Allium cepa (Onion) Karmen: intensely dark red, mildly aromatic onion

Allium cepa Karmen is an intensely dark red onion that stands out for its deep color, mild aroma, and excellent shelf life. This variety produces slightly flattened onions averaging 110 grams, making it perfect for both professional growers and home gardeners seeking a striking, high-quality red onion. Karmen combines visual appeal with a mild, aromatic flavor, making it versatile in the kitchen and ideal for sale and processing.

Key Features

• Type: red onion

• Colour: intense dark red, both inside and out

• Taste: mildly aromatic

• Shape: slightly flattened round ball

• Weight: average 110 grams

• Cultivation period: medium to slightly early harvest, approx. 120–130 days from sowing to harvest

• Shelf life: very good, suitable for storage and transport

• Uses: fresh consumption, cooking, sauces, pickling, salads

Karmen produces uniform, medium-sized bulbs distinguished by their intense red color and attractive flattened round shape. This uniformity makes the variety ideal for sale in supermarkets, wholesale, or as a high-quality addition to culinary preparations. The mild, aromatic flavor makes the onion suitable for raw use, but also for cooking, baking, or pickling, where the color is preserved and a visually appealing presentation is created.

Growing conditions and cultivation

Karmen is a stable and robust variety that is resistant to bolting and adapts to various soil types. The plants develop healthy foliage structures that protect the bulbs well and simplify cultivation.

Planting advice:

• Sowing period: directly outdoors from February to April

• Row spacing: 25–30 cm

• Planting distance in the row: 8–10 cm

• Harvest time: fully ripe bulbs from early/mid August

• Cultivation period: approx. 120–130 days

The mid-early to mid-late harvest time offers growers flexibility in planning cultivation and harvest. Karmen is suitable for both open-field and garden cultivation, and its excellent shelf life allows the onions to be stored for extended periods after harvest without loss of quality.

Culinary applications

The dark red color and mild flavor of Karmen make this onion versatile in the kitchen:

• Fresh: ideal for salads, sandwiches and wraps, where the colour provides a striking accent

• Boiled or fried: retains colour and flavour when sautéed, grilled or in stews

• Sauces and soups: provides a mild, aromatic flavour without being overpowering

• Preserving: Firm enough for pickles and preserved dishes

This versatility makes Karmen suitable for professional chefs, home cooks and retail purposes, combining colour, flavour and shelf life in one reliable variety.

Benefits of Allium cepa Karmen

1. Intense dark red colour: visually striking and attractive for sales and presentation

2. Mild aromatic flavour: versatile in use in raw and prepared dishes

3. Uniform bulbs: ideal for processing, sales and storage

4. Excellent shelf life: suitable for long-term storage without loss of quality

5. Robust growth: resistant to bolting and easy to grow

6. Mid-early to mid-late harvest time: flexibility in crop planning

Conclusion

Allium cepa Karmen is a high-quality red onion that combines color, flavor, and quality. The intensely dark red, flattened bulbs, combined with the mild aromatic flavor, make Karmen an excellent choice for both the professional market and the home garden.

Karmen is easy and robust to grow, with a harvest time of 120–130 days, ensuring a balanced production schedule. Its excellent shelf life and uniform shape make this variety suitable for long-term storage and various culinary uses.

In short, Allium cepa Karmen offers aesthetic appeal, culinary versatility, and reliable cultivation, making it a popular choice for growers, chefs, and consumers seeking a high-quality, intensely red onion.