Onion powder emerges from the dusty shadows

July 30, 2017 5:54 AM

A food writer's cry to cook with onion powder — especially if it's small-batch, artisanal or ground yourself.

"At an emotional level, shunning onion powder feels like a meaningful rejection of the previous generation’s cooking ethos. Onion powder hasn’t been treated with quite the disdain of, say MSG or corn syrup, but it is part of the same emotional package. And while plenty of home cooks still use it, within the realm of chefs, food writers, and other tastemakers, it is generally regarded as old school—not in an exciting or authentic way, but in a snickering, 'Can you believe people used to cook with condensed mushroom soup?' way."

posted by veggieboy (96 comments total)

Penzey's toasted onion powder is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I go through an ungodly amount of the stuff.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 6:19 AM on July 30, 2017 [18 favorites]

I accidentally ate a solid tablespoon of Funyun flavoring dust on Friday (well, I say ate, I spit it out), and while I can say that having everything, including the air, taste like onion powder for half an hour isn't good, I am generally a fan.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:38 AM on July 30, 2017 [6 favorites]

You should have tried artisanal Funyun dust
posted by thelonius at 6:41 AM on July 30, 2017 [55 favorites]

Closely related: Penzey's roasted garlic powder is the best thing in the world.

Seriously. Almost everything that Penzey's makes is increeeeedible. Even their regular herbs and seasonings are inexplicably so much better than anything you'll find at the supermarket.
posted by schmod at 6:51 AM on July 30, 2017 [19 favorites]

Maybe marketing people can start slapping "ground yourself" all over everything from Arby's sandwiches to children's shampoo bottles now. They've run the other two soundly into the sod of meaninglesssness.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:52 AM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Onion powder is nasty, medicinal crap.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:55 AM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Came to post a link about artificial vanilla being as good or better than natural, but found Flavorists seek to identify and fill “white spaces,” and the idea of a job category of "flavorist" just spins my taste buds, excites and scares, what's missing in my white space? What the heck is white space, usually just hoping for a soup not so salty it must be tossed.

(am lucky to live in a town with a Pezeys store, need to take more advantage)
posted by sammyo at 7:03 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

Yeah, even the Penzey's regular white onion powder is really great. Bright and sweet and perfectly oniony. I don't use it all the time, but in sauces and marinades? Heck yes.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:13 AM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I've felt the same way about garlic powder for a long time, that there are things that it just tastes better than fresh garlic in — either because it's comfort food and I grew up with the garlic powder version, or because it has a less vegetable-y flavor and sometimes that's what's called for, or because you can put it on something you're roasting and it doesn't get burn and get bitter in the oven the way fresh garlic can. It's like, I dunno, a base note in perfume instead of a high note? You can put it under other flavors and it's just mellow and warm and supportive and nice.

Using it as the only flavor in something is disappointing, but then let's be real using fresh garlic as the only flavor in something is often kind of disappointing too.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:25 AM on July 30, 2017 [16 favorites]

Okay, onion powder is a bit of a culinary sledgehammer, but no-one's going to stop using it, sometimes it's what you want.

Mix a little too much onion powder with paprika, black pepper, decent chilli powder and a pinch of salt. Add to your favourite batter mix, apply thinly to blanched potato wedges and bake. It's the most trivial thing, there's no finesse or talent in sight, and yet you want it.
posted by Eleven at 7:25 AM on July 30, 2017 [7 favorites]

Can't think of a replacement for onion powder in my dry rub, although onion salt would work if I cut back on the other salt to compensate...
posted by mikelieman at 7:28 AM on July 30, 2017

Onion powder, in an appropriately moderate quantity, is a key ingredient in my own kickass fried chicken.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:32 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

Onion powder and its sister garlic powder are the keys to weeklong bad breath IME
posted by Hermione Granger at 7:35 AM on July 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

Onion powder seems a bit of a waste considering I love fresh onions. On the other hand, it might be a matter of knowing how to use it, I've started using garlic powder on a lot of things lately, and never even noticed it was a thing. These days can't make a salad without it.

