It happens that a gardener has grown an excellent crop of onions, but he does not have a cool place for long-term storage of vegetables. In this case, the onion can be frozen, moreover, it can be done very easily and quickly. In this article, we will look at how to properly freeze onions for the winter.
Did you know? Onions are a rich source of vitamin C and useful minerals: manganese, potassium and phosphorus. Vegetables are extremely low in calories and high in dietary fiber.
Is it possible to freeze onions for the winter
Not all housewives know if onion slices are frozen for the winter. Like many other vegetables, turnips can be harvested for future use using low sub-zero temperatures (freezing). Before freezing onions, it is important to understand that being at sub-zero temperatures changes the vegetable somewhat. 
When frozen, the crunchy elasticity disappears, giving the salads an interesting texture. What is left retains the aromatic smell and specific taste with which the onion still enriches the dish, but after freezing it becomes soft.
Did you know? Chopped onions can be used to polish silverware and other metal objects to make them bright and shiny.
How to choose and prepare onions
To get high-quality frozen vegetables, you must follow a few rules:
- Choose only fresh vegetables that have not lost tissue density. Bulbs should not have rot or fungus inside the bulb itself (black coating on white flesh). There is nothing to worry about if the onion begins to sprout, in which case it is quite suitable for freezing. Sluggish or drying vegetables are not suitable.
- After a thorough inspection, the bulbs are distributed according to their intended purpose: large and partially damaged - for cutting, small - for whole freezing. If work is scheduled for the next day, the bulbs are taken out to a cool room for the night. This will make it easier for the cook to cut the vigorous vegetable.
- Before starting work on cutting, the turnip is peeled, leaving the bottom with roots intact, and washed well in several waters. The washed bulbs are laid out to dry for a couple of hours, after which they proceed directly to grinding. The consistency of grinding depends on the freezing method chosen by the culinary specialist.
Preparing the refrigerator or freezer before freezing
If the hostess already plans to freeze vegetables for the winter, she needs to prepare a freezer a few days before the start of work:
- The freezer is disconnected from electricity, freed from food, and then washed well with the use of detergents.
- If a foreign smell has firmly settled in the freezer, you can rinse the shelves and walls of the freezer with water to which baking soda is added (1 tbsp of soda per liter of water) or table vinegar (100 ml of vinegar per liter of water).
- The freezer is washed both inside and out, after which the household appliances are dried with the door open and turned off. A dry freezer is connected to the network one day before the start of freezing work. During this time, the freezer will return to the desired temperature.
Important!If, after cutting, the onion smell has stuck in the palms, they are washed with warm water and any aromatic soap, after which they wipe the skin with a drop of lemon essential oil. In addition to the fact that this tool will cleanse the skin of the smell, the essential oil nourishes and moisturizes the nail plates.
Ways to freeze onions at home
Since large freezers appeared in houses, housewives have appreciated vegetable preparations. Onions can be frozen both in the form of chopped rings or cubes, and in the form of vegetable puree. After freezing, the vegetable does not lose its inherent aroma and taste, but irrevocably loses its elasticity.
On the whole
You can freeze whole onions with or without blanching. Blanching is a culinary technique in which peeled vegetables are dipped in boiling water for a short time. For small onions, the blanching time is three minutes, for large ones, seven minutes. For proper freezing, blanching should heat the onion to the very middle. 
Shredded in bags
To freeze a vegetable, you need to chop it. You can chop the onions using regular slicing with a knife, or you can place the vegetables in a food processor (blender). At the same time, the hostess needs to remember that the thawed onion loses its shape, therefore, after cutting in a food processor, the thawed product may resemble porridge. The cut is placed in plastic spare parts bags (with a zipper) and distributed inside a thin layer.
Did you know? Onions contain flavonoids, unique compounds that are very beneficial to human health. The vegetable contains the biologically active compound quercetin, which is a powerful antioxidant with anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects.
After freezing, the cut bag will resemble a thick sheet of cardboard. If there are a lot of packages, they are stacked on top of each other (a stack) in the freezer. You can also freeze quickly by placing the onion rings on a parchment paper-lined tray and placing it in the freezer. When the cut freezes, it is packed in freezer containers with lids or spare parts packages. 
fried
Before freezing, finely chopped onions can be fried until golden brown, that is, caramelized before freezing. Frying is carried out over moderate heat in olive or fresh butter. The finished frying is cooled and packaged in a mold for freezing ice. This type of frozen vegetable adds a new flavor to cooked food. 
