Onions onions onions oh my

[Loneoak]

When dehydrating onions, which do you prefer for trail recipes. White, Yellow, Red ? I don't know if it makes that much difference. I love the sweet onions but sometimes they are expensive.

[Blue Jay]

They don't weigh that much. I always have one with me.

[HiKen2011]

I usually take an onion with me, sometimes I take the pearl onions and tiny tomatoes as well. Very little weight and so good on the trail.

Detour

[Rain Man]

We recently got a convection toaster oven. Supposedly, it will dehydrate, I think.

Would love any advice on dehydrating onions, peppers, vegetables, mushrooms, and other good stuff.

RainMan

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[mister krabs]

I buy them because they're cheap and available in the spice section at the grocery store..

[skinny minnie]

I've been dehydrating a lot of recipes that use onions... but no onions on their own. I just do what the recipe tells me to do!

I have been doing a ton of soups. (I put them in the blender so they will dehydrate better). Try Rachel Ray's black bean stoup (she's obnoxious but it's delicious) the recipe is online if you google. I do a lot of indian and thai recipes. So yummy. Here's another good one:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegan-R...up/Detail.aspx

and I just did this last night:

Gingered squash & sweet potato soup

serves 4-6

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups diced onion (about 3/4 of a large onion - I used yellow)
1/2 tspn cumin
1/8 tspn cayenne pepper
pinch cinnamon
pinch curry powder
salt & pepper to taste
2 tspn freshly grated ginger (I used 1 1/2 tbspn & it was STRONG!)
2 lbs butternut or acorn squash peeled and diced (about 4 cups - I had less and it was fine)
1 lb sweet potato peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Warm olive oil in medium size pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic & onion and saute, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent (5-6 minutes). Stir in spices and salt & pepper, saute until spiced become fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ginger, squash & sweet potato and mix well. Cover with the broth and bring to a boil (I added a little water but it was because I was short on broth). Once boil begins, lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth.

[peanuts]

am very allergic to onions.......

[daddytwosticks]

Ironic....peanuts is allergic to onions...

[Blissful]

I just use dried onion from the spice rack.

[Bags4266]

Would love any advice on dehydrating onions

.[/QUOTE]

Dehydrate in your basement. Your whole house will reak of onions. Also do them by themselves the flavor will definatly cross over to other foods in the machine.

[Rick500]

am very allergic to onions.......

Oh, bummer... So sorry; that's a shame.

[daibutsu]

Not to be neener, neerner here; but the call of the question is 'dehydration of onion,' which I sorely need advice on, especially as a first-time d-hydrator!!

What about dehydrating onions, for the sake of having dehydrated onions on the trail?

Does it turn out like the spice stuff you get from McCormick, or are they worth the effort, and energy?

[GGS2]

Onions are mostly water, but that water contains a lot of volatile flavor, which is easy to lose by dehydrating in too much heat. I suppose the best method is freeze drying, but not too many of us can do that at home. Next best I would think would be low heat, high air exchange, maybe with a dehumidifier to supply drier than normal air. Then slice the onion thin and spread on trays, possibly with parchment paper underlay, and dry until almost crumbly. Then crumble or cut fine, as you wish, bag and store in a freezer until ready to use (or take on the trail). Once out of the freezer, they should still keep for a couple of months, unless your drier or prep area is expecially contaminated with mold and spores, etc.

That's my take on it. Now lets see if someone who actually knows what they're saying agrees.

[tothetrail]

I just use dried onion from the spice rack.

I just look for the largest slices. Some are quite small. I think it was Smart N Final where I found them.

[Grinder]

to answer the actual question

Yes you can dehydrate onions

Slice and separate rings. put in oven (set temp 1/2 way between warm and off. Prop oven door open with a spoon), when they get dry and crispy remove and cut into 1/4 1/2 inch pieces.

They will rehydrate just fine. I think mine looked a bit browner than the commercial product.

[Appalachian Tater]

Onions are probably one of the least cost-effective things to dehydrate yourself. I bought a one pound container of dehydrated minced onion for $2.50 a couple of weeks ago, on sale from $2.99. I'm pretty sure it would have cost that much at least to buy the onions, not to mention the fuel for dehydrating them plus my time. From what I am seeing, 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons = 1 medium onion.

[Pedaling Fool]

Onions are great to dehydrate; I just buy the cheap yellow onions. It is surprising how sweet they are once rehydrated in my stew. The vast majority of my dehydrated meal is made up of veggies and I believe that is why I'm not feeling run down after a long distance hike, unlike all the other thru-hikers that seem to be withering away.

Even the simple veggies like celery, lettuce, corn, etc... are packed with vital nutrients. Check out this, (click on the numbers below to advance the slides... http://bicycling.com/vegetables/home.html

I was especially surprised by what lettuce contains.





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[Loneoak]

John, thanks for the link. I have since dehydrated several veggies and they are all turning out great. Especially like green peas. Most of them are really good just to snack on while on the move (not rehydrated). If your goin to do green peas or for that matter any veggies, the frozen ones work great. I do cook some of mine for a short time first.

[envirodiver]

We recently got a convection toaster oven. Supposedly, it will dehydrate, I think.

Would love any advice on dehydrating onions, peppers, vegetables, mushrooms, and other good stuff.

RainMan

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I rarely dehydrate onions, because they are readily available and realitively inexpensive in the grocery. They also stink the house up as does dehydrating garlic.

Tomatoes are the bomb! Flavor explosions. I like to cut cherry tomatoes in half and dehydrate to leather. Can also dehydrate sliced tomatoes to leather or dehydrate further until cripsy, put in a blender and make tomato powder which is great in recipes. Just don't dehydrate things with tomato sauce at too high of a temperature, because it seems to give it a sort of burned taste.

Most veggies you just dry until hard, such as corn, peas, beans. I buy frozen veggies and thaw them and dehydrate or canned chilli hot beans, pinto or black beans do great. I stir them every now and then when in the dehydrator, to ensure evn drying.

Make sure mushrooms are very, very dry and package seperately. I had some that were not dry enough turn on me. Not a good smell and they would have ruined the recipe.

I use a purchased dehydrator, the oven sould work fine,but not sure how it would compare in timing.