I also have a lot less vampire problems.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:38 AM on July 30, 2017 [6 favorites]

Please don't put it in everything. Why does a scone need onions? Trying to find onion and garlic free food when you have an allergy is really difficult.
posted by bhnyc at 7:44 AM on July 30, 2017 [9 favorites]

"Devoted DIY types can do what Sercarz does: buy sliced, dried onions and grind them as needed at home..."

Pshaw, this isn't DIY. We grew and dehydrated our own onions, the ones with fat necks that didn't cure properly for
long storage. Suggestion: do it outdoors. I also made a small batch of homegrown garlic powder and discovered why the commercial stuff had anti-caking agents. It was pretty tasty though.
posted by Botanizer at 7:59 AM on July 30, 2017

FWIW, this is the "Everything Spice" ( think bagels ) blend I keep in a shaker on my table...

1 teaspoon each:

Caraway Seeds,
Sesame Seeds,
Poppy Seeds,
Onion Powder,
Garlic Powder,
Salt,
posted by mikelieman at 8:04 AM on July 30, 2017 [9 favorites]

The other thing that's great about garlic and onion powder is that they keep literally forever, and grocery store onions and garlic often don't even if you keep them in the dark — like, even if they're storage varieties, they've been kept out in the warm and the bright for long enough that they've started inching towards sproutiness before you buy them, and at that point they've got a limited shelf life in a room-temperature cupboard no matter what.

A salad dressing with onion powder might not be as delicious as one with perfectly fresh minced shallots. But it is TEN TIMES AS DELICIOUS as one made with the last fucking slightly-moldy not-yet-totally-mushy maybe-I-can-get-away-with-this onion from the bag you got two weeks ago.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:13 AM on July 30, 2017 [16 favorites]

Onion powder seems a bit of a waste considering I love fresh onions.

It really isn't a replacement in most cases that I use it. I'll often use both fresh and powder, like in chili or spaghetti sauce. But then I occasionally cook with condensed soup (green bean casserole or baked chicken and rice), so what do I know.
posted by ghost phoneme at 8:18 AM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Onion powder seems a bit of a waste considering I love fresh onions.

Onion powder isn't a substitute for fresh onions. Onion powder is a substitute for caramelized onion, like garlic powder is a substitute for roast garlic. I mean its a massive time saver if you don't have 20 extra minutes to watch onions sweat.
posted by pan at 8:21 AM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Exactly! If your recipe calls for onions and you substitute onion powder, you're gonna have a bad time. Same goes for fresh garlic and garlic powder, and to a lesser extent fresh chilies and chili powder.
posted by JDHarper at 8:25 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

I am sitting in front of my computer with a freshly-made bowl of ramen, which I seasoned with onion powder, parsley flakes, fresh chives, soy sauce, red miso, and some frozen baby peas. It's really good.

My go-to "fake chicken broth" recipe is onion powder and yeast flakes. Works great.

I will, however, seek out this toasted stuff from Penzeys -- that sounds pretty good too.
posted by amtho at 8:52 AM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Why would you use onion powder when there's French Onion Soup mix?
posted by sexyrobot at 9:06 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

yeah, in my cooking I treat the powders differently than I would use the real thing. For example, garlic powder is great on popcorn and it easily distributes itself amongst the kernels along with the salt. Replicating the same effect with fresh garlic would be difficult at best.

As mentioned above, are there people who use real onions and garlic in their meat rubs?
posted by mmascolino at 9:19 AM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Actually the only time I use fresh garlic for meat is when I'm making perníl. An imprudent amount of fresh garlic.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:27 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

Wow. I haven't thought about onion powder in a hell of a long time.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:34 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'll have to buy some from our local spice shop (I don't trust McCormick's)...I haven't used it for decades. It just seemed like: Why use powder when you have onions on hand? It's like: Boy, I could go for an apple. Where's my jar of apple powder? But this seems like an easy trick for an old dog to learn. I'll bite.
posted by kozad at 9:43 AM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

