History of Onions

The name onion is derived from Anglo-French "union", Old French "oignon" and directly from Latin "unionem" (nominative unio), conversational ancient Roman used to describe "a kind of onion". The species name derives from the Late Latin “cepa” which is the name often used in the Romance languages (including Italian, Portuguese and Spanish), examples include Italian “cipolla”, Provençal “cebo” and Romanian “ceapă”. In ancient Greek, onions were called “kremmidi” and the Greek poet Homer, made multiple references to this in his epic poem, The Iliad, telling of the Greek heroes consuming onions and leeks more than 3,000 years ago.

The exact origin of onions is still unknown, but food historians believe that they are likely indigenous to prehistoric Afghanistan or Persia. Onions are believed to be one of the world's oldest crops. On the Great Pyramid of Giza, inside the largest and oldest of the 3 great pyramids built in Egypt around 2500 BC, there is an inscription telling of how onions, garlic and radishes were given to the slaves building the pyramid.

Both onion and garlic are featured prominently in a collection of Babylonian recipes from Mesopotamia. Babylon (located about 60 miles south of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq) was the ancient city that stood for nearly two thousand years as the center of Mesopotamian civilization. The Babylonian recipes were discovered in 1985 and date back to 1750 BC and are now kept at the University of Yale and are known as the "Yale Recipes". The 35 recipes are written on two clay tablets show that onion and several of its relatives (garlic, leeks and shallots) were characteristic flavors of ancient Babylon and appear in almost every recipe, usually in mashed form to be stirred into the foods.

The first European settlers to America brought bulb onions with them and they noted that the Native Americans were already fond of using wild onions either raw or in a variety of cooked dishes. According to diaries kept by the Pilgrims, bulb onions were one of the first things planted, as early as 1648, once land was cleared for farming.

Today, dehydrated onion powder, granulated onion and onion flakes are very popular in other parts of the world, especially in Germany, Japan, Libya, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Russia and Spain.

Libyans consume more onions than any other country in the world with an astounding average per capita consumption of 66.8 pounds.

Onion Cultivation

Onions may be the world's most ubiquitous foodstuff and the United Nations estimates that at least 175 countries produces an onion crop, which is more than twice as many as grow wheat ( the largest global crop by area harvested).

Onions are tolerant of cool weather, but can also thrive in hotter temperatures and are widely cultivated throughout North America, with the largest producing states in this country being California, Washington, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Georgia. Sweeter varieties of onions tend to be grown in the southern states, with the more pungent tasting onions being grown in the north. California harvests 75% of all domestic onions cultivated for use as dehydrated onions in the US.

The organic onions that are used in our Organic Onion Powder are grown in California.

During the drying process, dehydrated onions go from an initial moisture content of around 86% down to approximately to 7%. It takes 9 pounds of fresh onions to make 1 pound of dehydrated onions. Granulated Onion is made from ground, dehydrated onions, typically the pungent bulb onion variety, and possesses a strong odor.

Food Snobs

Many home cooks and self-proclaimed "lovers of food" look down on dehydrated onion as a shortcut for lazy cooks, or as a cheap alternative to “the real thing”. We get that, and whenever possible we almost always choose fresh onions in our meals -- yellow, white, red, and even shallots (a type of onion, specifically a botanical variety of the species Allium cepa). While fresh onions are tough to beat, we often find that onion powder brings together other flavors and provides a subtle completeness that while harder to put your finger on, does make the dish taste better.

Meeting Your Business Needs with Our Products

Our Organic Clifornia Onion Powder is popular with a variety of restaurants. Mexican restaurants use it because onion is an essential ingredient in Mexican cuisine. It pairs well with rice, beans, and salsas, all of which are staples to the Mexican diet. In American restaurants, this onion powder is a great addition to pasta dishes, with sauces, in gravies, and as a flavor enhancer in soups and stews. It gives that earthy flavor to heavy comfort dishes that are popular in American cuisine. Onion powder is a popular flavor choice for vegetarians and vegans, meaning it is a frequently purchased ingredient for these style restaurants. Vegetarians and vegans use spices and seasonings to add flavor to foods that may otherwise taste bland. (Tofu anyone?) This is an excellent organic choice for chefs who want to experiment in the realm of vegan or vegetarian food but are looking for something more familiar to work with!

How to Cook with Onion Powder

We like to use Organic Onion Powder when we don’t have fresh onions around, and we can adjust the flavor a bit by adding differing amounts of the dried onion. Sometimes these can also be used to give your dish a bit more assertive flavor. Onion powder provides terrific onion aroma and flavor, but not texture. Ideal for use in sauces and gravies, spice blends, canned foods, meats, spreads and soups.

While onion powder can be added directly to most foods, it is best to rehydrate them before adding to dishes that don't have sufficient amounts of liquid in them, or if you’re adding later in the cooking process. To rehydrate you can place them in a small bowl, cover the granulated onions with luke warm water and let them sit for about 15 minutes, then drain off the excess water. You can also mix them with just enough cool water to make a smooth paste which can then be adding to the dish towards the end of cooking.

Dehydrated Onion Conversions

If you're looking to convert a recipe from fresh onions to dehydrated onions go with 1 small onion = 1 teaspoon onion powder or granulated onion = 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes.

Related Blog Posts