A couple of months ago, I was writing content for a food website. I no longer write for them but a couple of pieces that I had already worked on still remain unpublished. So, I’m sharing them on my blog for your benefit.
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Think about the ultimate comfort food that promises both nutrition and flavour, and it’s highly likely that homemade soups of all kinds top your list. There are so many varieties and iterations of soup, and even more ways of making soup like a professional chef. However, when it comes to taking your homemade soup up a notch with the addition of a simple topping, the real MVP is one you may not have thought of – dehydrated caramelised onions.
With their gently sweet flavor and smokey brown texture, caramelized onions are a sure fire hit when added to a number of dishes. Yet, there are also a number of ways to take caramelized onions up a notch. One of these is to dehydrate them. This process allows them to be stored for longer periods of time, while also adding an extra crunchy texture to make them even tastier. The best part? Once these dehydrated caramelized onions are ready, they make for excellent soup toppings!
Why dehydrated caramelised onions make excellent soup toppings
The first thing to understand when deciding to work with dehydrated caramelised onions as soup toppings, is how the dehydration process alters the onions from their freshly caramelised state. In their original state, having just been caramelised, the onions taste sweet as the caramelisation process brings out the naturally sweet flavours of the onions. When they are dehydrated, in addition to the sweetness, one can also taste salty and savoury flavours, rounded off with a delicious kick of umami. Their texture also changes, becoming crispy and flaky in comparison to the smoothness of simple caramelised onions.
Their unique properties therefore make dehydrated caramelised onions the unsung heroes of a number of dishes, and especially soups. French onion soup, which is perhaps the first soup you think of when considering the addition of caramelised onions to soup, is a great example. The dehydrated version of the caramelised onions will add depth to this soup, as well as plenty of delicious aroma. Fortunately, you don’t need to restrict yourself to onion soup when it comes to using dehydrated caramelised onions as toppings. They go well atop a large number of vegetable soups – think cream of tomato soup, potato soup, and cauliflower soup. The singular flavours of these veggie soups really benefit from the crunchy and sweet-salty taste of the dehydrated caramelised onions.
Tips to keep in mind when using dehydrated caramelised onions as soup toppings
The first thing you may be keen to know are what kinds of onions to use in this case. Milder onions have a sweeter taste and therefore should be your first pick for caramelisation. Sweet onions, white onions and shallots are good examples; however, any onion will do. Once the caramelised onions are ready, you should dehydrate them on special dehydrator trays. You will know they are done when they are cool and crunchy to touch.
To correctly store dehydrated caramelised onions, vacuum sealed bags are your best bet. However, in a pinch, a good airtight container will also do for them to last up to a year. You can also use these crunchy toppings to make caramelised onion powder which makes a great addition to certain kinds of dishes, and even soups. Further, you can mix them up with salt to make caramelised onion salt. Apart from soups, these tasty toppings are great on anything from salads to sandwiches to eggs and mashed potatoes.
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This post is part of #BlogchatterFoodFest hosted by BlogChatter.
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*This is not a sponsored post.
**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.
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This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.
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