How to make dried onions and where can this product be used? Advantages and disadvantages of this storage method

Dried onions and green onions are a popular product that many housewives underestimate. They simply believe that this vegetable can be purchased in stores all year round, rather than spending a lot of time dehydrating it. But it is in this form that it is able to reveal a richer taste and aroma. And the ancient Romans considered it a talisman against troubles. What other reasons will prompt you to do such preparation and how to carry it out correctly will be discussed in the article.

Chemical composition

Energy and nutritional value of dried onions per 100 g:

• 208 kilocalories;
• 8.4 g protein;
• 2.8 g fat;
• 42.6 g carbohydrates.

Approximate figures are presented here - the actual calorie content depends on the drying method and the degree of dehydration of the product. Like fresh root vegetables, dried onions have a rich vitamin and mineral composition.

During processing, the product practically does not lose valuable components. Dried onions contain vitamins:

• WITH;
• E;
• TO;
• RR;
• B vitamins: B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B9.

The product contains minerals:

• calcium;
• potassium;
• magnesium;
• sodium;
• phosphorus;
• manganese;
• iron;
• zinc;
• selenium.

Dried and fresh onions are almost identical in composition, they differ only in the concentration of vitamins and minerals. The content of useful substances during the drying process increases many times due to the loss of water from the product.

Important!

Don’t forget about the calorie content: dried product contains 5 times more calories than fresh product (208 versus 40).

Benefits of dried green onions

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Dried onions have a range of useful properties. Green feathers are rich in phytoncides, pectins and glycosides.

Reference. Essential oils are of particular value. To obtain them, the method of steam distillation is used. The product is used for flavoring semi-finished products, industrial sauces and seasonings.

Esters are valued for their effectiveness in the treatment of viral diseases, bronchitis, and pulmonary infections. They dilute and remove mucus, eliminate bile stagnation and normalize the condition of pathologies of the genitourinary system. Essential onion oils are used to prevent atherosclerosis and stimulate appetite.

Dried onions normalize digestive function by stimulating the secretion of gastric juice. Phytoncides destroy bacteria and have an anthelmintic effect. Potassium and sodium are responsible for the regulation of water-salt metabolism.

Vitamins A and E support visual acuity, beauty of skin and hair, stimulate the production of immune cells, protect healthy cells from the negative effects of free radicals, and reduce oxidative processes in the body.

100 g of green onions contain 166.9 mcg of vitamin K, while the norm for humans is 120 mcg. This substance is responsible for normal blood clotting, prevents the development of osteoporosis and calcification (accumulation of calcium around blood vessels), and reduces the likelihood of developing liver and breast cancer.

B vitamins normalize the transmission of nerve impulses, reduce stress, regulate protein synthesis and fat breakdown, accelerate metabolism, and improve the health of the central nervous system.

Sulfur is responsible for blood clotting and collagen production: with frequent consumption of green onions, skin, hair and nails look strong, healthy and shiny. The microelement inhibits the aging of the body and reduces allergic reactions.

Zinc helps absorb vitamins A and E, supports immunity, vision, reproductive system health, and the beauty of skin and hair.

Advantages and disadvantages of this method

Advantages:

• reduction in the mass and volume of the final product, the mass of the crop is reduced by 5 times, and the volume by up to 10 times;
• increasing the culinary uses of dried onions;
• processed onions are less susceptible to rotting and molding;
• the product becomes unpretentious for storage, the need to create special conditions disappears: provide sufficient ventilation, control the temperature.

Disadvantages of the storage method:

• the need to use special equipment;
• if improperly dried, the product loses its valuable properties;
• The process of preparing and processing onions takes a lot of time and effort.

The disadvantage is the energy value of the seasoning: when adding a large amount of dried onions during the cooking process, the calorie content of the finished dish increases greatly.

Where does dried onion seasoning begin: selection and preparation of vegetables

In order to preserve a vegetable in a form acceptable for consumption, it is necessary to create a number of certain conditions, maintain humidity, ventilation and temperature. It is much easier to preserve beneficial properties by drying. This way, the onion will retain a record amount of potassium and magnesium, phosphorus and calcium, sodium, ascorbic acid and many other substances.

Harvesting and selecting bulbs for drying

Before you start learning how to dry vegetables, you need to collect them on time and correctly. Onions are ready for digging and sorting already 3-4 months after planting in the garden. The timing may vary slightly in one direction or the other, depending on the growing region and prevailing weather conditions.

The first sign of ripeness will be yellowing of the leaves and their lodging on the soil. The upper scales on the bulb itself begin to acquire a golden-brown color, become shiny, and become noticeably thinner. If they begin to darken and “go cloudy”, then the onion is seriously deteriorating and should be dug up urgently. It is advisable to harvest the crop in warm and dry weather, allowing it to dry thoroughly before sending it for processing.

If you don’t have your own garden, you can choose onions for drying in the store, guided by the following indicators:

• The bulbs should be elastic and uniform.
• The husk on the surface of high-quality raw materials is dry, dense, rustling, glossy, and brownish-golden in color.
• Stains, mechanical damage (chips, dented areas, cuts), rot, an unpleasant putrid smell, all this indicates poor quality.
• The rhizome and fronds (leaves) should look completely dry.

