Candy vs. Walla Walla - Onion taste tests

Candy and Walla Walla

Last year I grew regular shallots, leeks, green onions and bunching onions. This year I wanted to try the larger sweet onions. Candy is pretty common hybrid variety to grow, with additional disease resistance, and said to be the sweetest. Walla Walla is a heirloom and often said to mildest and sweetest. So I grew both, slightly leaning towards the heirloom.


Yesterday I harvested one of each and without drying, decided to have a taste shoot-out. To round off things, oak leaf lettuce (my niece is queen of this lettuce, growing and distributing seeds), Marketmore 76 cucumber, Sungold tomatoes. Antohi Romanian pepper, Lisbon bunching onion and French Grey Shallot.

Raw, the Walla Walla was incredibly mild, with little onion bite. Juicer and brilliant in salad. Candy was had a stronger onion, more flavour and less mild. Both were incredibly tasty and sweet. Even raw, the French grey was far more complex and concentrated. But not nearly as sweet. The Lisbon green coming in much closer to candy than Walla Walla, but missing that sweetness as well. With a little brie cheese, Candy "onion sharpness" was smoothed.

Dinner

In summer, I love to wonder out into the garden, gathering things and then throwing it on the BBQ and rarely cook inside. So I added a Picante steak and a hot Chabi Sausage, some Romano beans and Spigarello, a Jalapeño and Italian frying pepper to both onions for cooked test. Adding some bread my neighbour down the road baked and a grilled zucchini. Yes I am not staving Mom. 

They both shone cooked, even sweater than raw. Having said that I finished the Walla Walla first. The absence of the "Onion" bite winning over the slightly stronger flavour of Candy. The French Grey Shallot wins for complexity and flavour cooked as a seasoning though.

Both these onions are amazing. And not tasting them side by side, it would be tough to blind test recognize the difference without a recent reference. I think I will grow Walla Walla next year as my salad and sweet onion and add a storage onion. Any suggestions?