Ever wondered how dehydrated garlic powder, dehydrated onion powder, or generally dehydrated crops in different forms are made?
Say no more, because we are going to take you for a virtual tour in one of our factories right here right now.
Our collection of dehydrated crops derives into two main products, dried garlic and dried onion, in many different shapes to fulfill all your needs.
As mentioned in our past blog, the production procedure has two major phases. First of which consists of sorting, washing and cutting.
Tips on How to Sort and Select Your Perfect Onion, So You Can Get Them the Way We Do!
When selecting onions at the store, choose the firm, shiny and unblemished ones. Onions should be free from bruises and not have an odor when freshly bought. Go for the ones that have dry necks, but once it has begun to sprout, do not buy it; it is not fresh! Most of these tips apply as well for selecting garlic, but it should be noted that many people believe smaller bulbs of garlic to have more flavor than the larger ones.
And This is How (And Why) You Should Clean Your Freshly Bought Onions and Garlic!
Many people will probably not rinse onion nor garlic before use, since the outer skin will be peeled anyway, but this is not recommended. Why? Because during the process of peeling, the bacteria and pesticides residues will transfer from the outer skin you peel to the fleshy interior, no matter how careful you are being.
And though this will not probably cause any serious sickness, it is completely not preferred in terms of good health maintenance. And even though we exclusively use organic onion and organic garlic in our process which implies that there are no pesticides used in our crops whatsoever, we still make certain that the crops are carefully cleaned.
As for onion, cooking experts recommend removing any visible dirt on the outside of the onion, then gently cleaning it with a dry towel, peeling off the outer skin and the following layer if it has any discoloration or black mold. Then soaking the onion in boiling water for a brief time, rinsing, and soaking once again.
Whereas garlic does not need to be washed as long as the outer skin will be peeled, and since each clove of garlic is encased in another covering skin, it is enough to just just wipe them clean before peeling.
How to Dice an Onion
Cutting onions is a more delicate process, because it is really a matter of what dish you are preparing, whether the onions are consumed raw or cooked, and if cooked how so.
Sliced Onions
Professional cooks usually just slice the onion if it is to be consumed raw, this will be in cutting the onion in vertical halves, removing the stem but not the roots so you can grip onto, and slicing it with the desired thickness.
Chopped Onions/Diced Onions
Cut the onion in vertical halves as well, trim the stem end, and slice the half onion while gripping on the roots end, keep the end uncut to better help with the grip. Now slide the knife straight into the sliced half of the onion widthwise.
Note that chopped or diced onion pieces should be twice as big as minced onion pieces. And medium cut onion pieces are three times larger than minced, and twice as big as diced or chopped onion pieces.
STAY TUNED FOR OUR NEXT WEEK’S BLOG WHERE WE WILL CONTINUE OUR TOUR TO THE FOLLOWING PHASE! :)