The best onions for drying do not have a distinct sweetish taste; this vegetable is best used in salads or pickling. It should have a pungent odor and pungent taste, then the product will be of the highest quality and will last for a longer time.

Preparation of raw materials

Peeling and slicing

It is unlikely that you can dry whole heads, so you need to prepare them first.

• Cut off the roots and dry leaves from the bulb using a sharp knife.
• Peel it from the thin husk that covers the surface.
• Wash the onion and place in a sieve, blot with napkins or let dry completely.

Cut the vegetable into rings, half rings or cubes, no more than 3-4 millimeters thick and 4-8 centimeters long.

Blanching

If the onion seems too caustic to you, and in addition, you want to speed up the drying process, you can blanch the workpiece in boiling water. This is not difficult to do; you don’t need a lot of time, special knowledge or equipment.

• Place a saucepan of water over high heat. Add a few pinches of salt there, let the liquid boil, reduce the heat intensity to medium.
• Place the prepared chopped onion in a colander, place in boiling water and let stand for 2-4 minutes.
• Take out the container with the vegetable and quickly place it under running cold water. Cool it thoroughly.

Let the liquid drain and place the onions on a clean cloth or paper towels to completely absorb any remaining water before drying.

Frying

To get the pleasant, slightly caramel flavor of onions, they are first fried before drying.

• Add oil to a heated frying pan.
• Add the onion and fry it until translucent and light golden brown.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion before it gets too fried.

The resulting product is immediately placed on paper towels. They need to completely absorb all the fat before it goes into drying. Then dry using standard methods described below.

Product preparation

Preparing the crop for drying begins in the garden. Harvest preparation rules:

1. 10-50 days before the intended harvest, it is necessary to stop watering. Make sure there are no heavy rains expected 1-2 weeks before harvest.
2. Onions should not be pulled out of the ground by the tops. You should try to harvest the crop carefully, without causing damage to the root crops: rot is highly likely to appear at the site of damage.
3. The harvested onions must be carefully cleaned of any remaining soil and, on the next sunny day, the crop must be dried in the sun for several hours. If the sun is shining on the day of harvesting, it is better to dry the root vegetables immediately after removing them from the soil. Drying under the sun's rays allows you to naturally dry the husks and protect the crop from rot.
4. Sort the dried onions and cut off the feather (if necessary). Only dense root vegetables with intact roots without signs of rotting are suitable for subsequent drying.
5. Carefully place the selected onions in boxes or baskets.

Recipe for properly drying onions in the oven

If you don’t have a household appliance such as an electric dryer, you can call on the faithful companion of all housewives - the oven. The drying process in the oven will take a little longer than in the dryer, but the result will definitely not be worse.

The only drawback to this method of drying is the pungent odor that the onions emit. Therefore, during the process of drying a spicy vegetable, it is worth opening the windows or turning on the ventilation so that after cooking in the kitchen there will be no trace of your culinary experiments left.

Drying onions with your own hands: instructions for home use

1. Take as much onion as you want, but remember that after drying, its quantity will decrease significantly. For example, if you take 1.3 kg, then by the end of drying there will be approximately 200-250 g left. Use this data when you calculate the amount of product you need.
2. We clean the onion heads from everything unnecessary: ​​roots, tails and, of course, peels.
3. We wash all the peeled fruits from dirt in running water, and then pour everything into a clean large bowl.
4. Cut each washed onion into equal thin rings. The thickness of any ring should not exceed 3-4 mm. If you do not heed this advice, you may end up with poorly dried onions. You are allowed to choose another form of cutting, even smaller, for example, half rings or quarter rings.
5. Wash the chopped onion again under running water so that the thin film from the rings, invisible to us, is completely washed away. After washing, drain the onions in a colander.
6. Now boil plain water in a saucepan, then throw in 1 tbsp. l. salt and stir everything until its crystals are completely dissolved.
7. Place the slightly cooled brine solution in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. After a few hours, put the onion in salted liquid and keep it there for no more than 5 minutes.

This is done in order to preserve the natural shade of the onion, because, as you know, at a high temperature it can easily darken.

1. Wipe portions of chopped onions with a paper towel to remove any drops of solution. But if time allows, place the crushed future spice on a cloth made of natural material and leave it to dry from moisture under natural conditions.
2. Spread the onion slices evenly on a baking sheet, then dry them at 50-60 °C for 4-6 hours. During the process, the rings need to be stirred with a spatula (wooden) so as not to burn.
3. Remove the finished spicy component from the oven and leave to cool. The cooled ingredient should be at room temperature.

For those housewives who really don’t like to wait, we can give you an accelerated-acting recipe to help. In order to reduce the drying time significantly, before putting the onion in the oven, you need to blanch it for 2 minutes (put it in boiling water).

Then you can dry the vegetable for only 2 hours, but at a temperature of 70 °C. However, half an hour, or even forty minutes before the end of the culinary “operation,” we reduce the flame in the oven to 40° Celsius.

How to dry chopped onions and other types?

Not only onions are suitable for drying: onions can be dried, as well as leeks.

