Mildest sweet onion is in first year of production

Sweet onions have certainly gained footholds in the market, thanks to the big buzz created by Vidalia marketing, but the title of sweetest onion of all likely now has to be handed to the HoneySweet onion. The HoneySuckle red onion was recently introduced in limited quantities at the CPMA tradeshow in Toronto. 

“People were eating it by the handfuls,” said Matthew Bradley, about visitors from the recent CPMA show stopping by the booth. In fact the bowl of candy on the table still looked pretty full; seems like they weren’t really needed after all. The company wanted to pursue a “really sweet onion”, according to Bradley, for a 12-month a year program.

After taking five years to develop, this year is the HoneySweet’s first commercial production. “It’s the mildest onion in the world,” he said. With pyruvates (level of acidity that makes it hot) between 1 – 2.5 it tops the list for sweetness and mild flavor without that onion burn. A high sugar level doesn't necessarily mean it will be a sweet onion. Bradley says if the pyruvate is also high it will still be hot. The HoneySweet is grown in south Texas, Georgia, New Mexico and also Peru. It’s currently available within Texas and some retailers in Florida. By the end of June it should also be available to some Canadian retailers.

Growing conditions were a little tougher due to the warm weather during the growing period. “It was a challenging year to grow them,” said Bradley. “So far the growing conditions in New Mexico have been outstanding.” There’s a growing trend towards sweeter onions.” They cook well just like other yellow onions but with a milder flavor. “There’s a trend for the sweet onion. Just like years ago how the seedless watermelon evolved – at first people thought nobody would want that, but eventually now the majority are seedless.” 

Once production moves into New Mexico mid June, Bradley says they’ll be busy 24 hours a day for a month. That will all go into storage. The onion program goes from region to region, but their peak season is November to June on all of their commodities, such as peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, okra, beets, cabbage and melons.

For more information:

Matthew Bradley

Ph: 956-380-0353