Tropea onions

Tropea onions are a fantastic, famous regional onion variety of Tropea, a city in Calabria, Italy. In Calabria they are grown in the hill country and their annual harvest is widely celebrated across the region.

2/2/22
Tropeas are commonly used in tarts, soups, frittatas, jams, salads, pizzas and pastas. They have a beautiful sweet and delicate flavour. They’ve been in the ground since September, growing outside through the wettest spring for over 100 years ~ and now they are ready! To kick off this tiny sagra to the Tropea onion~ Pasta Granny Elisabetta gets us in the Tropea mood!

Archeological research confirms that Tropeas were introduced into the Italian region by the Phoenicians over three thousand years ago. There is evidence that they were grown throughout the Mediterranean basin however they thrived in the perfect soil and climate conditions of southern Italy. Some researchers believe this variety to have been bred in current day Syria.

Tropeas grow really well here in Tassie ~ they require a photoperiod of increasing daylight to trigger them to bulb. It’s really difficult to grow them North of Sydney for this reason. Photoperiodism affects most onion species and enables the selection and plant breeding of many varieties of onions that are suitable to grow nearly everywhere. They are commonly classified into the subgroups; short-day, mid-day and long-day onions which are all triggered into bulb production by different rates of daylight.

If you fancy hanging and storing your Tropeas please note: these onions have a high water content and aren’t suitable for long term storage. Hang them in your kitchen for a month at most ~

Tropea onion jam

500g Tropea onions
100g Brown sugar
100g White table sugar
15ml Cognac
50ml White wine

See instructions in the video below ~ ooof