SWEET SURRENDER

The creation of the first sweet onion, said Wendy Brannen, was a fluke.

Brannen, executive director of The Vidalia Onion Committee -- which promotes that first sweet onion that's the granddaddy of them all -- said that back in the '30s, farmers in the vicinity of Vidalia in middle Georgia were looking for a new cash crop, because the traditional row crops, such as cotton and tobacco, weren't yielding the best results. They decided to experiment with onions.

"They expected them to be just like any old onion, but they turned out sweet," Brannen said.

At first, the farmers weren't sure what to do about their extra-sweet onions, but then they realized people were talking them up.

"It turned out a lot of people really liked them," she said. "You still get the taste of the onion, but you don't get that pungent, hot flavor."

Today, the Vidalia onion is trademarked, its growing region protected by state and federal law. The sweetness comes from a soil that's low in sulfur and a mild winter climate.

Plus, Brannen said, sweet onions require more labor and TLC than regular onions, known in the trade as "storage onions" because they're picked in the fall and gradually released over the next year.

"A big part of what makes Vidalias so sweet is they have a high water content," she said. "Any time you have a product with a higher water content, it's going to be more susceptible to bruising or cutting. They have to be stored very carefully. They're still hand-planted and hand-harvested, just like they were back in the '30s."

The Vidalia season is from late April to mid-September, Brannen said. They're shipped commercially across the United States by a consortium of growers, and are appearing in an increasing number of grocery stores. But, Brannen noted, there's a proliferation of sweet onions today.

"There are a lot of good sweet onions other than Vidalia out there, but you have to be careful," she said, listing Texas (SpringSweets and Texas 1015) and Walla Walla among them.

Rodger Helwig is marketing director for OsoSweet onions, which are grown in Chile and have generally been available from January through March, although the company is about to release its first test crop from Texas and plans to eventually become a year-round supplier of sweet onions.

Helwig said the consumption of sweet onions has "exploded" during the past 15 years.

"When we came onto the scene 20 years ago, they were just a spring/summer thing," he said. "We were the pioneers in wintertime. What happened was that sweet onions became available in supermarkets and produce stands year-round. When any produce item is available year-round, it becomes mainstream. People can rely on it."

Brannen said sweet onions can be used raw or cooked in any recipe that calls for regular onions. And Helwig noted that Americans are consuming more onions in general -- up from 10 or 11 pounds per person in 1970 to about 20 pounds in 2000.

"That's a heck of a leap," he said, crediting it to increased consumption of particularly flavorful foods as part of a move to cut down on things such as fat and sugar, plus a greater acceptance in this country of ethnic foods. Onions are used in every cuisine, he noted, and are the most consumed vegetable in the world. And sweet onions, he said, make up 30 percent to 35 percent of total U.S. onion sales.

Helwig said Osos cook and caramelize better than other sweet onions because they're cured longer. But when Mark LoRusso, executive chef of Tableau at Wynn Las Vegas, uses sweet onions in his onion soup, he generally uses Vidalias, and the water content is no obstacle. His Vidalia sweet onion soup, LoRusso said, is "kind of a takeoff" on the traditional onion soup.

"You don't caramelize (the onions), so it keeps that nice white color," LoRusso said; he adds a touch of creme fraiche.

Another LoRusso favorite: lobster and sweet onion soup with white lobster stock and either lobster meat or lobster ravioli. And sweet onion mashed potatoes: He cooks the onions in cream, letting them steep, and then straining them "so you have a sweet onion cream" to mix with the potatoes. One of his favorite ways to serve them is with scallops.

Brannen stressed that Vidalia and other sweet onions should be stored differently than regular storage onions. While storage onions should be kept in a dry, fairly dark place, "with a sweet onion, you really want to keep that in the refrigerator if you're keeping it longer than 10 days," she said. She suggests wrapping each individually in a paper towel and putting them in the crisper. Brannen said she used her last Vidalia onion from last season just a couple of weeks ago.

"You may have a few that go bad," she said. "The key is to keep them very cool and very dry."

