The distinction between biting into a pointy storage onion and a freshly harvested candy onion is night time and day. Candy onions are gentle sufficient to eat uncooked (albeit in modest quantities) with out overpowering every part else in your plate. Plus, they caramelize fantastically when cooked.
The draw back is that candy onions don’t retailer so long as their stronger-flavored relations. However should you’re prepared to make use of them inside a couple of weeks, the flavour is totally definitely worth the trade-off. Some yellow onions even have the traits of a candy onion with higher storage capabilities, supplying you with the very best of each worlds.
These 5 varieties are among the many finest candy onions for dwelling gardeners that truly ship on taste.
Walla Walla Bulb Onion
Walla Walla Bulb Onion Seeds
Texas Early Grano Bulb Onion
Texas Early Grano Bulb Onion Seeds
Gladstone Onion
‘Yellow Candy Spanish Utah’
This selection is a stable all-around performer that’s been in style with dwelling gardeners for many years. The bulbs develop giant, typically reaching 4 inches or extra in diameter. They’ve gentle yellow flesh and a basic candy onion taste.
‘Yellow Candy Spanish Utah’ is a long-day selection, so it wants 14 to 16 hours of daylight to kind bulbs. For those who’re in zones 3 by 6, this can be a dependable selection that performs persistently yr after yr.
The onions mature in about 110 to 130 days from transplanting, placing harvest someplace in mid to late summer season, relying on if you began them. They’re versatile within the kitchen, working equally nicely uncooked in salads or cooked in dishes the place you need that gentle sweetness to come back by with out the sharp chew.
These are extra pungent than true candy onions, so use them sparingly. After curing, they’ll final a couple of weeks in storage, nevertheless it’s finest to make use of them sooner fairly than later.
‘Texas Early Grano’
For those who’re within the South or one other warm-climate area, ‘Texas Early Grano’ is likely one of the finest candy onion choices obtainable. This short-day selection wants solely 10 to 12 hours of daylight to bulb, making it preferrred for gardeners in zones 7 by 11 who can plant in fall for a spring harvest.
The onions are giant and flat with pale yellow pores and skin and exceptionally gentle, candy flesh. They’re prepared to reap sooner than most different varieties, maturing in round 100 to 110 days from transplanting.
‘Texas Early Grano’ has a status for being one of many sweetest varieties you may develop, genuinely gentle sufficient to slice thick and eat uncooked on sandwiches or burgers. The feel is crisp and juicy. Nevertheless, like all candy onions, they’ve a restricted storage life.
This selection thrives in heat climate and may deal with warmth higher than many different candy onions. For those who’ve struggled with onions in scorching climates earlier than, this one is value attempting.
‘Walla Walla’
Named after the Washington area the place it was developed, ‘Walla Walla’ might be probably the most well-known candy onion selection within the nation. It’s an heirloom that’s been grown for the reason that early 1900s, prized for its giant dimension and distinctive sweetness.
‘Walla Walla’ is a long-day selection requiring 14 to 16 hours of daylight to kind bulbs, so it’s finest suited to northern gardeners in zones 3 by 6. The bulbs can develop impressively giant beneath good circumstances, typically exceeding a pound every. They’ve golden-brown pores and skin and white, gentle flesh that’s candy and juicy.
The flavour is excellent when recent, with that signature candy onion mildness that makes it good for consuming uncooked. These onions mature inside 125 days from planting, relying in your local weather and planting time.
Storage is the place ‘Walla Walla’ falls quick. Use them shortly after harvest, as they have a tendency to melt and deteriorate sooner than many different onion varieties.
‘Yellow Granex PRR’
‘Yellow Granex PRR’ is a short-day selection bred for illness resistance, making it a superb selection for gardeners coping with pink root of their soil. This fungal illness can devastate onion crops, however ‘Yellow Granex PRR’ has been chosen for tolerance (indicated by the title), permitting it to supply nicely even when circumstances aren’t good.
The onions are giant with gentle yellow pores and skin and candy, gentle white flesh. They’re related in taste to ‘Texas Early Grano’ however with the added good thing about that illness resistance. For those who’ve had hassle with onions prior to now as a consequence of soil-borne ailments, this selection is value attempting.
‘Yellow Granex PRR’ wants 10 to 12 hours of daylight to bulb correctly, so it’s suited to southern gardeners in zones 7 by 10. The onions mature in about 100 to 160 days from transplanting, relying on rising circumstances.
These onions are versatile within the kitchen with that attribute candy onion mildness, stated to be the sweetest of the candy onions. They work nicely each uncooked and cooked, although they honestly shine when used recent.
‘Gladstone’
‘Gladstone’ combines the very best traits of candy onions with improved uniformity and illness resistance. It’s an intermediate-day onion requiring 12 to 14 hours of daylight, rising finest in the course of the U.S. in latitudes 32 to 42.
The bulbs are spherical and uniform with golden-brown pores and skin and exceptionally candy white flesh. ‘Gladstone’ produces persistently even in less-than-ideal circumstances, which makes it extra forgiving for newbie gardeners who don’t have good soil or preferrred rising climate.
The onions mature in about 110 days and attain a great dimension with out requiring extreme fertilization or good rising circumstances. The flavour is good however nonetheless punchy, working nicely in any software the place you’d use a candy onion.
For those who’re on the lookout for reliability and consistency in a candy onion selection, notably should you’re newer to rising onions, ‘Gladstone’ is a brilliant selection.