{{Short description|Dried ground onion used as a seasoning}} thumb|250px|Onion powder '''Onion powder''' is dehydrated, ground onion used as a seasoning.<ref name="Engineers 2015 p. 169"/> It is a common ingredient in seasoned salt and spice mixes,<ref name="Engineers 2015 p. 169"/> such as beau monde seasoning.<ref name="Whaley 1998 p. 117"/> Some varieties are prepared using toasted onion.<ref name="Engineers 2015 p. 169"/><ref name="Lusas Rooney 2001 p. 510"/> White, yellow, and red onions may be used.<ref name="Engineers 2015 p. 169"/> Onion powder is a commercially prepared food product that has several culinary uses. Onion powder can also be homemade.<ref name="Deming"/>
'''Onion salt''' is a spice preparation using dried onion and salt as primary ingredients.
==Commercial production== Commercial onion powders are prepared using dehydration, freeze-drying, vacuum-shelf drying and flow drying.<ref name="ScienceDirect.com 2001"/> Some commercial onion powders are irradiated as a treatment against potential microbial contamination.<ref name="Rabinowitch Brewster 1989 p. 80"/> It readily absorbs water upon contact, so commercial varieties may be packaged in airtight containers with a liner atop the container.<ref name="Heath 1981 p. 154"/> Onion powder with a moisture content of 4–5 percent is prone to caking when stored in warmer environments, with increased temperatures corresponding to a shorter time for the occurrence of caking.<ref name="Taylor & Francis 1987 p. 93"/> It is generally accepted that commercial onion powder is around ten times stronger in flavor compared to fresh onion.<ref name="Heath 1981 p. 154"/>
===Onion salt===
Early commercial preparations of onion salt were simply a mixture of onion powder and salt.<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/> An example ratio for earlier commercial preparations is one part salt to every five parts of dehydrated onion.<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/> Contemporary versions typically utilize dried granulated onion and salt and usually include an anticaking agent.<ref name="Panda 2010 p. 74"/> The salt may help prevent the loss of onion flavor in the mixture by reducing the evaporation of onion oil.<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/> The development of commercial onion salt preparations included formulating products that reduced the strong odor of onion in the product and on the breath of consumers who eat it.<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/>
Commercial preparation of onion salt involves the testing and sorting of onions by the degree of onion flavor they have, as flavor constituents can vary considerably among various onion varieties.<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/> This is done before mixing to produce a consistent final product.<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/> Some commercial onion salt preparations are never touched by human hands, as the stages of processing are all performed using automated processes.<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/>
==Culinary uses==
Onion powder may be used as a seasoning atop a variety of foods and dishes, such as pasta, pizza, and grilled chicken. It is a primary ingredient in beau monde seasoning.<ref name="Whaley 1998 p. 117"/> and is sometimes used as a meat rub.<ref name="Engineers 2015 p. 169"/> Onion powder is also an ingredient in some commercially prepared foods, such as sauces, soups,<ref name="BBC News 2015"/> and salad dressings. Additionally, it can be used in various recipes like burgers or meatloaf.{{cn|date=October 2024}}
Onion salt is used as a seasoning on finished dishes<ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77"/> and as an ingredient in many types of dishes, such as meat and vegetable dishes, casseroles and soups.{{cn|date=October 2024}}
==See also== {{portal|Food}} {{div col|colwidth=30em}} *Celery powder *Celery salt *Chili powder *Garlic powder *Garlic salt *List of culinary herbs and spices *List of onion dishes *syn-Propanethial-S-oxide, the molecule that gives onions and onion powder their strong flavor. {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name="Engineers 2015 p. 169">{{cite book | last=Engineers | first=N.B.C. | title=The Complete Book on Onion & Garlic Cultivation with Processing (Production of Onion Paste, Flakes, Powder & Garlic Paste, Powder, Flakes, Oil) | year=2015 | isbn=978-81-7833-159-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WchbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 | pages=169–175| publisher=Asia Pacific Business Press }}</ref> <ref name="Rabinowitch Brewster 1989 p. 80">{{cite book | last1=Rabinowitch | first1=H.D. | last2=Brewster | first2=J.L. | title=Onions and Allied Crops: Biochemistry Food Science Minor Crops | publisher=Taylor & Francis | issue=v. 3 | year=1989 | isbn=978-0-8493-6302-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VFGYQcYkCYoC&pg=PA80 | page=80}}</ref> <ref name="Lusas Rooney 2001 p. 510">{{cite book | last1=Lusas | first1=E.W. | last2=Rooney | first2=L.W. | title=Snack Foods Processing | publisher=CRC Press | year=2001 | isbn=978-1-4200-1254-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_5wlzckPkMC&pg=PA510 | page=510}}</ref> <ref name="Taylor & Francis 1987 p. 93">{{cite book | title=Water Activity: Theory and Applications to Food | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Ift Basic Symposium | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-8247-7759-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tNhABDqrgw8C&pg=PA93 | pages=93–94}}</ref> <ref name="Spice Mill Publishing Company 1914 p. 77">{{cite book | title=Coffee and Tea Industries and the Flavor Field | publisher=Spice Mill Publishing Company | issue=v. 37 | year=1914 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5B0xAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA77 | page=77}}</ref> <ref name="Panda 2010 p. 74">{{cite book | last=Panda | first=H. | title=Handbook on Spices and Condiments (Cultivation, Processing and Extraction) | publisher=Asia Pacific Business Press Inc. | year=2010 | isbn=978-81-7833-132-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2WxcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT74 | page=74}}</ref> <ref name="ScienceDirect.com 2001">{{cite journal | title=Moisture sorption studies on onion powder | journal=Food Chemistry |date=September 2002 |author1=Debnatha, Sukumar |author2=Hemavathya, J, Bhat, K.K |pages= 479–482 | doi=10.1016/S0308-8146(02)00161-9 | volume=78| issue=4 }}</ref> <ref name="Heath 1981 p. 154">{{cite book | last=Heath | first=H.B. | title=Source Book of Flavors: (AVI Sourcebook and Handbook Series) | publisher=Springer | year=1981 | isbn=978-0-87055-370-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HWDg-rPQbqgC&pg=PA154 | page=154}}</ref> <ref name="Deming">{{cite web | last=Deming | first=Linda | title=Homemade Onion Powder | date=August–September 2014 |website=Mother Earth News | url=http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/drying/homemade-onion-powder-zm0z14aszkin.aspx | access-date=September 18, 2015}}</ref> <ref name="Whaley 1998 p. 117">{{cite book | last=Whaley | first=E. | title=Mrs. Whaley Entertains: Advice, Opinions, and 100 Recipes from a Charleston Kitchen | publisher=Algonquin Books | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-56512-782-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/mrswhaleyscharle00emil | url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/mrswhaleyscharle00emil/page/117 117]}}</ref> <ref name="BBC News 2015">{{cite news | title=Why onions can cause more than tears | website=BBC News | date=February 10, 2015 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31301920 | access-date=September 18, 2015}}</ref> }}
==Further reading== *{{cite book | last1=Granovskaya | first1=R.Y. | last2=Korneva | first2=L.Y. | title=Quality Variation of Onion Powder During Storage in Polymer Packaging | publisher=Defense Technical Information Center | year=1973 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=imPMNwAACAAJ}} 5 pages.
{{Herbs & spices}} {{Salt topics}}
Category:Onion-based foods Category:Spices Category:Edible salt Category:Condiments Category:Food powders