The following is a guest post by Katie Kimball of Kitchen Stewardship.
You know that super simple, two-ingredient party dip that you make with a tub of sour cream and a box of French Onion soup mix? What would you say if I told you there are over a dozen ingredients in that dip?
I hope your reply would be, “What are they?” with some mixture of surprise and curiosity.
I think it’s important to know what’s in our food, and that’s why I’m not making that dip anytime soon.
Most sour creams have over EIGHT ingredients, when they should only contain three: cream, salt, enzymes. The extras are usually various forms of corn tossed in there as stabilizers, sweeteners, preservatives or flavor enhancers.
Onion soup mix has a similarly long list: onions, salt, cornstarch, sugar, caramel (color), corn syrup solids, yeast extract, natural flavor.
That’s two different names for sugar, plus likely four made of corn, and one that behaves like MSG, a known excitotoxin (yeast extract). MSG is linked in the short term to headaches, nausea and more, and in the long term to psychological decline such as Alzheimer’s and certain digestive ailments. (More on the names behind MSG.)
MSG enhances the flavors of anything it dances with because it activates the fifth basic sense of taste, umami. Umami in its natural state, found in seaweed, is no more harmful than something sweet, salty, bitter or sour. However, activating umami with chemicals acting as free glutamic acid can wreak havoc on many body systems by overstimulating our glutamate receptors.
MSG is an unfortunate enemy in the battle for real food, because it’s really, really difficult to replicate the old familiar flavor of dishes relying on this chemical. You’re playing one card short in the deck.
In the case of that box of Onion Soup mix, I fought to find a suitable substitute for over two years. I finally discovered the secret weapon: onions.
No, my strategy wasn’t to cut onions and make my eaters cry while they ate and force them to claim they loved the food.
What’s the key to bringing out amazing, slightly sweet, beyond-the-four-taste-sensations flavor in an onion?
Caramelize it.
Cooking sliced or diced onions in some fat or oil for 20-30 minutes, or as long as it takes to get brown and sticky, is a skill worth learning if you want to cook from scratch. (And you should! Did you see all those weird ingredients up there?)
It also makes you feel like a super chef, because just saying “caramelize the onions” sounds way too hard for your average home cook.
I’m excited to share a recipe with only NINE ingredients for a homemade French Onion Chip Dip from my new eBook, Better Than a Box. Just in time for Super Bowl parties, you can make a healthy, homemade dip without any mystery ingredients.
Recipe: Homemade French Onion Dip
Ingredients:
1 C. diced onion
4 TBS. butter
1 C. sour cream
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley
¼ tsp. turmeric
¼ tsp. celery seed (or celery salt)
optional: dash to ¼ tsp. cayenne
Method:
Melt the butter in a heavy pan, then sauté the onions over medium to medium-high for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Turn the heat to medium-low for about 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally and cook until browned and smelling amazing. The onions will have reduced to about 1/3 cup.
Allow to cool, but not in the refrigerator (the butter will harden too much).
Mix with the sour cream and all the spices. Yes, scrape the butter out of the pan. Yummy. Allow at least an hour for the flavors to blend, and serve at room temperature if possible with chips or vegetables.
Store in the refrigerator.
I recommend Daisy or Aldi brand sour cream, because I know they contain only three ingredients: cream, salt, enzymes. If you want something even less processed, you can make homemade yogurt and strain it to be extra thick like Greek yogurt, or a bit longer to become yogurt cheese. Use either in place of the sour cream.
This recipe is one of twenty that I reverse engineered in Better Than a Box: How to Transform Processed Food Recipes into Whole Foods Favorites. I don’t only share the recipe, but I walk you through the whole process of how I got from sour cream + soup mix to the real food ingredients above. Although there are 60 recipes total, it’s much more than just a cookbook; it’s a teaching tutorial on cooking from scratch, storing food for later, and keeping your sanity in the kitchen while being efficient so you can get out of the kitchen.
