In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we wanted to share with you the journey of a Gills Onion, from seed to table. Family owned and operated since 1983, we’ve grown immensely since our early days. What hasn’t changed is our love for onions!
Let’s peel back the layers and discover the roots of our onions’ success.
Where the Gills Onion Begins
From the soil to the sunshine, our onions have been nurtured with care and attention every step of the way – “The Gill Way.” It all begins with selecting the right onion seed. Our varieties are carefully selected for their flavor, quality and growing region.
Our growing partner, Rio Farms, manages the entire process from start-to-finish before the onions make their way to Gills Onions facility in Oxnard, California. There is truly an art and science to growing the perfect Gills onion. Our growing methods were personally developed by Steve Gill and help to ensure that our products are not only grown in the most environmentally conscious way but also have the best quality and shelf life in the market place for value-added onions.
Onions on the Move: A Look at the Transportation Process
Our job is to get millions of pounds of the highest quality fresh-cut onions from our fields to your table, but we can’t do it alone. That’s where our wonderful team at Gills Freight comes in.
During the growing season, Gills Freight drivers move the necessary equipment needed throughout the onion growing process. Once our beautiful onions have been harvested by Rio Farms, our transportation team hauls them to our state-of-the-art processing facility.
Unleashing the Flavor: The Gills Onions Production Line
The true magic happens when the raw onions make it to the Gills Onions processing facility. Our team begins by loading the onions into a conveyer that leads to the peeling and cutting stations. The cutter removes the top and tail of each onion while simultaneously scoring the onions’ skin to make for an easier peel. Once in the peeling machine, we use a combination of air and water to blow the skin right off the onions.
The onions make their way back down to the Gills Onions team for quality assurance. They swiftly cut off any bruises and imperfections that might have been missed. The onions then journey over to the washing station, where they’re rinsed with cold, ozonated water that kills bacteria.
Then, it’s off to slicing, dicing, and slivering where onions are prepped, packaged and sealed for each customer order.
Gills Onions: Bringing Quality to You
After being processed and packaged, the onions are ready to hit the road once again and find their forever homes at your favorite restaurant, in your kitchen and even in your favorite tomato sauce.
As a consumer, you have the confidence knowing that we know exactly where your onions are grown, processed and packaged. We take tremendous pride in our full traceability program.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We know onions. It’s what we do, and we do it best.
But don’t take our word for it. Our onions speak for themselves.
Ready to try onions grown “The Gill Way?” Contact the Gills Onions sales department to learn more.
