Onion drying process/onion drying machine

Onion is a multifunctional health food. It is native to central and West Asia. There are many different varieties of onions, which are used in food all over the world. It is rich in a variety of nutrients and is very popular. Dehydrate onions into onion powder can effectively improve the shelf life of onions and facilitate transportation. 
Therefore, onion dehydration machinery is extremely important. So what are the current onion dehydration machine? How to choose a suitable onion dehydration machine? Next, let's learn about the onion dehydrate process and how to choose the right onion dehydrate machine.

There are two ways to dry onions, one is to dry the onions in the sun, and the other is to use a professional dehydration to dry them. So, let me share with you the process flow and advantages and disadvantages of these two methods.

1. Sun dehydrate of onion:

Step 1. wash the onion and select the ones with poor quality during the washing process.
Step 2. then cut the onions and place them evenly on the tray. Do not stack them too much to affect the dehydrate effect.
Step 3. dry them in the sun for 2-3 days.
This traditional method of dehydrate onion is economical and does not require any investment. However, because the dehydrate effect is greatly affected by the environment and is not easy to control, the dehydrate color of onion is uneven, and even defective onion may appear. During the dehydrate process of onion, a certain amount of manual turnover is required. What’s more, if you have a large amount of onions, and the traditional dehydrate process is time-consuming and labor-consuming, then you need a professional onion dehydrate equipment.
And most onion product manufacturers use the second processing method--onion dehydrate machine.

2. Dehydrate and processing of onion:

This dehydrate method is to use onion dehydrate equipment to carry out reasonable dehydration of onion. It can not only solve the shortcomings of the traditional method of dehydrate onion, but also improve the yield and increase the efficiency of dehydrate onion. At present, onion dehydrate room and mesh belt onion dehydration are widely used. Let me introduce to you the usage and dehydrate principle of the two machine.

Heat pump dryer

Step 1. Due to the different quality and maturity of onion, unsuitable onion should be selected before drying.
Step 2.To clean the surface dust of onion, if the output is large, it is recommended to use a professional onion cleaning machine.
Step 3. Then slic the onions, if the output is large, it is recommended to use a professional onion slicing machine
Step 4. Spread the onion evenly on the tray with a thickness of about 5 cm, and then put them in the drying oven.
Step 5. Set the temperature in the drying room to 65°C and the humidity to 10%. Dry for 6~8 hours to complete the onion drying.
Step 6. The dried onion will regain moisture when they are in direct contact with the air, so a sealed package is required. If you use vacuum packaging, you can better preserve the color and aroma of onion.
If we use the onion dehydrate oven, the equipment is equipped with a small cart with a tray and a tray rack. The heat source of the onion dehydrate room is air. The heat in the air is absorbed by the heat pump compressor. After compression and release, a large amount of high-temperature hot air can be obtained, so as to realize the continuous and uniform dehydrate and processing of onion.

Mesh belt dryer

Step 1. Due to the different quality and maturity of onion, unsuitable onion should be selected before drying.
Step 2.To clean the surface dust of onion, if the output is large, it is recommended to use a professional onion cleaning machine.
Step 3. Then slic the onions, if the output is large, it is recommended to use a professional onion slicing machine
Step 4. Spread the onion evenly on the tray with a thickness of about 5 cm, and then put them in the drying oven.
Step 5. Set the temperature in the drying room to 65°C and the humidity to 10%. Dry for 6~8 hours to complete the onion drying.
Step 6. The dried onion will regain moisture when they are in direct contact with the air, so a sealed package is required. If you use vacuum packaging, you can better preserve the color and aroma of onion.
This equipment has a wide range of heat sources, such as coal heating, gas heating, steam heating, biomass pellet heating, or electric heating. It is a multi-layer continuous dehydrate structure. The onions are dried and dehydrated layer by layer from top to bottom. The dehydrate speed is fast and the production efficiency is high. It is very suitable for the dehydrate and processing of large quantities of onions.

Having learned about the above two kinds of dryers, let me introduce you how to choose a dehtdrator suitable for you.

How to choose a suitable onion dehydration

First of all, it depends on our demand for onion processing. For large output, use a onion mesh belt dryer. Generally, the output of a onion mesh belt dehydration is 300-2000kg/h. For small output, the output of a heat pump dehydration is 100-5000kg/batch. Oven length and mesh belt layers can be customized. We can choose and match them reasonably according to our own processing requirements.
Onion dehydrate process is becoming more and more popular in the world, and onion dehydrate also has bright prospects. Do you want to start a onion business? If you want to know more professional questions about onion dehydrate, please feel free to contact us online!

Onion Drying process video：