In ice molds
If the onion has sprouted and become soft, it is rubbed in a blender or food processor with a small amount of olive (refined sunflower) oil. The resulting vegetable puree is laid out in a mold for making ice cubes. When the onion cubes are frozen, they are stored in a container with a lid or in a ziplock bag. They are used as a condiment for soups or sauces.
Important!The method of freezing vegetables in a bottle is also suitable for cutting green onion feathers.
In a plastic bottle
Onions can also be frozen in liter plastic bottles. In addition to being cheap, such a container is very convenient, since its neck acts as a dispenser and at the same time it closes tightly and hermetically. For freezing in a bottle, only finely chopped slices are suitable, the cut fraction should pass freely through the neck. In no case should you put vegetables chopped in a blender or food processor into the bottle. 
The consistency of such grinding is more like puree, and under the influence of low temperatures in the bottle, an ice monolith will turn out, which can only be removed completely and only after cutting the container. Freshly chopped onions cannot be immediately poured into a bottle and placed in the freezer for freezing. Pre-cutting is laid out on a tray in a thin layer and slightly frozen (until flowability). After that, the vegetable slices fall asleep in the neck of the bottle.
Important!Once any vegetables have been frozen, they no longer fully match their fresh counterparts. After freezing, their tissues will be soft, because the water inside the cells expanded when frozen and destroyed them.
To make it more convenient to pour frozen vegetables into the bottle container, the bottle is wrapped around the neck with food foil in the form of a funnel with a wide diameter. In this funnel and fall asleep cutting. When backfilling, a few centimeters of free space are left between the lid and vegetables, after which the bottle is tightly closed with a lid and placed in the freezer.
Video: how to freeze onions
Shelf life in frozen form
Frozen onions should be used within six months after the day of freezing, during which time they taste best.
How to defrost and use onions
When it's time to use vegetable freezing, you just need to break off part of the ice cream layer and, if desired, defrost it. Frozen onions are easily thawed in the microwave or without it within a few minutes. 
Many cooks are convinced that frozen vegetables absolutely do not need to be specially thawed before being added to any dish. The cook simply adds frozen cubes or pours the right amount of frozen onions directly into the food being cooked.
Young housewives may not know what can be cooked from it later. Onion freezing is best used for cooking first and second hot dishes, various sauces, gravies, marinades. Such a product is absolutely not suitable for adding to fresh vegetable salads or for frying.
How to facilitate the work of a cook in freezing onions:
- In order not to cry, preparing onion slices for freezing, it is advisable to cool the vegetable for 30 minutes before slicing. Peeling from the husk begins with the neck of the bulb, while not cutting off the root, but leaving it whole. The root system will keep the onion from falling apart into slices when manually cut. Sulfur compounds in onions, which are released during the destruction of cells (cutting), are concentrated in the zone of the bottom of the bulb, at the roots.
- It is also possible to carry out all the work of chopping a caustic vegetable in the open air so that the onion pairs overloaded with gray are neutralized by fresh air.
- Some cooks claim that a lit candle placed next to an onion cutting board helps them avoid tears, the flame of which absorbs sulfuric fumes. No need to throw away the bottoms of already cut onions. At the end of the work, the roots are cut off from them and the remaining pulp is used to prepare a fragrant dish.
- No matter how the onion is frozen, it must be stored in an airtight container to avoid onion smell in the freezer. When packing cuts in containers with lids, leave a couple of centimeters of free space. Layers of frozen vegetables in ZIP bags are put into one or more common thick plastic bags for long-term storage in the freezer. This technique will help to avoid the appearance of a penetrating onion smell everywhere.
Any of the above methods is suitable for freezing onions. Freezing vegetables for future use will help an experienced housewife save the harvest and reduce cooking time, which is important for working women.
So, you can freeze the "extra" onion.
Only peeled, thoroughly washed onions are suitable for freezing. When peeling onions, I always put them in cold water, so they become less teary.
Put the chopped onion in a bag with a slider closure. We expel excess air from the package, be sure to sign our blank. Such a note is essential. The fact is that the onion retains its special taste and aroma for a short time - about two months. It, of course, can be stored for up to six months, but the onion begins to change its structure and lose its specific smell. Therefore, a sticker indicating the date of freezing is an essential thing.
