The Onion Eating Festival

A food festival is celebrated for uniting the producing and harvesting people together, spreading the awareness and value of food culture among the people, to support the traditional food practices and productions on a large scale.

The Onion eating festival is a food festival hosted by the producers of fresh onions, featuring fresh onion-based foods and live music and family fun. The onion eating festival is a great way to celebrate the harvest season.

The festival is celebrated in honour of the Calcot cultivar of onions that grow abundantly in Spain’s Catalonia region. The onion eating festival is a central attraction point for tourists.

How Is The Onion Eating Festival Celebrated?

The event includes live music, with the top band playing in the Plaza Mayor. The food stalls are lined up all along the main street, and there are plenty of bars to have a drink. The festival is held each year on the first Sunday of January. The event is free and open to all.

The best part of the onion eating festival is the onion, which does not have a strong taste. These onions are served in several ways, but grilled onion with cheese is popular.

The people of Valls are very proud of their onions. They cook with them almost every day. It is held from November to April and sees thousands of people taking to the streets, cooking and celebrating the bountifulness of onions.

The festival is held in the town´s public space, where stalls are set up with small mountains of onions. Onions are eaten in many different ways during the festival. Some people eat them raw, some cooked, while others prefer to have onions on sticks or as paella. These dishes are meant to be shared and enjoyed with family and friends. The streets are lined with stalls selling various foods, including fried fish, grilled sausages, bread, olives and, of course, lots and lots of onions.

Onion Eating Festival Belongs To Which Country? 

The onion eating festival is celebrated in several countries. But, mainly Spain is the country that celebrates the onion eating festival worldwide – mostly known for the Calcot onions. Therefore, the onion eating festival belongs to Spain, which has a Catalonia region famous for Calcot onions.

How Spain’s Onion Eating Festival Is Celebrated?

The festival is centred on the gastronomic enjoyment of the Calcot. Calcot is a wild green onion that is only found in this corner of the Catalan region during the winter months.

Valls is a small town in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. It’s known for its party-loving citizens who have been hosting the annual Onion eating festival for over 100 years. Over time, the festival has grown, including a parade, live music, carnival rides, and big-name performers. The Calçotadas festivals are held in many different areas, but the largest of them is held in Valls. A festival is held in Valls at which calçots are roasted over open fires and eaten with friends.

Restaurants throughout Catalonia and Aragon serve the traditional dish of grilled baby leeks wrapped in newspaper to keep the heat in and dipped in romesco sauce.

Calcot 

Calcots are consumed in large quantities in January. Calcot onions are eaten raw and grated on salads or cooked in soups and stews. They are also used to flavour soups, stews, and sauces. They are usually eaten as part of the main course dish.

Calcot onions taste mild when eaten raw or as it is. After cooking, they become extremely tender and develop a smoky, slightly sweet flavour that enhances the flour and taste. Calcots are served with wine or several drinks. The wine is taken in particular Porrons. It is the most famous special pot or Pitcher for wine in Spain.

Interesting facts about the Onion Eating Festival

1. The festival is celebrated to protect the onion crop. 
2. The purpose of celebrating this festival is to commemorate the local culture.
3. The main reason for this tradition is that Calcots are seasonal, so the festival helps promote the culture and sustainability of eating them.
4. The idea of the festival is to promote the local onion production and to thank the people for cultivating it.
5. The juices of onions are known to help burn fat and detox your body. It makes the festival unique, and it is not just about eating lots of onions.

Conclusion

The onion eating festival is a great way to bring in the harvest season by uniting the onion farmers and produce communities to celebrate fresh, tasty food. The celebration of the onion eating festival attracts thousands of tourists every year while spreading a strong sense of local cultural identity.

In the onion eating festival, the farmers celebrate their harvest from the fields. The festival includes onion tastings, games for children, musical performances and fireworks. The main purpose of this festival is to bring the local community together and promote the variety of locally grown onions that have become a cultural symbol for Spain.