Onions are cheap and if stored properly, they stay fresh for a long time. So why freeze? Because often a cut onion is left over, which spoils quickly. If you don't like food waste, freeze it. When cut into small cubes, it is even a ready-to-hand, practical cooking ingredient.

Onions can be frozen raw, chopped into small pieces

Frozen for cooking only

Whenever a recipe calls for fresh pieces of onion, you should actually use a fresh onion. After thawing, frozen onions are only suitable for boiling, frying or baking. They will certainly add the flavor you need to the dish.

Prepare onions ready for consumption

While it would be wonderfully handy when freezing, whole onions don't belong in a freezer drawer. The large chunks take far too long to freeze completely. They also cannot be cut into smaller pieces when frozen, and after the “long” thawing they are no longer easy to grip.

  • Remove the peel from the onions
  • cut into small pieces before freezing
  • according to requirements in rings or pieces or fine cubes

Freeze without blanching

The good news is that chopped onions can go straight into the freezer without going through hot water first. Their white color becomes glassy after cooking anyway and there is more than enough flavor left even without blanching.

Pre-freeze onion pieces whenever possible

In many households, chest freezers are always full to the brim. However, if there is still enough free space in your freezer, you can spread out the onion pieces in thin layers on a tray and pre-freeze them.

Each piece stays frozen in this way and doesn't stick to other onion pieces. This means that you can later easily remove exactly the amount that you actually need at that moment.

Suitable freezer containers

Small pieces of onion are not bulky and can therefore easily be stowed away in all conceivable freezer containers.

  • Glasses are environmentally friendly
  • Plastic cans are stackable and reusable
  • Freezer bags are practical and can be filled flat

Regardless of which freezer containers you prefer, they should always be labeled when placed in the freezer. After a few days, hardly anyone remembers what is in which container, let alone when it was frozen.

Onion portions the size of ice cubes

For most dishes, only about half an onion is needed. The small cubed pieces fit well in terms of quantity in a compartment of the ice cube tray. This fact can also be used to advantage when freezing:

  • Spread large amounts of onions in an ice cube tray
  • freeze in it
  • Remove frozen from the ice cream container
  • store in a closed container

These "ice cubes" can be removed individually and used up gradually.

Long durability

Whether frozen as onion rings or small cubes, onions from the freezer can serve as a handy supply for a whole year.

No waiting time when defrosting

Since onions are only used in small quantities and are therefore taken out of the freezer in small quantities, there is practically no need to defrost them. They wouldn't be crunchy enough to eat raw after defrosting anyway. The small pieces defrost in no time in cooking food, which is why they can also be put in when frozen.

Conclusion for fast readers:

  • Suitability: Onions can be frozen; are only good for cooking
  • Whole Onions: Freeze slowly; are impractical for further processing
  • Cutting: remove skin from onion; cut into pieces or rings
  • Blanching: The time-consuming blanching of these vegetables can be omitted
  • Pre Freeze: On a tray; about 1 hour; makes it easier to remove later
  • Tip: pre-freeze in ice cube trays; results in convenient portion sizes
  • freezer containers: glasses; plastic boxes; freeze bag
  • Shelf life: 1 year
  • Thawing: Can be added directly to cooking food

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Vegetable garden