I am patiently awaiting the shipment of Vidalia onions which will be sold by the El Zagel Shrine in Fargo. They are America’s favorite sweet onions that were first grown in the Vidalia, GA area in the 1930’s. The season for the Vidalia onions is from late April to early August. These onions are hand planted, hand-harvested and are grown in several counties in Georgia where the low amount of sulphur in the soil gives them the sweet flavor. The Vidalia onion was named the Georgia’s state vegetable in 1990. There has been an annual Vidalia Onion festival in that area for over thirty years.

A cousin of mine in Montana shared an onion salad/relish recipe with me a few years back. I cannot find that recipe, but did some searching on the internet and found this recipe is very close to the one that I had from her. The recipe that I used had poppy seeds in it but I will try this one as soon as I get the onions.

Onion Salad/Relish

3-4 Large Vidalia onions

1 Cup sugar

2 Cups water

1/2 Cup white vinegar

1/2 Cup mayonnaise

1 Teaspoon celery salt

Peel and dice onions (I prepare thinly sliced onions) (you should have about 6 cups)

In a large bowl dissolve sugar in vinegar and water. Add onion; stir to mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 days.

The onions reduce in volume while marinating. When fully marinated, drain onions and add the mayonnaise and celery salt in large bowl. Mix well, cover and refrigerate; serve chilled. This should yield about 4 1/2 cups and keeps up to a week in the refrigerator. Serve as side dish with fish, chicken or meat. This can also be served with whole grain crackers or tortilla chips.

Onion breath? Chew on sprigs of fresh parsley, citrus peel or rinse your mouth with lemon juice and water.