Vidalia onions and Georgia peaches: when to buy them and where to eat

Georgia is called the Peach State, but its official vegetable is the sweet onion from the Vidalia region, and both foods have strict seasons, protected names and festivals. Here is what makes a Vidalia onion, when each crop arrives, where to buy it and how to eat it. Dates change from year to year with weather, so ask the producers and the state for the current season.

What is a Vidalia onion?

A Vidalia is a sweet, mild onion grown in a defined area of southeast Georgia around the town of Vidalia. State law sets the growing region and protects the name, so only onions from that area may be sold as Vidalias. The usual explanation for the sweetness is the low-sulfur, sandy soil of the region. The onion is flat, pale yellow and juicy, and it can be eaten raw on a sandwich or a burger, sliced into salads, grilled or fried as rings. Georgia made it the state vegetable.

When is the Vidalia season?

The state sets an official pack date each spring, based on growing conditions. Onions are generally on sale from April through the summer, and shoppers often buy a large bag in spring and store it. Because the date depends on weather, check the Georgia Department of Agriculture's announcement each year. The Vidalia Onion Festival, held in the town each spring, celebrates the crop with cooking contests and music, and its dates change by year.

How do you store and cook Vidalias?

Sweet onions hold more water and sugar than storage onions, so they bruise and spoil faster. Keep them in a cool, dry, dark place with air around each onion, or wrap them individually in paper towels, and use the softer ones first. Some cooks refrigerate them for longer storage. Slice raw onions for burgers, bake them whole with butter and bouillon, caramelize them or make a sweet onion dip. They are less pungent than ordinary onions, so they bring tears more gently.

Where are Georgia peaches grown?

Georgia peaches come from the middle of the state, especially around Peach County, with Fort Valley and Byron at the heart. Orchards stretch across red clay hills, and roadside stands sell fruit from late spring through summer. The Georgia Peach Festival, split between Fort Valley and Byron, is held in early summer, usually in June, and is known for a giant peach cobbler. Dates change from year to year, so check the festival's page.

When is the peach season?

The harvest begins in late spring and runs through summer, with different varieties ripening in sequence. Early peaches come first, and late varieties extend into August. A hot spring or a late frost can move dates by weeks and reduce the crop, so ask the grower what is ripe. A peach should smell sweet at the stem end and give slightly when pressed, and it will continue to soften at room temperature.

If you visit orchards, wear a hat and closed shoes, and bring a cooler. Some farms let you pick your own fruit, and others sell from a farm stand or a roadside table. Many stands sell peach ice cream, fried pies and boiled peanuts as well. Hours are shorter on Sundays and rainy days, and stands that rely on an honor box may sell out. If you are driving, plan a route that passes several stands so you can compare fruit and prices.

What do you eat with them?

Peaches go into cobblers, pies, ice cream, jam, salsas and barbecue sauces. Fresh sliced peaches are served over biscuits or shortcake, and peach tea is a summer drink. Vidalia onions pair with cornbread, collards and fried chicken. Together, they appear in sweet onion and peach salsa, a fine accompaniment to grilled pork.

One classic Southern way to eat a Vidalia is a sandwich of sweet onion, white bread and mayonnaise, salted, which appears at summer picnics. A fried onion ring battered in buttermilk and cornmeal is a restaurant staple. For peaches, try a simple dessert of sliced fruit with sugar and cream, or a peach hand pie fried in a skillet. Whatever you buy, taste it at the stand first when the grower allows it.

Where can you buy them?

Roadside stands along highways in Peach County and the Vidalia region sell fruit and onions in season. Grocery stores carry Vidalias with a sticker. Farmers markets in Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and Athens sell peaches in summer, and some farms ship. Look for the Georgia Grown label, and ask whether the peaches are from Georgia or trucked in.

What about allergies and dietary needs?

Fresh peaches and onions are not among the major allergens, but baked goods and prepared salsas may contain wheat, dairy, nuts or eggs. People with oral allergy syndrome may react to raw peaches. Ask about ingredients at stands that sell prepared food.

If you are buying, ask the grower how ripe the fruit is and when to eat it. Peaches are best within a few days, and onions keep longer if stored cool and dry. Roadside stands often take cash, and some work on an honor system, so keep small bills. Weather affects harvests from year to year, so call the grower before you drive. If you want to cook, ask for a recipe; many stands hand them out.

How do you keep track of Georgia's seasonal food favorites?

A Vidalia sandwich in May and a peach hand pie in July are the kind of seasonal pleasures you want to repeat next year. Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing places to eat, and it rates by the dish, so the cobbler, the onion rings and the peach ice cream each get a score and a tag such as Must-Try.

Share a list with friends through an invite link and follow the ones who drive the peach roads every summer. Mosey also runs seasonal food votes, so a state with a sweet onion and a peach on its calendar has plenty to vote on.

Rate this season's best Georgia bite in the Mosey app.

More guides to read next:

• Georgia's Golden Isles food guide: St. Simons, Jekyll and Brunswick
• Georgia boiled peanuts and pecans: what they are, where to buy
• Brunswick stew: Georgia or Virginia, and how to order it

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