Through February 5, 2012, Simple Mom readers can take 25% off the price of the PDF download, which is bundled with the Kindle and Nook files, as well as free printable recipe cards, a freezer supply list, how to cook dry beans printable and other handy dandy charts and tips. Use the code SIMPLE_NO_BOX25 right HERE. Better Than a Box is also available for Kindle on Amazon.
About Katie
looks great! definitely want to try this out.
now to make my own potato chips…
charis´s latest post: the voice
Charis,
They are the BEST! Here’s how I do it: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/11/13/recipe-connection-lazy-french-fries-or-potato-chips-in-beef-tallow-or-coconut-oil/
I don’t use a deep fryer or a thermometer, and they work out just fine – I’ve never had any leftover, let’s say that!
Katie
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s latest post: Launch Party {GIVEAWAY} over $400 in Real Food Prizes
Hmmmmmm. This looks familiar!
Aimee @ Simple Bites´s latest post: How to make Roasted Brown Chicken Stock (and young love in the summer)
I always try to make it look like the “real” thing – which is the fake, of course!
Thanks!
Katie
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s latest post: One Quick Tip: How to Get Your Husband to do More Dishes (& Like it!)
This would be amazing with homemade potato chips.
Homemade potato chips are really easy. Just slice potatoes really thin and fry in an inch or two of whatever oil you like to use. Drain and salt and your done! Only three ingredients and you know exactly what you did and didn’t use.
Thanks for sharing the dip recipe. I love caramelized onions, and they are about the only kind of onions my kids like.
Anna@The DIY Mom´s latest post: DIY Paper Heart Garland (Valentine’s Day Decoration and Preschool Activity in One!)
Anna,
Here’s my lazy method: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/11/13/recipe-connection-lazy-french-fries-or-potato-chips-in-beef-tallow-or-coconut-oil/
I hear you on that one! I felt so guilty that I bought *store* potato chips to take these photos. Homemade is the best! You do need to be careful to use a fat that is stable under high heat, and of course, healthy traditional fats are preferred, as long as you’re going to the trouble to make your own.
Thanks!
Katie
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s latest post: Launch Party {GIVEAWAY} over $400 in Real Food Prizes
This sounds fabulous! I don’t make dip often at all but next time I have a “need” for dip I’ll be trying this recipe!
Tammy´s latest post: ~"Fancy" Breakfast~
Oh, I’ve always wondered how to make onion dip without the mix! Thanks. (and I love caramelized onions;) )
Johanna @ My Home Tableau´s latest post: be still
This sounds great! We have been trying to make a number of changes in the diet of our family…and this looks like a fun one. Cooking in the kitchen has been a fun way for me to bond with our oldest daughter. I’m curious…has anyone ever tried making their own sour cream?
Jon´s latest post: Favorite Things Friday: Backyard Chickens (Live Chicken Cam)
Jon,
Homemade sour cream actually isn’t all that tricky, but it doesn’t have a very long shelf life. I’ve taken thick cream, added some prepared buttermilk (1 Tbs. per cup, usually), left it at room temp 24 hours, and then it’s buttermilk. As I whip it to make cultured butter, if I stop early, it’s basically sour cream. I bet there’s a sour cream starter at Cultures for Health: http://culturesforhealth.com/
Fun idea!
Katie
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s latest post: One Quick Tip: How to Get Your Husband to do More Dishes (& Like it!)
Great post! I’ve also heard that when they do experiments on lab rats about obesity, researchers feed rats straight MSG in order to beef them up. If you Google “MSG Lab Rats” it pulls up some really scary stuff.
Jennifer Bardsley´s latest post: Bob Books Alternative
Kraft has a line called Kraft Simple now and they make sour cream. It does not have all of the other ingredients either.
Great to add to my “approved” list!
Katie
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s latest post: One Quick Tip: How to Get Your Husband to do More Dishes (& Like it!)
