Please take a look at this recipe and tell me why they call for dried onion instead of fresh

K

karennoca

Well-known member
WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Joel Palmer House Wild Mushroom Risotto with Oregon White Truffle Oil

½ oz dried porcini

1 qt.water

½ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

¼ lb unsalted butter

1 cup long grain rice

½ oz dried onion

Grated parmesan cheese

½ oz Joel Palmer House Oregon White Truffle Oil

In uncovered saucepan, bring water, dried mushrooms, sugar, salt and soy sauce to boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Strain out the liquid and reserve. Chop the mushrooms finely.

In a medium sauté pan melt the butter and add the dried onion and rice. Stir for 1 minute then add the reserved mushroom liquid. Cook uncovered and stir gently until water is absorbed and evaporated, about 15-20 minutes. Portion rice, drizzle lightly with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil and serve. Serves 10 as a small starter or 4 for a main course.

 
My guess is that 1/2 oz of dried onion may be the equivalent of a considerable amount...

...of fresh onion and perhaps the liquid in the fresh onion might throw off the liquid in the recipe.

Or, perhaps the concentrated taste of dried onions better suits the recipe.

Just guessing...

Michael

 
Yup I agree with Michael. I sometimes use dried onions and mushrooms instead of fresh

because the flavor is more pungent and it adds less liquid. In a restaurant menu one does not always have time to reduce liquids properly so using dried ingredients helps save time while not compromising the quality.

 
Along those lines... I buy dried onion flakes and grind them in my spice grinder to make...

...onion powder.

It has much better flavor than pre-ground onion powder.

I do have a few recipes where onion powder is an ingredient.

Michael

 
And along the lines that Michael and Kathy have given, and

particularly for a restaurant, it is probably more reproducible and consistent--very important for a menu item. The line cook can't screw it up.
Apologizing for the "K" in the title line instead of "Cathy"!! ;o)

 
I cleaned out my spice cabinet the other day and threw away a huge bottle of dried onions

Have no idea when it was even purchased.:smileys/frown.gif So, now the next question....is there a particular brand that you favor?

 
Ha! I just checked my spice cabinet and I must have had second thoughts about tossing the onions

cause there they were. I opened the jar, took a whiff, and they smell of very strong onion. I know they are at least and maybe more than five years old. I think I will take Michael's suggestion and grind them into powder - maybe make a vinaigrette using some of the onion powder. If it tastes good and I am alive the next day, I will keep them.
I bought them from our local grain mill, they are listed a Premium Dried Onion Flakes.

 
In PA, there was a tiny diner that made super-flat grilled burgers...and the KEY was

the rehydrated dried onions he put on top. I've never liked onions before or since, but I LOVED that man's burgers. His onions didn't burn my tongue like they do now.

Of course, I was in 8th grade then. Apparently my taste buds have never graduated from Highland Elementary School.

 
When Rick Bayless uses fresh chopped white onion for a fresh (non-cooked) salsa, he...

...usually puts the chopped onion in a sieve and runs cold tap water over them. He says it removes some of the harshness.

Michael

 
I've had good luck with 2 C boiling water + 1 TBL cider vinegar then soaking diced red onions

for ten minutes, drain and cool.

It works well in a kale salad and is probably the only semi-raw onion I can handle.

Now, sautéed, baked, broiled, roasted....I enjoy practically any other way to eat onions. I guess growing up with them slathered over perogies sets a standard.

 
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