How do you dry onions?

[Laura]

I do not have a dehydrator, and I would like to dry my onions.
Everything I am reading says that dehydration is a great way to store food....and it takes up less space, and keeps longer.

I would like to know how to dehydrate my onions.
Thank you
Laura

[NCLee]

Laura, please let me recommend that you get a good dehydrator. The one that I recommend is Excalibur. I started out with one of the inexpensive round ones sold in a lot of places. After a few attempts, I gave it away.

It had only one temperature setting which was too high for anything except making jerky. That was a disaster waiting for herbs, fruits, and most veggies.

One ot the main things, in addition to the thermostat, that I like about an Excalibur is that I don't have to stack and unstack trays just to check on the drying progress. Simply slide out a tray to check.

Here's a link to their catalog. Mine is the 9 tray with timer. http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/Dehydrators-37-cat.htm

Even if you don't buy one from them, do spend some time exploring their web site for lots of info on dehydrating a variety of foods.

All that said, :) Other than drying in an oven (usually too hot), you'll need some type of dehydrator, even if it's simply window screens in the yard, or the dashboard of your car. There are a variety of plans on the net to build them. Use the Excalibur specs to evaluate those plans as some aren't worth the cardboard cartons to build them. (Lack of proper temperature control, air circulation, etc. leads to mold on food, case hardening, and simply poorly dried food.)

Hope some of this helps get you started towards drying your onions.
Lee

[firegirl969]

Another great way to keep onions is to tie them in pantyhose, just push an onion into the leg, tie a knot, push another one in, tie a knot and keep going. They you hang them in a warm, dry place to keep, such as in the barn. Do not let the onions touch and they will keep real well.

[CanNerd]

The Excalibur is the Cadillac of dehydrators and definitely worth getting if you want a Cadillac and have the money to pay for it. Many beginners however are quite satisfied with the abilities of the NESCO/American Harvester "GardenMaster" for home use. You may have to look around for it. Wal-Mart sells a smaller beginner's size called the "SnackMaster", but most people outgrow it and you want a dehydrator with a temperature control.

[sissy]

Hi Laura,
I have tried at least 4 dehydrators & all I had problems with.:mad: Have to watch them, check & re stake still had food to cooked. I found my Excalibur on ebay, It was from the Excalibur store & refurbished. Had a guarantee on it It has been great.:D One of my best buys. That reminds me I need to dry some onions.:yes4:
Sissy

[NCLee]

The Excalibur is the Cadillac of dehydrators and definitely worth getting if you want a Cadillac and have the money to pay for it. Many beginners however are quite satisfied with the abilities of the NESCO/American Harvester "GardenMaster" for home use. You may have to look around for it. Wal-Mart sells a smaller beginner's size called the "SnackMaster", but most people outgrow it and you want a dehydrator with a temperature control.

Since I'm not familar with the American Harvester GardenMaster, thought I'd check it out.

4 tray model
http://www.nesco.com/category_449f7f01f1ea/product_8667b3bd030d/session_abe8b554b2ef/
Sale price $129. + cost of screens/liners

Excalibur 4 tray - Sale price $119 - includes polymesh screens
http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/Dehydrators-37-cat.htm

For volume processing Garden Master will need more trays and liners. Trays @ 24.95/2 and liners @ 7.95/2 It's approx $100 or $229 to roughly compare with the 9 tray Excalibur w/o timer w/polyscreens @ $219.

Drying space per tray GardenMaster 1 sq ft, 9 trays = 9 sq ft
Excalibur 9 tray = 15 sq ft

Frankly, I was surprised there's less price difference than I thought it would be, when trying to compare apples to apples.

FWIW, I bought the one with the timer, so I wouldn't have to get up at 3:00 am to turn it off

Oh, btw, couple other things I like about the Excalibur. Some trays can be left out when drying taller things such as bunches of herbs still on the stem.

It's also a yogurt maker. Will accomodate pint and quart jars.

As I mentioned, I haven't used the Garden Master, so I can't speak about its ease of use or quality of output. OTOH, I was sold on the Excalibur when I borrowed one from my neighbor after giving my low cost dehydrator away. IMHO, for anyone doing a goodly amount of dehydrating, it's well worth the investment.