My mom uses Lipton French onion soup mix for hamburgers and meatloaf. But sometimes you don't want the added texture. So onion powder.
posted by ghost phoneme at 9:45 AM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

and had no idea that people look down their noses at these them

you've been on mefi long enough to know that there is no love on earth we cannot destroy
posted by poffin boffin at 10:08 AM on July 30, 2017 [56 favorites]

Metafilter: there is no love on earth we cannot destroy
posted by sexyrobot at 10:13 AM on July 30, 2017 [18 favorites]

Is this an American thing? I have never used Onion Powder, but I also don't recall it ever being a thing in my typical suburban upbringing in Australia. I wasn't even aware it was a "thing" that people were snobbish about... Perhaps my mother used it all the time and I just didn't know.
posted by mary8nne at 10:15 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

I didn't grow up cooking with onion or garlic powder (maybe someone in the family didn't like it?) so I don't have a good sense of when you would use it and how much. But a friend always cooks with it, and I've liked what they make, so I'm tempted to buy some and give it a try.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:16 AM on July 30, 2017

I've been sprinkling garlic powder on my pizza since I was toddler in Brooklyn. I think it's pretty common, but maybe it's just a NY thing? When I have a choice I will always go to a NY pizza place here, and they always have the garlic and oregano shakers.

I'd kind of forgotten about onion powder all these years, but there was some recipe -- maybe the Greek seasoning mix that had 600 herbs and spices -- and use it when I need to savory-up certain dishes.

The Penzeys in my neighborhood closed, and I miss it every day.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:28 AM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

I grew up in the American South, and we used garlic powder as much as we used salt, but onion powder was never a thing on my radar. I did discover dried onion flakes when I first started cooking as a young adult, and those are still an essential ingredient in both the cream of broccoli soup and the gravies my friends love me to make for them. But onion powder was just never a thing. Until now, at least! BRB placing a Penzeys order.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:49 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

Garlic and onion powder boath are vital to good home made sausage and are great for home made jerky as well.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:54 AM on July 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

My dear departed mother's scrambled eggs were the best scrambled eggs in the entire history of scrambled eggs, and her secret weapon was the exactly calibrated dash of onion powder thrown in before whisking. She never measured the amount with any tool more precise than the rhythm of her swing, not once. And I have never managed to replicate her results.
posted by flabdablet at 11:00 AM on July 30, 2017 [9 favorites]

It's like: Boy, I could go for an apple. Where's my jar of apple powder?

Nah, it's more like "I want a really intensely apple-y, rich flavor note in this — where's my jar of apple butter?"

It's not a substitute for the fresh ingredient, it's a different ingredient with different characteristics and different uses. If you wanted a fresh apple, you'd be disappointed with a spoonful of apple butter. However, if you wanted something to spread on a sandwich, you probably wouldn't want a fresh apple.

To continue the analogy, the two ingredients often work well together and create a whole greater than its parts. Take that apple butter and spread it on a piece of good whole-grain bread (toasted, if you like), then top with thin slices of a fresh Granny Smith apple. So good, and not the same as either ingredient alone.
posted by Lexica at 11:13 AM on July 30, 2017 [19 favorites]

Sounds good, Lexica, but I've never bought a jar of apple butter in my life. What's wrong with me?
posted by kozad at 11:57 AM on July 30, 2017

I've identified onion powder, maybe mistakenly, as the oxidized and cloying taste which has rendered most canned soups and all spaghetti sauces in jars anathema to me.

I wonder what it would be like if you could make it under oxygen-free conditions -- but I wonder that about a lot of foods.
posted by jamjam at 12:14 PM on July 30, 2017

I weep for more use of toasted cumin powder... sprinkle on your yoghurt, stuff it into aubergines

what's wrong with cooking with condensed mushroom soup?
posted by infini at 12:39 PM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

I use it when making ranch dressing. First I've heard of there being something wrong with it. *shrug* My ranch dressing is delicious, so there.
posted by JanetLand at 12:42 PM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Vindicated! I had to come to the defense of onion powder on The Blue 7 years ago!


No moisture to contend with, no salt, high potency, doesn't alter texture, a kick-ass aid in emulsification. Methinks your hatred is misguided.

