The Bermuda Onion
In 1847, a British schooner cast-off from here moorings in St. George
Harbour and set sail for New York. Perhaps even her Captain did not
appreciate
the importance of that voyage, but it was one which commenced a vital
and historic
trade link between Bermuda and the United States. In her holds, the ship
carried the first major consignment of Bermuda onions ever to be
exported for sale.
Fifty years later, Bermuda had become such an important market garden
for American vegetable importers that during her scheduled weekly trips
to the North American mainland, the S.S. 'Trinidad' regularly carried
upwards of 30,000 boxes of locally grown onions and their market
value was frequently quoted by the New York exchange.
At the start of the twentieth century, Bermuda onions had become so
very
well known beyond the shores of these islands, that it became common
practice for Bermudians themselves to be jokingly called 'Onions'.
For decades, onions remained a prime export.
By the 1920's, Bermuda onions had attained international recognition
as having
a type quite unlike, an onion noted for its unnatural minaret shape and
characteristics by a rich succulent flavour.
Overseas vegetable growers clamoured to acquire seeds with the hope of
being
able to grow their own. Within a decade a large farm in Texas was
reporting
considerable success at growing "Bermuda" onions - and so - sadly the
true
island variety ceases to be grown competitively. It's absence saw the
end of
an important era for Bermudian farmers, one which also marked the
eclipse
of locally grown produce as one of this country's leading exports. But
respect is still paid to this unusual vegetable and Bermudians continue
to be proudly known throughout the world as onions, right up to this
very
day.
- courtesy of the "Village Craft Shop", Bermuda