Outdoors

Important!

Air drying is the easiest way to process root vegetables and does not require the use of special kitchen equipment.

How to cook at home:

1. Peel the vegetables and cut into pieces.
2. Spread the semi-finished product in a thin layer on a horizontal surface. Baking sheets, large pieces of cardboard, and planks are suitable for this. The surface should be covered with clean paper without paint or cotton cloth.
3. As the onions dry, stir them to ensure air access to all layers.
4. When the pieces become dry and elastic and acquire a golden hue, they can be stored in storage containers

Air drying takes on average about 2 weeks.

In the oven

Using an oven significantly reduces the time it takes to prepare onions for the winter.

How to cook:

1. Chop the peeled onions.
2. Preheat the oven to 45-50°C.
3. Place the mixture on a baking sheet lined with paper and place in the oven.
4. The drying time is 2-3 hours, the onions need to be stirred once an hour for more even drying.

After drying, cool the finished product and store it.

We invite you to watch a video on how to dry onions in the oven:

In the microwave

Important!

The microwave allows you to get piquant dried onions in a matter of minutes.

How to cook:

1. Peel the root vegetables and chop finely.
2. Place a napkin on a microwave plate, spread a small amount of onion evenly on it and cover with another napkin.
3. Start the device at maximum power.

Usually 3 minutes are enough for the onions to dry; if the microwave has low power, the cooking time should be doubled. For harvesting a large harvest, this method is not very convenient - a small amount of product can be dried at a time.

To process all the supplies you will have to spend a lot of time and electricity. But if you need to dry just a couple of chopped onions, this method was better than the others.

In a convection oven

An air fryer allows you to prepare root vegetables for winter storage in just a couple of hours.

How to make dried onions:

1. Peel the root vegetables and cut into rings.
2. Place onion rings on the air fryer rack.
3. Turn on the device and start working at a temperature of 70°C.

At maximum hot air flow rate, the onions will cook in 1 hour.

In an electric dryer

How to cook:

1. Cut the peeled root vegetables into thin rings or random cubes.
2. Place 350-400 g of product on each tray of the electric dryer; the layer should be uniform.
3. Close the device and set the temperature to 60°C.
4. During drying, trays should be periodically swapped to ensure more even cooking of the product.

Drying in an electric dryer lasts about 7 hours.

We invite you to watch a video on how to dry onions in an electric dryer:

Green

Advice

Dried green onions are not inferior in taste to regular onions.

How to cook:

1. Sort the raw materials, wash thoroughly and dry on a metal rack or paper towel.
2. Finely chop the feather with a sharp knife.
3. Drying green onions is carried out in the same way as onions. You can dry the ground feathers in any convenient way: in the microwave, electric dryer, in the air, in the oven. You just have to take into account that drying green onions takes 3-5 times less time.

Dried green onions are stored in the same way as onions.

We invite you to watch a visual video about drying green onions:

Leek

Leeks are also great for drying, but it is preferable to use kitchen utensils to process them.

How to cook:

1. Wash the product thoroughly and dry.
2. Chop the dried onion: finely chop the green part across the feather, and chop the white part lengthwise into slices.
3. Place the crushed product in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and let the pieces dry.
4. Place the semi-finished product in an electric dryer, set the temperature to 70°C and dry for about half an hour.

You can also use the oven to prepare leeks. Drying will take about an hour at a temperature of 50°C; during heat treatment, the product should be stirred periodically.

How to dry onions after harvesting

After the onions are dug up, they need to be left in the garden for several hours so that they dry out slightly. Then the vegetables are transferred to the shade, in a well-ventilated area.

After 5–6 days of drying, the onions are sorted, leaving only the strongest, undamaged specimens for long-term storage. If you plan to dry the onions in “braids,” then the tails of the bulbs should be left long, and if in nets, then the dry leaves should be cut off so that a small neck 4–6 centimeters long remains.

On grids

The storage area must be dry and well ventilated. The cut bulbs are laid out in one layer on nets stretched at some distance from the ground. You can also use mesh plastic boxes or bags. However, in this case, the onion turnips will need to be stirred periodically so that drying occurs evenly.

Enterprising housewives have learned to use nylon products such as stockings and tights to dry onions. True, it is best to place completely dried onions in them for further storage.

In "braids"

“Braids” made from onions look very beautiful and often act as a decorative element in country houses.

To keep onions in braids for a long time, you need to know a number of rules:

• Since dry onion feathers are quite fragile, the structure should not be made long and heavy.
• To enhance the strength of the braid, you must add some strong rope.
• To ensure that vegetables are well ventilated, they should not be woven too tightly.
• The braid should be stored in a suspended position.

Watch a video tutorial from the channel “New from the Witch” on how to weave onion braids

Where to apply?

The dried product can be added to all recipes that traditionally use fresh onions: this method will help diversify the taste of already familiar dishes.

Dried onions can also be used as a seasoning for:

• porridge;
• salads;
• marinades;
• canned food

Onions are added to:

• mushroom, meat and fish dishes;
• also in savory baked goods.

Dried onion rings are often used as a snack instead of crackers or chips.