Red pearl onions are a delicate long-day storage onion variety that resemble the shape of a shallot more than a common onion. They are harvested when their skin has dried to create a protective sheath for its still succulent flesh. Red pearl onions are purposefully small because they are planted tightly and densely together and picked at their preferred stunted size.

Red pearl onions have a semi-variegated, dry, papery burgundy skin enveloping a pale purple and translucent flesh. The red pearl onion is crisp, savory and slightly pungent in both aroma and flavor.

Serving Ideas

Pearl onions are ubiquitous as a pickled cocktail onion but they have many other culinary uses. In addition to being a common substitute for boiling onions in soups and stocks they can be charred, roasted, grilled or braised, treated as a common onion and added to a variety of savory dishes, both raw and cooked. Complimentary pairings include béchamel sauce, cheeses, especially goat, cheddar and aged sheep's cheese, grilled and smoked white fish, roasted chicken, apples, bright hers such as basil and parsley, root vegetables such as turnips and beets, tomatoes, light bodied vinegars and chiles.

Geography/History

The onion is one of the Neolithic founder crops that were domesticated by early Holocene farming communities in the Fertile Crescent region of southwest Asia, the greatest historical agricultural region within the world. Neolithic founder crops formed the basis of systematic agriculture in the Middle East, North Africa, India, Persia and eventually Europe. Onions are now the most widely cultivated and distributed allium in the world, adapting to a variety of climates from cold to temperate, semi-tropical and dry.

Seasons/Availability

Red pearl onions are available year round.