The Spanish sweet onion was named the state vegetable in the 2002 General Session of the Utah State Legislature, S.B. Bill 136. Senator Bill Wright (R-Elberta), a dairy farmer, sponsored the measure and students from Lone Peak Elementary School were the driving force behind this bill (Utah Code). The sugar beet is the Utah State Historic Vegetable.

During the legislative session, a compromise was reached regarding Utah’s state vegetable. Students from Realms of Inquiry School, with the support of Representative Jackie Biskupski (D-Salt Lake City), advocated for the sugar beet. Ultimately, a single bill declared the sugar beet as the historical state vegetable and the Spanish sweet onion as the contemporary state vegetable.

Onions are a cool-season annual crop grown commercially on over 1,600 acres on farms across northern Utah. Spanish sweet onions are similar to yellow onions, only larger and milder and sweeter. Spanish sweet onions are globe shaped and 3 to 6 inches in diameter. They are larger and more yellow than yellow/brown onions. It is one of the most popular onions for slicing and eating raw because of its mild sweet taste. They can be baked, sautéed, or fried and they store well. Spanish sweet onions are available from August through January.

The Payson City Golden Onion Days, originally known as the Onion Harvest and Homecoming, is an annual event that was first held in 1929 and celebrated Payson’s status as an agricultural district and producer of onions. Every Labor Day weekend Payson celebrates with a concert, carnival, parade, 5K/10K races, fireworks, food, and art, car, and flower shows.

The onion (in general, not necessarily the Spanish sweet onion) is believed to have originated in central Asia, Iran, or West Pakistan. It is likely that onions may have been growing wild on every continent. Dating back to 3500 BC, onions were one of the few foods that did not spoil during the winter months. Our ancestors must have recognized the vegetable’s durability and began growing onions for food.

Why do we cry when we cut into an onion? It’s simply a reaction of enzymes in the onion when they become exposed to the air. Heating the onion increases the enzyme activity. Chilling onions before chopping or slicing them helps reduce the tendency to tear-up because it slows down the reaction of the enzymes.