Where were the California Imperial Sweets? The...

Where were the California Imperial Sweets? The article on sweet onions in The Times’ Food section (May 31, 1990) was interesting and informative; however, the information supplied by Steven Raichlen lacked the complete story on sweet onions.

Raichlen mentioned Vidalia Sweets of Georgia, Maui onions of Hawaii and the Walla Walla Sweets of Washington State. There is no comment on the California Imperial Sweets, which are world famous and are the reigning champions of the National Sweet Onion Challenge. This onion is grown below sea level in California’s lush Imperial Valley, just 200 miles from Los Angeles.

The Imperial Sweet Onion has won the last two National Sweet Onion Challenges, competing against the Vidalia Sweet, Maui Sweet and the Texsweet 1015 (also a large onion-growing area not included in the article).

--JACK FLEMING, Vice President, Imperial Sweet Onion Commission, El Centro