HOW TO DEHYDRATE GREEN ONIONS

Let’s dehydrate green onions. Whether you grow them yourself or get a great deal at the store, dehydrating green onions, also known as scallions, is a great addition to your pantry, especially if you enjoy preparing dried food mixes.

How to dehydrate green onions

1. WASH GREEN ONIONS: Remove the rubber band (if bought in bunches) and swish onions in a bowl of water. Strip off any bits and pieces that don’t look very appealing.

2. Cut one to two inches above the roots so you can regrow your green onions. Out of all the kitchen scraps you regrow, regrowing green onions is definitely the easiest and most successful.

3. If you’re not interested in regrowing your onions chop off much closer to the root end.

4. CHOP GREEN ONIONS THE WAY YOU LIKE THEM: Because green onions are thin and dry so quickly, it doesn’t really matter how small you cut them, just chop them a consistent size. You can cut them the same way you would if you were using them raw, smaller pieces, so sometimes you can even cut the bulb end or really wide green stems in half. You may be wondering if you should keep the white and green bits separate. Maybe you’re even wondering if you should separate the little rings, don’t bother doing either of those things. The green onions will dry perfectly well regardless. If you’re really concerned about the rings, rather than fussing with pushing them apart, you can cut the green onions in half and the pieces will separate easily just by rubbing them a little.

5. SPREAD OUT ON MESH TRAY: Spread chopped green onions on mesh tray. Small bits may fall through as they dry, if this is a concern place a liner underneath. Gather up any fallen bits and add to the jar. Don’t add a liner underneath the green onions, do cover the top of them with a mesh liner from another tray so they don’t blow during drying. Do this with lightweight herbs to keep them in place.

6. SET DEHYDRATOR: Set the dehydrator to 125°F or 52°C . Depending on how humid it is where you live they will take about 3 to 5 hours.

7. CHECK FOR DRYNESS: Green onions are done and completely dehydrated when they crinkle, and easily break or crush. If they’re bendable but don’t break, give them a little more time.

8. STORE DRIED GREEN ONIONS: Let cool completely then place in an air tight container that is just large enough to hold all of your dried green onions. A container with a lot of empty space traps too much air which will reduce the flavor and color of your dried green onions more quickly. Read more tips on How to Store Dehydrated Food. Store the container in a cool, dry, dark place.

9. ENJOY YOUR GREEN ONIONS: While your green onions will be safe to eat for many years, you’ll get the best flavor and color if you use them within 6 months.