecue event with friends last week, the host served up some delicious onion dip. I am usually very suspicious of party dips because: (a) you don't know what's in that mush nor who brought it; and (b) they're not typically good. Dips usually come out of a tub someone bought on sale at a huge grocery store, or are made with something that processes animal toxins (like liver—yuck!). This dip, however, was made with Vidalia onions, and I swear I could have eaten the stuff right out of the bowl with a spoon. It was sweet and savory and very, well, very dippy, but in a good way. It was a bit thick, so you needed a sturdy, ridged chip or veggie for dipping (thin potato chips would simply not do the job here). This dip, if fact, was the first stuff to disappear—and long before the burgers were done!

Serves/Makes: 8

• 2 large Vidalia onions
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 package (3 ounce size) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• hot pepper sauce, to taste
• pita chips or other dippers