Tone Dehydrated Onions
At one time I made frequent car trips between the San Francisco Bay Area and southern Oregon. I’d always stop at the same Arco station for food. It offered those terrible pre-cooked wrapped cheeseburgers, but with an irresistible topping: dried onions that had been soaked and reconstituted. Somehow this process of reanimation added complexity beyond anything you can get in a fresh sliced raw onion, and I’ve been thinking about those onion burgers for years.
Now, I have a way to make my own: Toné Dehydrated Onions, available in a giant jug that should last close to a lifetime. Spoon out some dried onions into a little bowl, thoroughly moisten with water (about 2x the volume of onions) then microwave 30 seconds and you’re good to go. These onions are also great added to soup, baked beans or meatloaf without reconstituting, which means they’ll pick up the flavor of the surrounding liquid.
Toné Dehydrated Onions, as well as their shelfmate Toné Chili Powder (which Snow’s uses in their ethereal baked beans) are available at Sam’s Club. If you don’t have a Sam’s near you, or you’re not a member and don’t care to join, you can get them mail order from Spice Place. Its not the sleekest website; look for search box and drop down list of manufactuerers at left and you’ll find what you need.
