Cévennes Sweet Onion PDO

Production area

Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes

Cévennes sweet onions PDO have a unique taste with a mild flavor and zero bitterness. They can be enjoyed either raw or cooked. Grown along terraced hill slides using traditional methods and harvested by hand, this juicy, crunchy onion is delicious in salads, oven roasted, or caramelized.

What you need to know

The way the PDO Cévennes sweet onion is farmed has changed very little over the centuries and remains an artisanal process. Grown in acidic and sandy shaly soil in terraced beds along the southern slopes of the Cévennes mountains, which limits the use of mechanical farming equipment, these onions flourish in the Mediterranean climate with regular irrigation. The combination of these conditions creates their uniquely mild and sweet taste.

Started between January and March and transplanted following a strict selection process between May and early June, the onions are harvested by hand in August and September and dried using a ventilation system. Before they are sold, they are first stripped of their outer layer of skin and carefully sorted.

What makes these white onions so unique is their mild flavor, lack of bitterness, and limited spiciness, which makes it possible to eat them like a vegetable, either raw or cooked.

They are easy to spot in stores thanks to the "Oignon des Cévennes AOP" (PDO Cévennes onion) label on each bulb.