The Egyptian Onion is known by several names: Walking Onions, Topset Onions, and Perennial Onions. The plant is cold-hardy and extremely heat-tolerant. The onions are easy to grow in our central Texas soil and hot sun. The plant forms small onion bulbs on the top of green stalks. The weight of the clustered bulbs drops the stalk onto the ground where it roots and begins a new plant. Hence the Walking Onion name. The taste is stronger than that of shallots and most of the Texas sweets. The green stalks are also very edible, but become harsh if grown in the summer sun. During the winter, the stalks taste much as chives do. The bulbs are best harvested young.
The Egyptian Onions offered today were originally harvested near the Saqquara Pyramid on the East Side of the Nile in Egypt. Since there are several species of onions in Egypt, the people designate the specific adaptive plant by the area it comes from which tells the new owner something about the culture of the plant and the taste of the onions.

Pickled Egyptian Onions: Harvest, trim and clean about 1 cup of bulbetes. Combine the onion bulbs and 2/3 cup of sweet rice vinegar in a 1 quart pan. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for one minute only. Add cloves of garlic, dill blossoms, or rosemary to flavor. Pour the mixture hot into a glass container. Add a cover to the container and allow it to cool to room temperature. Chill at least 24 hours before eating. The flavor will increase for up to 30 days. Makes one cup.