Red, white, flat, elongated, sweet or pungent. There are many varieties of onion, one of the basic products of the Mediterranean diet and Italian cuisine. It may also be a poor food (for decades it fed entire peasant families) but the onion remains the basis of many typical preparations of Italian cuisine and an excellent ally for our body. Among the many varieties, there is the Pedaso onion, red on the outside but clear on the inside, sweet and therefore perfect to eat even raw. A product that risked ending up in a chapter of our history, but which instead, thanks to the will of some local producers, managed to return to its agri-food life.
The flat red onion of Pedaso – a town of three thousand inhabitants in the province of Fermo in the Marche region – is grown in the Municipality of Pedaso and in some neighboring areas in the Municipalities of Altidona, Campofilone, Lapedona and Moresco. And it is precisely the sandy soil that has given it its characteristic flattened shape which, thanks also to the mild climate of the Adriatic coasts, with hot but windy summers, has found here the ideal conditions for its development.
The history of the Marche onion
This particular variety of onion with a particularly sweet taste has been reported in the Pedaso area since the 1800s, so much so that the locals have used the name of "Pedasini Cipollari". A thriving production up to the first half of the 900s, then it practically disappeared due to the war and the progressive abandonment of the countryside. But it came back to life thanks to a local farmer, Arturo Ferretti, who kept the seed which was then delivered to ASSAM which still keeps it in the Germplasm Bank of Monsampolo.
The was created in 2020 Community of the Flat Red Onion of Pedaso which brings together the 5 producers (mostly made up of young producers) of this local heritage: Rasoterra, Maivo, Andrea Ferretti, Tre Regni and Nuove Radici. The cooperative wanted to invest to continue the rebirth of this product started by the Marche Region and some "guardian" farmers, both for its great qualities in the kitchen and to protect biodiversity.
The Pedaso onion is also a Slow Food prison. The goal is to support producers who protect this local variety. The members of the Presidium have undertaken to comply with strict production regulations and to fully safeguard the delicate traditional process of seed reproduction, from a sustainable point of view such as three-year rotations, the use of organic fertilization and the ban on weeding.
How is the Pedaso red onion grown?
The cultivation cycle of this variety requires very long times: it takes approximately two years to arrive at the final product, as they start strictly from the reproduction of the seed. But how does it work? The "mother" onions are selected during the harvest period (between June and September), arranged in wooden boxes and placed in a possibly dark environment, in order to allow correct germination. Towards September and October they are planted in the ground until the bulbs reach a height of about one meter and bloom with many small greenish-white flowers inside which there are seeds that ripen between July and August. Then they are placed for 2/3 days on a cloth in the sun, completing the drying process in a shady and airy place over the next 20 days. To extract the seed, the flakes are rubbed with the hands and placed in a container full of water to check their quality: if the seed settles on the bottom it means that it is good. After selection they are put back in the sun to dry for three or four days.
La sowing it takes place at the end of summer, between August and September, but the seedlings will be ready for transplanting only in March/April. In the growth phase, the plant does not require major operations, except irrigation as needed. Complete maturation is obtained when the stem begins to dry and folds on itself, even if the "desmannatura" technique is often practiced, i.e. the still green stem is folded to allow the plant to remove nutrients from the leaf and concentrate them in the onion bulb. Once the harvest has taken place, the product must be left in the field for a few hours to dry, after which the product is placed in a dry place away from heat sources. However, this product does not keep very long. Reason why some producers have begun to transform the sweet onion making jams or preserving them in sweet and sour or to make cosmetic products.
The guardians of the Pedaso onion
The flat red onion of Pedaso is one of the flagship products of the farm New Roots, completely organic and managed by Mattia and Valerio, two very young farmers. The products are distributed in various clubs and restaurants in the Aso valley and along the coast.
Even the farm Ground level it is managed by two young farmers Yuri and Isabella who can count on the help of their families. It is a young reality, born in 2015 but with a precise idea: to produce with respect for nature. In Val d'Aso they produce vegetables, fruit, eggs and obviously the red onion of Pedaso with the method of organic and regenerative agriculture. The sale of the products takes place directly in the company, with home delivery and supplying some shops and restaurants in the area.
Another very young reality is the company of Andrea Ferretti. In his nursery he produces, in addition to the Pedaso onions, various vegetable products. The specialization of the company, however, is mainly nursery for the production of laurel plants in pots. All products can be purchased directly on site by appointment.
Matteo Malavolta and Alessandro Mecozzi manage the farm Maivo, located in the lower Aso valley, born in 2016. An agriculture in full respect for the environment with the intention of bringing healthy, genuine and nutritious food back to the tables. Seasonal fruit and vegetables are the company's flagship products
Then there is the farm Three Kingdoms, by Mattia Di Nicolò. Cultivation of vegetables (including melons) in leaves, stems, fruit, roots, bulbs and tubers in the open air (excluding sugar beets and potatoes). This company also works with an approach oriented towards more sustainable, productive and healthy agriculture.
Uses in cooking and nutritional properties
Thanks to its sweetness and high digestibility, the flat red onion from Pedaso is well suited both raw, in salads, and cooked, even baked au gratin. The main dish of the tradition is definitely the mussel stew. It lends itself well to fish preparations in general, but it is also excellent combined with cheese, in the form of preserves, sweet and sour and compote or to be used in sautéed foods, since it does not have many tear factors. Recent is the production of cosmetics: the onion extract has in fact remarkable antibacterial, emollient and moisturizing properties.
Like all red onions, that of Pedaso is a very aromatic variety and has a sweet taste. It helps reduce bad cholesterol levels, contains vitamins C and E and salts such as iron, selenium, iodine, zinc and magnesium. She is famous for her power diuretic e depurative and, moreover, it decreases water retention. But above all it is low-calorie, a great ally for the figure. The red color of the external part is given by the presence of powerful anthocyanins antioxidants, which give these onions many beneficial properties especially when eaten raw.
