An onion you'll want to eat raw
Most onions go into the pot to take away their sharpness. The Oignon doux des Cévennes is different. It is mild, juicy and crisp, without any bitterness – so mild that it can be sliced thinly and eaten raw in salads. When cooked, it becomes translucent, soft and sweet.
You can recognize it by its thin, shiny skin, pearl-white to delicate copper-colored. Beneath it lie thick, white, juicy layers.
Two centuries on terraces
The onion grows only in the southern Cévennes, in the Gard department in Occitanie, and has been cultivated there for around 200 years. It has been protected as an AOC since 2003 and as a European AOP since 2008.
The slopes of the Cévennes are steep. To make it possible to grow anything there, farmers have created terraces supported by dry stone walls. The Oignon doux des Cévennes is France's only onion grown on terraces – there are around 2,000 such terrace plots in the growing area. The onions grow there in mineral-rich slate soil. The summers are hot and dry, and there is plenty of water from the mountains.
The quantities are not large: in 2021, around 70 producers harvested around 2,600 tons in total from about 50 hectares. The AOP rules are strict. Harvesting is done only by hand, and the new harvest may only be sold from August 1 at the earliest.
The Castel Riquet Family
In the middle of this area, in Saint-André-de-Majencoules, lies the Domaine du Castel Riquet. The family business has grown over four generations and cultivates only one thing: this onion.
A Year of Handwork
This is what a year at Castel Riquet looks like:
- January to February: Sowing in the nursery.
- May: The young plants are planted by hand on the terraces.
- June to August: The onions grow for around 90 days and are watered regularly.
- August: Harvested by hand, because the onion is delicate. After that, it dries in the field for two to three days.
Only soil preparation is done by a machine. The remaining ten work steps are done by people with their hands.
This is how it tastes best
Try it raw first: sliced paper-thin, with salt, good olive oil and a few drops of vinegar. Slowly braised in butter, it pairs well with meat and fish. Onion tart, confit or a Pissaladière also turn out particularly well with it. You can find more ideas in our recipes with onions.
Stored in a dry, cool and airy place, it lasts up to eight months.
Now with us: the 2026 harvest
The new harvest is here. You can buy the Mild Cévennes Onion AOP from us online for around 1 kg. The quantity is limited.
