What are you planning on doing with all of those onions in your pantry? Have you ever thought about dehydrating them? Dehydrating your onions is easier than you think, and it can be cheaper than buying dehydrated onions from the supermarket.
Why Dehydrate Onions
You might ask, “Why dehydrate?” Dehydrating onions is a better alternative to freezing or canning onions because it keeps the taste the same. You don’t need to worry about the onions going bad or tasting funky later on when you’re hoping to make an awesome onion soup. You should also dehydrate your onions yourself because it is cheaper. Yes, cheaper.
If you grow your own onions in your garden, or if you can find great sales on buying onions in bulk, then dehydrating is perfect for you. The cost of growing onions or buying onions on sale is far less than the cost of buying small packets or jars of dried onions. You will get much more product for your buck.
How Do I Dehydrate Onions
Dehydrating onions is a very simple process. All you need are onions and a dehydrator. Well, maybe a knife and possibly a tissue or two. What you do is cut the onions how you would like them to be. You can slice them into rings, chop them into small pieces, or puree them into even smaller pieces.
Lay them out in the dehydrator, and follow the temperature and timing directions, and voila, you have dried onions. Store them in a mason jar or any other dry container.
You can also dehydrate your onions in an oven, but this can get very stinky as you’ll find out in the “Where Do I Dehydrate?” section. To dehydrate your onions with an oven, you cook the onions on a baking sheet at a very low temperature over the course of a few hours. This process isn’t as easy as using a dehydrator, but it can work.
Where Do I Dehydrate Onions
Since onions have such a wonderful smell, it is best to dehydrate your onions far, far away from the inside of your house. Unless you happen to like the smell of onions and the feeling of burning tears streaming from your eyes, dehydrating onions is a job for the garage or outside during nice weather. The dehydrating process intensifies the natural pungent odor of onions, so make sure you have plenty of ventilation during the process.
The Cast Of Dehydrated Onions
Pretty self explanatory but you will need onions.
A sharp knife or mandolin slicer to do all the hard work for you
Dehydrator (I love the Excalibur dehydrators)
Directions To Dehydrate Onions
1. Peel your onions and slice them. You can slice or dice if you think it matters. I slice all of mine with a mandolin slicer and then after they are dry I use my hands to give them a good crush before storing in my mason jar.
2. Layer your sliced onions on your dehydrator sheets in a single layer.
3. Turn your dehydrator onto the recommended settings. I dry mine at 135 degrees for 8-12 hours rotating my trays at least three times throughout the process. I make sure my dehydrator is packed at this time so keep in mind if your only drying a try or two your drying time will be significantly less.
4. Onions are dry when they are crisp and will break easily with no “leather” feeling when breaking.
5. I store my dried onions in quart mason jars and add them to all my casseroles, soups, stews and creamy green chili chicken burritos.
Don’t Miss The Rest In The Fabulous Dehydrator Series
What is Food Dehydrator All About?
So What Exactly Can You Make?
How to Choose a Food Dehydrator
How to Care for Your Food Dehydrator
Saving Money with a Food Dehydrator
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