Dehydrating Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Dehydrated Walla Walla sweet onions are a delightful crunchy low-carb snack. I first learned about dehydrating Walla Wallas when my now teen children were babies and we lived in Wrightwood, California. Adventure Dad went to a garage sale and scored some canning jars. The woman talked to him about her own homesteading and homemaking adventures and mentioned that dehydrated Walla Walla sweet onions were like candy. He came home and tried it. They are homestead candy for sure. You will certainly delight in making them. They make an excellent substitution for Hawaiian onion potato chips if you are on a low-carb, paleo, or keto diet.
First you will need some Walla Walla sweet onions. The Walla Walla is a type of sweet onion that is named after the Walla Walla Valley in Washington where they were first grown. A French settler brought over sweet onions from Corsica and the Walla Walla onion was developed from those sweet onions. They are delicious and I eat them raw, they are that good. The problem with sweet onions is that they don’t save well over the winter. The sweet onions that you buy in the grocery store in the winter are generally not from the United States. Dehydrated onions will last about a year, if you don’t eat them all before that.
Below is a bucket of Walla Walla onions that have been left to dry about a week after harvesting. The long stalks are still on and they make excellent handles if you use a mandolin for cutting. Adventure Dad uses the mandolin. I personally do not because I think I would cut all my fingers off as accident prone as I am.
One you have harvested (or purchased) your Walla Walla onions you will need to prepare them for cutting. To do this cut the bottoms off and peel off the papery and dirty outer skins. In the picture below the stalks are left on for using the mandolin. If you are cutting your onions by hand you can cut your tops off as well.
Slice the onions evenly into thick slices. You will want your slices to be about 1/4” each. Separate your slices into rings.
Arrange your rings single layer on your dehydrator trays.
Any dehydrator will work for this. My beloved adjustable Nesco dehydrator died last year in the middle of plum season. It was a 10 year old work horse and I think old house wiring may have been the culprit for its death. My local farm store only has the Nesco dehydrator with one heat setting, which is 165 degrees. So that is what I bought. It has worked fine for me although the drying times are shorter. If you can adjust the temperature on your dehydrator, set it for 135 degrees. Place your dehydrator outside under cover, or in the garage. The odors from dehydrating onions are VERY strong. I have a breezeway between my house and garage and that is where I usually place my dehydrator.
There are many variables on how long the onions will need to dehydrate. Moisture content in the onion, moisture content in the air, how many trays you are using, and how close your onions are all affect drying time. They are done when they are crispy to touch and slightly darker in color.
Let the onions cool to room temperature before storing. I store mine in mason jars. Enjoy! Let me know how you like them.
Dehydrated Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Ingredients
- Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Instructions
- Remove the outer layers from your Walla Walla sweet onions.
- Cut the bottoms off of the onions. If you are using a mandolin, keep the tops on to hold on to while cutting. If you are using a knife, cut the tops off.
- Slice the onions 1/4” thick and separate the slices into rings.
- Arrange the onion rings single layer on your dehydrator trays.
- Place your dehydrator in your garage or under cover outside to dissipate the strong onion odor.
- Dehydrate at 135 degrees for 4-12 hours. You will know the onions are done when they are crunchy to feel and a slightly darker color than before dehydrating.