The Onion With Its Own Festival

The Grand Festival of the Calotada is celebrated on the last Sunday of January, and the city of Valls, Spain, throws the biggest party of all; here youll find parades, barbecues, cooking competitions and eating contests. And what's all this revelry in aid of? A much loved onion.

The calot is a white onion with a long stem and a distinctive sweet flavor. Local farmer Dalmaci Clofent describes it as tasting like a cloud from heaven.

So where did these unique vegetables spring from? Local legend says that in the 19th Century, a farmer called Xat Benaiges decided to do things a little differently. He planted a crop of ordinary white onions, but he didnt let them grow in the usual way. Instead, he kept adding layers of soil above them, which meant they grew tall, white, tender stems.

These exceptional onions were worth the wait.

0:00 Intro
0:46 The Festival
1:47 The Perfect Calot
3:04 Eating Competition

#Onion #Calcotada #Festival #Spain #Food

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCajXeitgFL-rb5-gXI-aG8Q

This story is a part of our Explore series.

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatbigstory
Check us out on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greatbigstory
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatbigstory
Give us a shout on Twitter: https://twitter.com/greatbigstory
Sign up to our newsletter for the latest: https://greatbigstory.com