These aren’t just your average green onions — these are baby Walla Wallas!
Onions have a whopping load of polyphenols, the largest phytonutrient family. Phytonutrients are plant chemicals that offer a whole host of benefits for human health.
Onions also have a rich history, as they have been cultivated for over 5,000 years. They were highly regarded by Egyptians, who used them as currency to pay the laborers building the pyramids, and were placed in the tombs of kings as gifts to be carried to the afterlife.
Walla Walla onions are known for being “sweet,” but it is actually a lack of pungency, due to the low-sulfur soils in that region of Washington state. According to the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Commission in Walla Walla, Washington:
“The story of the Walla Walla sweet onions began over a century ago on the Island of Corsica, off the west coast of Italy. It was there that a French soldier, Peter Pieri, found a sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley.
“This sweet onion developed over generations through the process of carefully hand selecting onions from each year’s crop, ensuring exceptional sweetness, jumbo size, and round shape. Today’s growers realize they’re not just raising sweet onions, but cultivating a tradition.”
Even onions have their story!