It's like getting pissed over "paprika powder" or "cumin powder."
posted by sourwookie at 12:00 AM on January 20, 2010

No, not a substitute for onion or garlic--and no one is saying it is. That would be the assumption of someone who wants to knock it.

Maybe it gets a bad rap because it is so ubiquitous on dollar store shelves--but so are dish detergent and aluminum foil. Maybe people don't know what it is and are cunfusing it with garlic salt or dried minced onion (the real abominations).
posted by sourwookie at 12:59 PM on July 30, 2017 [8 favorites]

Mrs Wombat routinely puts a bit of Trader Joe's onion or garlic powder on things like broccoli before microwaving it. Just gives it a bit of a kick. A dash of memmi is good too. (Japanese soup base in a bottle)
posted by w0mbat at 1:05 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

It changed everything when my Korean neighbor's grandma taught me that the secret to her amazing Kalbi beef is to use fresh garlic and garlic and onion powders too. Would have never thought, but damned if she wasn't onto something!
posted by Patapsco Mike at 1:07 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've never bought a jar of apple butter in my life. What's wrong with me?
posted by kozad at 11:57 AM on July 30

Pfft. Everyone knows you can't buy apple butter. You have to make it from apples you pick from trees you grew from seeds you planted. Otherwise you're just eating chemicals in an apple butter jar.

In all seriousness I remember being the store bought kind being yummy, but I can't recall the brand my mom used to get before my dad discovered canning and started making his own. I like it on toast. The store bought kind was also easier on my mother's nerves. The kitchen winds up being out of commission for the whole weekend.
posted by ghost phoneme at 1:15 PM on July 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

I've never thought of onion powder before, but now it seems to me it must be the mystery ingredient I've been looking for in perfect meatballs. Must check out this Penzeys thing.
Garlic powder is not for me, though.
posted by mumimor at 1:16 PM on July 30, 2017

FWIW, this is the "Everything Spice" ( think bagels ) blend I keep in a shaker on my table... 1 teaspoon each: Caraway Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt,

Minus the carraway seeds, Trader Joe's sells this as "everything but the bagel" seasoning and I can confirm its deliciousness.
posted by Emily's Fist at 1:36 PM on July 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

Is this an American thing?

I've never come across it outside of American cuisine. I tend to file it along orange cheese and canned pumpkin in the canon of slightly bizarre American foodstuffs.

You can get it here, and I used it once for an American bbq sauce recipe. I did not like it. Strange, fake flavour. Evocative of seventies or eighties foodstuffs for me.
posted by smoke at 2:17 PM on July 30, 2017

FWIW store bought apple butter tends to be sweet whereas many canned recipes will have a stronger vinegar bite. I prefer the vinegar-y super applebess of home canned, but I can appreciate the sweeter versions as well.

Onion powder is my secret spice for Texas Red (chili). It blends better, gives you the onion kick you want without getting in the way of the beanless chili texture.
posted by Doleful Creature at 2:19 PM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Onion powder is amazing and both it and garlic powder need to be in every respectable spice collection. Onion powder through scrambled eggs is excellent.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:23 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Dehydrated onion is important in many cuisines around the world and onion powder is just a sub case of that. It's a sensible context.
posted by polymodus at 2:25 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Onion powder and garlic powder are both layers of flavor, when used in reasonable quantities. Why would you avoid using them? Just to be a snob? Ridiculous.
posted by Splunge at 2:28 PM on July 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

Dehydrated onion is important in many cuisines around the world

I like to use it in turkey meatloaf. It doesn't add extra moisture and doesn't make the meatloaf mushy. I also like them sprinkled on cottage cheese, but I know that probably sounds gross.
posted by Room 641-A at 2:43 PM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

We make a spice rub with onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, allspice, and dried sage, thyme and oregano. It's insanely good on slow-roasted or bbqed pork or
chicken.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 2:57 PM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Onion powder actually sounds amazing. It's a thing I never knew existed. I don't think we have it here in Australia.