This is brilliant!! I love the simplicity of it and I so appreciate the work you’ve done in creating familiar food from real food. We’re big fans of real food and haven’t eaten onion dip in years but we just might again. =)
Breanne :: This Vintage Moment´s latest post: On Being An Awesome Mom
yummmmmy! I can’r wait to try this recipe!
priest’s wife (@byzcathwife)´s latest post: Quick Takes- Choose Life
Very cool, Katie. I always appreciate homemade goodies for the simplicity in their ingredients.
Nina´s latest post: Discipline: More than just time-outs
Thank you for this recipe and the reminder about MSG! I’ll be adapting this to be dairy-free by using mayonnaise instead of sour cream. Yum.
Julia´s latest post: Mitten Letter Matching Game (with Snowflakes!)
Oh.my.goodness. This will be so yum! Thank you Katie for sharing this.. I will be making this later today with strained homemade yogurt.. Also, funny thing, but in Indian cooking, we do a lot of onion caramelization,, never realised that that was they key to yummy tasting French onion dip as well.. Thank you!
Prerna@The Mom Writes´s latest post: How to Create a Home Office: Fun, Frugal and Functional Tips to Get Started
Thanks for sharing this great recipe. It’s amazing how many chemicals are in foods these days. Drives me crazy. I’m a big chip dip fan, so this will be a great alternative to the store-bought stuff. And, speaking of Aldi’s — I love that place. Most of the time their produce is better (and cheaper) than our local grocery store chain.
Mike´s latest post: New Year. New Outlook.
This sounds great! Would love to try it, if I omit the celery seed/salt, do you think it will taste off? We are not big fans of celery…
Lisa M´s latest post: Got it while it was good
Lisa,
Katie
You know, I don’t like celery either, especially raw, but I never noticed a celery flavor with celery SEED – I’m guessing it’s a totally different flavor than the stalk. That said, I doubt it makes a do-or-die difference in the recipe. Enjoy!
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s latest post: One Quick Tip: How to Get Your Husband to do More Dishes (& Like it!)
Thanks Katie!! I bought the e-book, Better than a Box! Looking forward to trying out a bunch of the recipes!
Lisa M´s latest post: Got it while it was good
This looks so tempting… I’ve sworn off eating these dips for years because of how terrible the artificial ingredients are for you, but this year the Super Bowl is on my birthday, and we’re hosting a bunch of foodie friends at the family beach house – and I think this will be just the ticket to add to the afternoon snack table. Thanks, Katie!
Bethany ~ Sustainable Food for Thought´s latest post: On the Benefits of Pastured Chicken Eggs
Yum!! Will make this soon
I love caramelized onions too, especially on hamburgers! And Kroger has an “all natural” sour cream that doesn’t have any funny ingredients, I don’t think. Sorry if someone already said that! 
Diana´s latest post: Garden Plans, 2013 Version
Diana,
Katie
No one mentioned Kroger – I’m always glad to add another brand to my “ok” list!
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s latest post: One Quick Tip: How to Get Your Husband to do More Dishes (& Like it!)
Super Bowl Party at my house this year and I can’t wait to try this dip. Want to see if they notice the difference…Thanks for the recipe.
Oh yum! My husband absolutely loves Onion Dip (okay, I do, too but I’m supposedly on a diet). I won’t buy things with MSG, though, so he’s gone without for years. He’s going to be so tickled when I whip some of this up for Super Bowl Sunday. Thank you!!!
Katie B. of HousewifeHowTos.com´s latest post: Recipe: Homemade Stuffed Potato Skins
Can’t wait to try this, it looks amazing!
Its funny you go into great detail on MSG or at least to avoid it. Yet onions have a huge amount of naturally occuring MSG. Today we can just easily create it in a lab to add as a additive. Theres a reason why virtually every product has tomato powder and onion powder. Its all natural and a HUGE source of MSG. Glutamates are found in so many things it would be easier to create a list that does not have it then do. Theres a reason for it. It encourages you to eat that product. Its natures way of ensuring that you eat it.
So in your attempt to avoid MSG you actually introduce a high level of it! To funny.