The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Dehydrated Onions

Bill and Annie's picture
Bill and Annie

Dehydrated Onions

Can anyone tell me a good source for  dehydrated onions ?  I can't seem to find them anywhere except on the web. I read the article for Norm's Onion rolls and got the recipe and I'm ready to eat but can't find a source. Thanks everyone

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

I dehydrated Organic Onions in my dehydrator and they are far superior to any you buy.  I don't see why you could not dehyrate onions in your oven.  I have a countertop convection oven that has a setting for dehydrating and a very old dehyrator for the countertop with several shelves.  Also some health food stores carry small packages of the organic dehydrated onions...flavors can vary a lot from brand to brand I have tasted some and they were very lacking in flavor.

Sylvia

qahtan's picture
qahtan

 I have a large dehydrator with 10 shelves, and I filled it with chopped shallots a couple of years ago, but had to put dehydrator out on the deck while it was doing it's thing.

 Gonna have to do the same this year as I have a lot of shallots again and have already planted what I need in the garden.......to dry them sure saves wasting

them. This is an average crop every year,,;-))) qahtan

shallots002.jpg shallots picture by qahtan

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

You sure wouldn't want to waste those beauties!  Even a little kitchen dehydrator comes in handy for saving from waste.

Sylvia

xaipete's picture
xaipete

What a good idea: dehydrate your own shallots. I use a countertop convection oven all the time to dehydrate chicken breasts strips for our dogs. Why not use it for onions, etc.

--Pamela

jeb's picture
jeb

If you have a Penzey's Spices store near you, you can get them there. You can also go online a:

http://www.penzeys.com

Download their catalog, and go to page 3 to find a store.

The quality of their spices is great.

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Northwoodie, check a bit more at your local supermarket spice section.  Or ask a store clerk for help.  

Dehydrated chopped onions are a staple, like salt and pepper, and are a common ingredient. McCormicks makes them and the brand I purchased at WalMart, which is quite good, is Tones.

Yumarama's picture
Yumarama

If you can (you might not) avoid the fancy glass bottles variety and go for the cello pack larger sizes or check the bulk bins. Any spice in a jar is going to be a LOT more expensive than it needs be. Of course if you can't locate any bulk or bagged type, then you need to get the spice jar sort.

As Lyndy notes, dehydrated onions are really not exotic at all and should be carried by any decent grocery store in the spice/baking aisle.

pattycakes's picture
pattycakes

Penzy's is a great source for a number of reasons-the products are first class, the prices are great (especially if you order more than you need and share with your friends), and the selection is great.

If you haven't ever tried Aleppo peppers and you like hot chiles, I recommend trying the ones Penzy's carries. They are barely medium hot but full of flavor. They also have several kinds of cinnamon and canela and explain the differences.

I can't recommend them highly enough!

Patricia

mredwood's picture
mredwood

Dried onions may also be purchased at many stores that have bulk sections. Smart and Final, Cash & Carry and other wholesalers open to the public. Sams club and others. 

My what a beautiful pile of shallots. I have some growing that I purchased from the asian food store since I couldn't find organic when I wanted to plant. I think I will have a nice crop but just a small bit of your lovely pile. So lovely it's like falling in love. I dried a mess of shallots in my 9 shelf excalibular dehydrator and they turned out quite nice. I use them in soups, tuna salad and asian cooking. Any and every thing. I dehydrated those sweet maui onions and they too were wonderful. Dried onions and peppers and other veggies are great to add to an herb bread. 

M

 

qahtan's picture
qahtan

We always save some of our good size shallots for planting next year, the ones we are growing at the moment are from a friends garden in Devon shire, UK back in 1997. our last trip to UK. shhhhhhhh.

 I also bought some in Harrods Food Hall the same year, they were the long shallots, saved them , planted them the following year and they did nothing, not even a whisker of a root, so presumed they had been genetically modified, from Harrods no less. :-(((((( hmmmmm qahtan.  

180px-Echalote_p1040227.jpg picture by qahtanthis is what the long ones looked like.

mredwood's picture
mredwood

Thanks for the photos of the long shallots. I would have bought them and tried to grow them.

Mariah

qahtan's picture
qahtan

 

 maybe you can buy just a few and see if they grow, the ones from UK didn't but you may have better luck,

 I don't know if they multiply like shallots.   qahtan

ehanner's picture
ehanner

A question about drying onions from those who do. I have a counter top dehydrator that I have used mainly for drying beef jerky and fruit. When you dry shallots I assume they need to be peeled and sliced first. Same with yellow onions? A large pile like those pictured above would take all summer in my machine, sliced up.

I live in Penzies home town and love thier spices. I have been buying dried onions in bulk from them for years. Shallots too. If you have a chance to visit a Penzies store, it's a treat for a foodie. They have a large bottle of every spice they sell in front of every bin available to open and smell. They have so many options of many spices it is very helpful to be able to appreciate the difference between Thyme and French Thyme, for example or Paprika and Smoked Hungarian Paprika. Something you could never do at a grocery store (if they had the variety).

Eric

mredwood's picture
mredwood

We have a Penzies in Portland and yes they are wonderful. You can buy small amounts and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. They are very inspirational with their mixes and I love mixing my own after trying theirs. The mixes are great bread additives.