(Growing up in New Zealand, we used powdered onion soup mix in a few recipes, which I guess is kind of similar. But you can't even get that here in Australia.)
posted by lollusc at 4:41 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

(Also had not heard of Apple butter until now and while google is informative, I am still a bit hazy about what it must taste like.)
posted by lollusc at 4:44 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'll be waiting with bated breath for the irredentism of celery salt.
posted by prosopagnosia at 4:50 PM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

OH I WILL BE THERE FOR THAT TOO, anyone who makes chicken salad without a bit of celery salt is MISSING OUT
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:05 PM on July 30, 2017 [5 favorites]

Er, only I just googled "irredentism" and it didn't mean what I thought it did and now I'm confused. I like my celery salt anti-nationalist, thanks.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:07 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I just meant it in the sense that I hope people will someday write thinkpieces about how celery salt deserves to be restored to its formerly hallowed place in American cooking and cuisine. But, I understand why it may not have been the best word to invoke.
posted by prosopagnosia at 5:13 PM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

It's strange that it's not more widely spread, I'm mainly cognizant of onion powder as a thing in ingredients lists and American recipes online that I wanted but couldn't find. I remember a similar sequence of perceptions about garlic powder as I learned how to cook though.
posted by lucidium at 5:21 PM on July 30, 2017

Metafilter: Wow. I haven't thought about onion powder in a hell of a long time.

Weirdly it's not a thing in New Zealand at all. I don't believe I've ever even seen it for sale.
posted by Sebmojo at 5:25 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm not HUGE user of onion powder, but for recipes that need it, there isn't a substitute. Most of my recipes that use it are either very smooth soups or sauces, or stews where there's both chopped onion and onion powder, and it misses some depth and complexity without the onion powder.

"Exactly! If your recipe calls for onions and you substitute onion powder, you're gonna have a bad time. Same goes for fresh garlic and garlic powder, and to a lesser extent fresh chilies and chili powder. "

Uggggggh I have this argument all the time with my husband, he sees me using the spice rack and helpfully says, "Oh, you don't have to use dried rosemary, I have fresh rosemary outside!" or "Let me go get you some oregano so you don't have to use dried!" or "We have garlic in the garden, you don't have to use garlic powder!" And it just drives me up the wall because the answer is always, "If I wanted to use fresh [whatever], that is what I would be using, but this recipe calls for dried." and he's always, "But fresh is so much better!" and I'm like, "NOT WHEN I DON'T WANT MY RECIPE FULL OF WET FRESH LEAVES BUT THANKS." Or when the proportions are very precise and I'd have totally revamp the recipes to get the right flavor/texture with fresh rather than dried. They are different ingredients, stop trying to substitute!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:36 PM on July 30, 2017 [7 favorites]

Yes, I find that dried and fresh bayleaf are also quite different, and for most purposes dried is better. There's a reason we distinguish between green and black teas, and why we don't make coffee from freshly-picked beans. Aging and dehydration change some flavours and concentrate others; it's actually part of the cooking process.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:49 PM on July 30, 2017 [7 favorites]

I don't think we have it here in Australia.

We do!
posted by the duck by the oboe at 5:53 PM on July 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

You know what's amazing? Fresh coriander seeds. A few years go someone brought some to the farmers market but, but when they ran out they never brought them again but I bug them about it every few months. I ate a lot of carnitas that season.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:03 PM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oregano is definitely one of those "better when dried" herbs.

I learned my Italian cooking from my mother-in-law, and dried garlic featured heavily. Fresh has its place, too, but for those long-simmered tomato gravies, garlic powder was essential. Dried onion isn't added to the sauce, because it's in the meatballs (along with very finely minced fresh onion). (Said meatballs of course cooked in the red sauce, and removed before serving to be plated in their own glory . . . NOT on the pasta!) When I cook a vegetarian red sauce, though, I use both fresh onion and powdered.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 6:42 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I love onion powder, garlic powder, and onion/garlic flakes. Bought from reputable sources they do much to make beer cheese dip better, or fondues, or lots of other things that don't really benefit from bits of things floating around. I think they are astoundingly undervalued. I'll add that I also think sugar, salt, and msg are undervalued. I feel like these are the key items but people get wary. Onion powder, sugar, and salt, is a stunning coating for scallops, for example. You couldn't do that with 'an onion'.

