Onion // vegetable

🌱🧅🤔 Did you know that dry onion peels can make a nutritious homemade onion powder? Onion skins and peelings are a normal part of general household kitchen waste when you cook. It turns out that there’s a ton of flavor in the papery outer layers of onions, but it also adds the skin’s nutrients to your meal. No sore eyes here! 

💪 Onion peels are packed with the goodness of nutrients such as minerals, vitamins A, C, E, and antioxidants. They are a rich source of flavonoids known as Quercetin, a potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. 

👩‍🍳 Wash and dry onion peels and then pop them in the oven until they’re crispy. Once they’re crispy, you can blend them into a fine powder. Store in an airtight jar out of direct sunlight for up to 6 months. Homemade onion powder is an essential seasoning in Grandma Sita’s kitchen, a delicious addition to herb and spice mixes.

👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips:
*Onion peels infusing flavor into soups, sauces, and stock. There’s no need to peel the onion before adding it to the pot, but strain the skin out before eating because is more bitter than the rest of the onion.
*Drinking onion peel tea can be helpful for your skin and health. Just boil the onion peels for about 10 to 20 minutes, strain the peels, and drink this healthy cup of tea.
*Every part of the onion is 100% compostable, onion peels included.

👕 Onion peels are high in natural tannins, which makes them ideal for dyeing fibers like cotton and linen. You’ll get yellow from yellow onion skins and yellow-orange from red onion skins. The number of onion peels will vary, but as a rule, collect as much as your fabric weighs. Onion peels are extremely lightweight when dried, so you might need to collect more than you think.

📗 Allium is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants with hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives.

🌎 Nearly half of all fruits and veggies produced globally are wasted yearly. Let’s not add to that statistic and get the most out of allium peels by adding them to braises or stocks. All of us can act at home to reduce our waste and every single one counts!