Lee

[Anon001]

So, what about someone that doesn't want an electric dehydrator. Maybe they prefer less dependence on the Utility. I am off grid and would like to dehydrate as well, but I don't want an electric dehydrator. So, how would you dry the onions without the expense of a dehydrator????

[NCLee]

Paul, if memory serves you cook on a wood cookstove. My grandmother dried applies and other fruits in hers. She put them in after the fire died down and the oven cooled enough so that it wouldn't cook them.

A solar dehydrator is another option. Here's one plan to illustrate.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/2006-08-01/Build-a-Solar-Food-Dehydrator.aspx Here's another one http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2008/10/build-solar-dehydrator.html

Mom used a screen door as a drying rack. She'd spread the fruit or veggie on the door that was set on saw horses, on the screened backporch. That kept the flies away and protected the fruit from the dew. It was slow and didn't work very well if the humidity was high.

I've heard of people using vehicles parked in the sun with the windows slightly cracked for air circulation. I haven't tried it because there's no way to control the temperature so the food doesn't cook instead of dehydrating.

Hope this gives you an idea or two.
Lee

[sbemt456]

Hello all! I agree with Paul, not everyone wishes to use electricity to dry their food although it is sometimes a lil faster. I do have the Nesco brand dehydrator that is temp controlled with a fan and it works perfect. But does smaller amounts. Most stuff I dry on screens in the sun. I peel, wash and thinly slice my onions and seperate the rings, use window screens that have a layer of cheese cloth on it and spread a layer of onions on the cheese cloth and cover with another layer.Place the screens in the sun to dry. Most of them will dry in one day, some may take 2. Make sure they dry crisp for best storage. You can also make onion flakes by whizzing them after dried in a food processor or crushing them fine with your hands. This is jus my method.

Have a great day!
stella

[AlchemyAcres]

I have 2 "dehydrators" that i use off-grid, one is a very simple solar dehydrator ala Sue Robishaw and the other is a fan dehydrator ala Alton Brown.
I use a 16 inch 12v radiator cooling fan instead of the AC box fan.

Many Tracks (Sue Robishaw) Solar Food Dryer.......
http://www.manytracks.com/Homesteading/SolarFoodDryer.htm
And based on the same design.....
http://www.instructables.com/id/Humid-Climate-Solar-Dehydrator/

Alton Brown Box Fan Dehydrator................
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dried-fruit-recipe/index.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe/index.html
http://www.instructables.com/id/Box-Fan-Jerky/
http://www.diyjerky.com/instructions.html

Some day I plan on building one of the large fancy solar dehydrators.

~Martin

[Anon001]

Some great ideas... Thanks


Lee, I don't use a wood cookstove.........yet, but I plan to eventually for winter cooking.

[pathwayholding]

I've dried onions on a well scrubbed screen before. The screen was balanced on the seats of two chairs set a few feet apart for airflow underneath. I set up in the boiler room during winter. I'm sure the heat coming off the boiler helped things along. It stunk up the house to high heaven but they were nice and dry after a few days.

path

[DM]

Back before i had a cook stove with self cleaning oven (no light in this one) i dried a lot of food in the oven, using a 60W bulb in place of the little bulb that comes in them. I'd change out the bulb, leave it on, and adjust the heat by opening the door a little on the stove, putting sheet pans inside on the racks.

At the time, my house had base board hot water heat. I'd put sheep pans on top of the boiler with what ever i was wanting to dry on them. The heat off the boiler would do a great job...

I've also put sheet pans in the sun to dry foods, so there's lots of choises as how to do it...

DM

[annabella1]

I have dried foods in my car, on a sunny day. Slice the food thinly. Screens or openwork trays (LIKE CAKE COOLING RACKS) work best. leave the windows open a little bit so moist air will go out. cover the food with cheesecloth to keep bugs off. Some foods require blanching before drying. I don't remember if onions do or not but you can look it up on the internet. Your car will smell like whatever you are drying.

[firegirl969]

I have a small truck with a camper shell on it. Can I dehydrate veggies and fruits in it on screens and just crack the sliding windows to let moisture out?

[annabella1]

I would give it a try, if your area is not too humid it should work, remember to protect the food from bugs, and that some foods require blanching before dehydrating.