Also also sometimes I want someone to cut me some slack and throwing in a bunch of dried pieces of garlic into a dish that has twenty minutes left to cook is just fine.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:46 PM on July 30, 2017

On reflection i can't really think of a solid reason anyone would object to them other than they don't have the right form factor for the product. They are mostly good when a certain homogeneity is sought and there is time to let them active and restore. They are most assuredly not the same thing as dehydrated onion soup packet.....well they are, but not to be used so thoughlessly.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:50 PM on July 30, 2017

One of my favorite restaurants has the most amazing, addictive, scrumptious butter that they serve with baked daily onsite bread that arrives table side after ordering while we are enjoying their extensive scotch and bourbon list. They are one of those places that tries to be all "working man's public house" and relatable but c'mon. It's high brow.

Seriously - this butter - that stuff is like crack. One time I asked the bartender why it was so amazing and where they curated it from - they whip/make the butter in-house daily with fresh cream and mix in grocery store onion powder and smoked sea salt. So simple, yet sooooooo delicious. On second thought, high brow my ass...
posted by floweredfish at 6:58 PM on July 30, 2017 [7 favorites]

I mean its a massive time saver if you don't have 20 extra minutes to watch onions sweat.

Setting aside the fact that caramelized onion is wetter and diluted in flavor, I'm pretty sure it's also chemically different than onion powder. But if you were substituting one for the other, you :save way more time than that:

That's on some bullshit. You want caramelized onions? Stir for 45 minutes".

posted by pwnguin at 7:04 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Objecting to onion and garlic powder is sort of like objecting to ground ginger because it's not a substitute for real ginger.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:04 PM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

I mean fresh ginger.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:09 PM on July 30, 2017

re: apple butter - the pennsylvania dutch know what it's for, and it is delicious.
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:10 PM on July 30, 2017

You want caramelized onions fast?

Sweat the onions until they start to clarify. Add a pinch of baking soda. Stir.

It's a chemical reaction. It's super easy.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:21 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

It seems silly to me to just assume a fresh ingredient is better than a processed (dried, pickled, canned, packed in oil) ingredient. Most foods take on different qualities depending on how they're processed - onion powder is no different, and there are of course plenty of applications for it in which fresh onions would be frankly ridiculous.

For me, it's taco seasoning. We eat tacos about once a week in my house, varying the fillings, but I make my own taco seasoning each time. I've never paid for the packets- - seems nuts. I have everything you need at hand: cumin, dried oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chile powder, and, yes, onion powder. It makes a difference - and really belongs in a basic taco seasoning (and every other recipe that draws on the taco cycle- 7-layer dip, taco salad, corn/taco casserole, etc.
posted by Miko at 8:54 PM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

I rarely use onion powder, but it's not because I am some sort of snob. I rarely use onion powder because it invariably turns into a solid gummy lump that rattles around whatever container I put it in and I just don't feel like chiselling some off when I want a dash of it.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:40 AM on July 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

Even their regular herbs and seasonings are inexplicably so much better than anything you'll find at the supermarket.

Freshness and process matters. That stuff in the supermarket has been there for longer than the Penzey's clan's products. And they care about process - so some of their stuff is freeze dried VS air dried. "Do we have X on the shelf" is what matters at the Supermarket. If one wants to see the difference in how long has this been on the shelf - Walmart has some 60% of food sales in the US of A, so get a container of McCormick there in a large city and one from store X in a smaller town and do a taste test. Or visit that foodie friend and pick the bottle with dust on the top. (Clan members who run The Spice House have less volume things like grains of paradise. The 'Tosa version seems to be more about letting the passion for food be expressed by the old matron of the clan not be cheated out of her joy at the end of life.)
posted by rough ashlar at 3:08 AM on July 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

I haven't used onion powder, but garlic powder always leaves me with a bad taste (metallic, almost?) in my mouth. Not to mention way worse breath than regular roasted garlic.
posted by mkuhnell at 4:37 AM on July 31, 2017

That whole "caramelized onion" thing?

