The golden onion of Voghera has been cultivated in the gardens of the Lombard city since the nineteenth century. It has been part of a rotation done with cereals and fodder. Its favourable characteristics contributed to the export of its seeds to Parma in 1896, thus giving rise to the famous Dorata di Parma which was once known as the “Pavesa” onion.
It is grown in clay soils that have a sufficient amount of organic matter and phosphorus. Sowing begins in February and it is very important for the plant to be irrigated; however, irrigation must be stopped a couple of weeks before the onion is harvested. It is harvested in July.
This onion can be attributed to the category of “long day” onions since it is sown in winter or spring and needs 14 to 16 hours of light per day. After they are uprooted, the bulbs are left on mounds in the field (andane) until the roots dry out. The golden onion of Voghera is characterised by a bulb that is shaped like a spinning top, that is slightly flattened. It has a diameter of about 6 to 7 centimetres. The onion is a very intense golden yellow colour. The Voghera onion is characterised by its strong pungency and excellent shelf life; it has various culinary uses, for example it can be eaten: raw in salads, steamed, baked as a gratin, in soups or on focaccia.
With the introduction of more productive commercial varieties, the cultivation of the golden onion of Voghera has suffered a slow decline. It is listed as a Traditional Agricultural Product (PAT) of Lombardy, in recent times it has been rediscovered thanks to some initiatives aimed at safeguarding its traditional cultivation.
This onion variety has been the subject of research projects that have been completed by some professors and researchers from the University of Pavia, who have also collected a lot of information on a large number of local Lombard varieties in a publication ("Traditional Lombard agronomic varieties at risk of extinction or genetic erosion Vegetables and cereals: an overview ", G. Rossi, F. Guzzon, M. Canella, ER Tazzari, P. Cauzzi, S. Bodino, NMG Ardenghi, Pavia University Press, 2019).
The research activities necessary for the reporting of this product in the Ark of Taste online catalogue were financed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the General Directorate of the Tertiary Sector and Corporate Social Responsibility – notice n° 1/2018 “Slow Food in action: communities protagonists of change”, pursuant to Article 72 of the Tertiary Sector Code, referred to in Legislative Decree No. 117/2017.
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