[NCLee]

Can you run an electric cord to your truck and run a small fan in it to keep the air circulating. Even one of those personal desktop type fans would help. Air movement moves the moisture away from the surface of the food. Setting the fan so it blows to the outside is the best. But any air movement will help.

Lee

[boatchick18]

Something that I have done is to chop the onions up and put them in the oven on the lowest setting it has and let them "dry" in there. By using my in-oven thermometer, I could regulate the temp by occasionally cracking the oven door open. I tried to keep it as close to 170 degrees as I could (My oven only goes down to 200) so they would dry and not bake. After they were dried, I ground them up in my blender and use those to flavor my food.

Five pounds of onions didn't yield nearly as much as onion powder as I would have expected (maybe a pint jars worth). But I really like it to use it in all kinds of cooking.

I don't suppose this idea is the best way to preserve onions but as a city girl trying to learn the self-sufficient lifestyle, I hate to have anything go to waste. As much as I love onions, I could never eat 5 lbs of them before they went bad. ;)

[Laura]

I did it.
I bought the 9 tray with timer Excalibur.

Now I have about 40lbs of onions to dehydrate.
I do know to do this outside, as the smell is a bit much for indoors.....and this week is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL so I want to get it done.

The Excalibur book that came with the unit, says about 8-9 hours to dry.

Here's the $1,000.00 question.

What's the best way to insure that they dry all the way through?
Cubes (diced)
or
Sliced
Would my dicing and slicing be paper thin?

Once dried, what is the best way to store (for longevity and freshness)

Totally appreciate your input!

[TEX]

Laura, I did about three trays of onions in my excalibur a couple of days ago - mine doesn't have a timer but I know it ran for more than 8 hours - more like 12.

I have mine in the utility room right off the kitchen - there is a door between the 2 and I couldn't smell anything.

I cut mine up about 1/8 inch and then cut the rings in half - too small and they fall through the holes in the tray and I haven't bought the sheets for the machine yet. I have my dried onions in a mason jar but you could probably vaccum pack them also.

[sbemt456]

I have dehydrated lots of onions. As matter of fact I just took some out of the dehydrator this morning. Have a total of about a gallon and a half of onion flakes. I usually just peel the onions, then I use the slicing blade on the food processor to slice them. This way they are more uniform slices. And it does take 12 hours or so for them to dry brittle which is what I want. I use the Nesco brand dehydrator with thermostat and fan. I let the onions cool to room temp and put them in glass jars and vacuum seal the jars. Then off to the cellar till needed. Hope this helps a bit.

have a great day!

stella

[KarenBC]

I dried onions a few years back when it looked like they were not going to keep.
Did mine in an electric dehydrator...sliced real thin and let them dry til crispy. The fumes were intense at first!

This old house has a grate in the floor - above the wood heater in the basement, I've used the trays from the dehydrator stacked up on that grate to dry things (no electricity) and it works just great, not as fast, but does work...mostly things like mushrooms on sale or marked down during the months that the wood heater is in use.

[Primevci]

The Excalibur is the Cadillac of dehydrators and definitely worth getting if you want a Cadillac and have the money to pay for it. Many beginners however are quite satisfied with the abilities of the NESCO/American Harvester "GardenMaster" for home use. You may have to look around for it. Wal-Mart sells a smaller beginner's size called the "SnackMaster", but most people outgrow it and you want a dehydrator with a temperature control.


i agree with you can nerd i got my nesco for 40 bucks and have not had a problem yet.. yeah maybe down the road i ight get a caddy but i dont see any reason right now...

[NotSoFast]

Dehydrating shrinks the onions a LOT. 3-5 pounds will fit in a half gallon mason jar.

If you don't have a dehydrator, try dehydrating them in your oven on it's lowest setting (pilot if you have a gas oven). Dice the onions and spread them one layer thick on a cookie sheet. The other way would be to spread them in the sun and cover them )so the cover isn't touching) with window screening to keep the insects off them. If they're not done the first day, bring them in at night to prevent them from reabsorbing moisture.

I have a Nesco dehydrator and it makes a world of difference. I bought mine for about $60 on Amazon.com.