Here's my latest column in the newspaper:

The word “Vidalia” finds its way onto tons of product labels — Vidalia onion dressing, Vidalia onion salsa, Vidalia onion chips, and, the original, Vidalia onion.

(Not to be confused with “Vandalia,” which is known as one of the potential names for the geographic area that eventually became West Virginia.)

But what does it mean?

The Vidalia onion traces back to the 1930s in Toombs County, Georgia, around the town of Vidalia. Farmers there began to notice that onions grown in the region were unusually sweet and mild compared to typical pungent onions.

The key was the soil and water. The region has low-sulfur, sandy soil, which limits the compounds that normally make onions “hot” or sharp. The result is a naturally sweet, crisp onion.

By the 1940s and 1950s, farmers began selling them more widely. Their popularity expanded drastically after the opening of the state farmers market in Vidalia, which helped distribute the onions throughout the Southeast.

The crop gained national attention in the 1970s and 1980s as grocery chains began marketing them as a premium seasonal item. The term “Vidalia onion” became marketing shorthand for “sweet onion,” where food companies were using the phrase on products without any connection to the town itself.

It began to function like a genericized brand name, in which a brand becomes so dominant or familiar that people use the trademark as the everyday word for the product.

Such is the case with Kleenex for tissues, Band-Aid for adhesive bandages, Xerox for photocopying, Velcro for fasteners and Google for “search online.”

“Vidalia onion” simply signified “sweet onion.”

That changed in the 1980s, when Vidalia onions were brought under a federal marketing order, which helped protect the origin with oversight from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Vidalia onion” can now only be used for onions grown within that defined region and meeting USDA standards for production and handling.

It’s not the first time geography has been locked into a food name. In France, Champagne must come from the Champagne region, and Roquefort cheese can only be made in specific caves in southern France. In Italy, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma are tied to specific provinces and traditional methods, and balsamic vinegar of Modena follows strict regional rules. In Greece, Kalamata olives are similarly tied to their place of origin.

In the United States, Idaho potatoes are protected through a state-based certification system, and Florida oranges remain tied to their growing region as a matter of agricultural branding and regulation.

Because these food names have a protected status and must adhere to certain requirements, their quality remains consistent and the local producers are able to maintain an economic advantage.

The name “Vidalia” has strong consumer recognition and immediately communicates flavor expectations.

That’s why we now see “Vidalia onion flavored” or “Vidalia onion inspired” for products that have a sweet onion flavor profile — even if they have no connection to the Georgia town.

It was a small Georgia town where farmers discovered that the land itself changed the flavor of an onion. Much like Appalachia, food is rooted in place and is shaped by weather, terrain and water. In both Vidalia and Appalachia, the soil has always been part of the recipe.