BEER-BATTERED

VIDALIA ONION RINGS

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 cup beer

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large Vidalia onions

4 cups oil

Combine flour, cornmeal, beer and salt in a bowl using a wire whisk. Let sit 3 to 31/2 hours at room temperature. Preheat oven to 200 degrees, 30 minutes before batter is ready.

Slice onions about 1 inch thick and separate into rings. Heat oil to 350 degrees.

Dip onion rings in batter; shake gently and fry until brown. Place in casserole dish (don't stack) and keep warm.

This recipe freezes well.

-- Recipe adapted from The Vidalia Onion Committee

PEAR & VIDALIA ONION SALSA

2 cups chopped Vidalia onions

1 cup diced unpeeled pear

1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper (from a 7-ounce jar)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

3/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl combine Vidalia onions, pear, red pepper, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for as long as 2 days.

Serve with grilled seafood, chicken or hamburgers.

Serves 6.

-- Recipe from The Vidalia Onion Committee

SLOW-ROASTED

VIDALIA ONION SOUP

6 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions, outer layers removed

1/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil

2 leeks, white part only, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 quarts chicken stock or canned broth, low sodium

1 cup sweet sherry

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme

Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste

1 bunch fresh chives for garnish

Wrap each onion separately in aluminum foil and place in a 300-degree oven (or in the coals of a fireplace or grill pit) until onions feel tender all the way through, about 11/2 to 2 hours.

Heat oil in a large pot. Add leek and celery; cook until softened but not browned. Remove onions from foil, quarter and add to pot. Add chicken stock and sherry. Simmer about 45 minutes. Stir in cream and thyme. Remove from heat.

In batches, puree mixture in a blender until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish each serving with chives and serve.

Serves 12.

-- Recipe from www.sweetonionsource.com

STEAK AND SWEET ONION SALAD

1 pound flank steak

11/4 teaspoons salt (divided use)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 cups leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 cups thinly sliced cucumber

1 cup thinly sliced sweet red bell pepper

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 to 2 cloves finely minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root (optional)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

About 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Season steak with about 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the ground black pepper. Grill over hot coals or a gas flame, turning once, until cooked to desired doneness. (Alternatively, broil 1 to 2 inches from the heating element in oven, until desired doneness). Remove from heat source and let the meat sit for 5 minutes (or longer) while you prepare the dressing and salad.

In a large salad bowl, combine the lettuce, onion, cucumber and bell peppers; set aside in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, remaining 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper and about 1/4 teaspoon of the remaining salt. Whisk in the olive oil and sesame oil; taste and adjust seasonings.

When ready to serve, cut the meat into thin slices, across the grain and slightly on the diagonal (that will create the most tender slice).

Toss the dressing with the chilled salad, sprinkle in about 1/4 cup of the shredded Parmesan cheese and toss again. Arrange one-fourth of the mixture on each of four dinner plates.

Divide the slices of meat on the salads, arranging them around and on the lettuce.

Top each salad with a portion of the remaining shredded Parmesan and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

-- Recipe from www.sweetonionsource.com

SWEET ONION & APPLE

UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Nonfat cooking spray

1 medium sweet onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch slices

1/3 cup reduced-calorie stick margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

Confectioners' sugar

Batter:

4 egg whites

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

11/2 teaspoon baking powder

5 ounces skim milk

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally spray 2 baking sheets with nonfat cooking spray. Place onions on one baking sheet and apple slices on the other. Bake onions until caramelized, for about 1 hour. Bake apples for about 4-5 minutes; remove from oven and set aside.

Melt margarine in a 10-inch skillet and add brown sugar. Stir with wooden spoon until dissolved. Remove pan from heat, add caramelized onions and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy and add flour, baking powder, milk and sugar until well incorporated. Spray a 9-inch baking pan with nonfat cooking spray and then line with parchment paper. Layer brown sugar-onion mixture on parchment paper. Place the sliced apples over the onions. Press down to fill gaps between the apples. Cover with batter and bake about 45 minutes or until center tests clean. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Reverse the pan onto a serving tray and lightly dust with confectioners' sugar.

Serves 8.

-- Recipe from www.sweetonionsource.com

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.