Take one of the small, quart sized slow cookers.

Fill with sliced onion. Switch on.

Wait. Your house will smell wonderful, and after 1/2 a day, let it cool, and save for topping... whatever...

N.B. You'll have to get another slow cooker for sugar-waxing... Unless you don't mind the onion scented wax. I don't judge.
posted by mikelieman at 5:41 AM on July 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

I don't really use onion powder, but filling a similar niche in my kitchen is my beloved jar of freeze-dried shallots.
posted by desuetude at 6:55 AM on July 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

Freeze dried shallots mixed into a vinaigrette really elevates the whole dressing. Sure fresh shallots are better but if you are only making a small quantity of dressing you just might not have the shallots on hand. I use this technique all the time.
posted by mmascolino at 7:22 AM on July 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

You want caramelized onions fast?

Sweat the onions until they start to clarify. Add a pinch of baking soda. Stir.

Every so often at a restaurant I'll get caramelized onions where I can taste that they used a shortcut. I've never asked but my assumption has been that they use baking soda and add sugar, but maybe there are other methods.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:52 AM on July 31, 2017

the taco cycle- 7-layer dip, taco salad, corn/taco casserole, etc.

THE TACO CYCLE. Like the Epic Cycle of the ancient Greeks, but with less revenge and more cumin.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:57 AM on July 31, 2017 [8 favorites]

I don't think we have it here in Australia.

Sure we do.
posted by flabdablet at 9:44 AM on July 31, 2017

I'm not sure I've ever bought apple butter from a supermarket, just made it at home or bought it from farm stands. If you make it yourself, you can use just about any combination of pit fruits along with. (Pear butter is, to my taste, kind of bland, but apple butter made with apricots and plums thrown in is quite nice.) Apple butter and peanut butter sandwiches are pretty good.
posted by Karmakaze at 10:47 AM on July 31, 2017

when can we start on the recipe sharing?
posted by infini at 10:48 AM on July 31, 2017

I go visit a friend and some dogs upstate once a year in November for a snowy pupper romp followed by a pantagreulian apple butter feast, it is the best thing.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:43 AM on July 31, 2017

warning: apple butter makes frenchies farty.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2017

You should have tried artisanal Funyun dust

"Artisanal Funyun Dust" shall be the name of my new sock puppet account.
posted by infinitywaltz at 2:30 PM on July 31, 2017

huh. I put salt, pepper, a dash of Worcester, and a pinch of onion and garlic powder in burgers. That's for a pound of
ground beef. It's barely noticeable, and I usually go aggro with fresh onions and garlic in everything else I make. I think it's just habit, though.
Actually, I might not even add salt.
I rarely salt anything since there is SO MUCH SALT in everything, so onion/garlic powders are nice where garlic salt makes sense, but would make the rest of the bit too salty.
posted by lkc at 2:39 PM on July 31, 2017

I use a ton of onion (and garlic) powder because I add one or the other to omelettes. And salmon salad.
posted by Mitheral at 2:42 PM on July 31, 2017

I have also only ever seen onion powder in North American recipes; barbecue sauce and some Tex-Mex stuff. I am sure it has a place, but the onion powder breath issue is a bit of a problem for experimenting.

As regards onions in general, I grow onions and find that they last for three to six months. It is only right at the end of their storage life that they start to taste like shop bought onions, which is a bit concerning! It makes me wonder if shop bought ones treated are with something that makes them nasty, or are they just very old?
posted by asok at 7:39 AM on August 1, 2017

onion powder breath

The real enemies are Corn Nuts Breath and Shiner Bock Breath.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:27 AM on August 1, 2017

Coffee breath. Eww!
posted by Splunge at 10:38 AM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

[Are] shop bought ones treated ... with something that makes them nasty, or are they just very old?

Based on similar observations about shop bought vs fresh laid backyard eggs, I'm tipping (b).
posted by flabdablet at 6:47 AM on August 2, 2017