The remaining onion can be chopped in the usual way - in small cubes. You can use the freezer bag again, or you can pour the chopped onion into a food container.
Make sure this container is suitable for freezing. To check if food can be frozen in this container, you need to look for a snowflake icon on it - this will mean that the food container can withstand low temperatures.
So, put the onion in a dry and clean container, sign the freeze and send it to the freezer.
Thus, in just 10 minutes, we saved the currently unnecessary peeled onions and made ourselves blanks for future dishes. When you need to cook in haste or scrambled eggs with vegetables, it will be enough just to get the frozen onion in half rings. And send it frozen to the pan. When frying, you need to make sure that all excess liquid evaporates.
Onions are not afraid of frostOnions, carrots are planted and sown early, as soon as it becomes possible to go into the garden and prepare a garden bed. Onions even like to be planted in cool weather; they endure frosts without loss. The gardeners have already warmed up the onion sets, some on the battery, some on the stove. There are a lot of different sets for sale now - round, elongated, ordinary light and red. The most optimal bulb size for sowing is 1.5–2 cm in diameter, it will not go into the arrow and the bulb will grow large. We have well-known varieties suitable for storage - these are Bessonovsky, Strigunovsky, Stuttgarter Riesen, Ermak and some others, including Dutch ones, which grow well in Siberia.
Have you chosen a place for the bow? It should be placed after cucumbers, green manure, parsley, after peas is also not bad. It is important that the soil is well prepared in the fall. Bad predecessors are carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic. Onion can be returned to the same place on light soils after three years, on heavy soils - after five years.
The best soils for onions are loose, fertile. On acidic soils, liming is necessary - from autumn, half a kilo of fluffy lime per square meter is used for digging. Now you can use wood ash - 100 grams per square meter to the depth of the roots. If the soil is poor, then it is necessary to apply 4–5 kg of humus, but not manure, superphosphate and potassium chloride per square meter, 40–50 grams each, as well as a little ammonium nitrate, two times less than other mineral fertilizers.
Preparing a seed before planting, in addition to warming up, includes a few more simple operations. The sevok is carefully examined and sorted into fractions: the smallest - 1 cm in diameter, medium - 1.5–2 cm, large - more than 2.5 cm. Each fraction must be prepared for planting and planted separately so that the plants develop equally and evenly.
In Siberia, turnip onions grow better at early planting dates, because this is a long-day plant. It ripens, as you know, at the end of July. If you are late with planting, then the formation of the bulbs shifts to August, when the daylight hours noticeably decrease, the nights become colder. The bulbs do not pour well, do not have time to ripen and are poorly stored. And the thick raw neck of the bulb is affected by rot.
Planting begins with a small fraction of sevka, it takes more time to form a large bulb. As soon as the soil at a depth of 5 cm warms up to plus five, you can plant. This low temperature is favorable for root development. When the temperature rises to plus ten, enhanced growth of roots and leaves begins. Medium and large fractions can be planted three or four days later, but no longer linger. Warming of the soil and air inhibits the development of the root system, stimulates the growth of leaves. Growing up, they require more and more nutrition, but the roots have not grown. So the first days of May are the most favorable time.
Do not forget about such a procedure as soaking the sevka 10-12 hours before planting. This has a positive effect on development and growth. Soak in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and simply in water at room temperature.
Soaking is also important because when stored at home, thrips are often attacked by sevok. And soaking will hasten their death. Nematodes may also appear in the sevka.
You can see this pest, or rather, its detrimental effect, only during harvesting, and even if you examine each bulb. In the affected, the bottom cracks, turns out, the smell is unpleasant. Damaged bulbs should not be scattered, usually they are immediately put into buckets and burned or poured with boiling water.
An important point is how to avoid shooting. It depends on the storage method. Usually a small set with a diameter of 1 cm cannot shoot. The big one is prone to it. It should be planted in soil with a temperature above plus 12. If arrows appear, they are broken out as soon as possible, as soon as you notice swelling at the bottom, almost at the very bottom.
And another serious note. Usually, gardeners cut off the dried feather residue at the very neck of the set before planting, as this stimulates the faster growth of leaves, not roots. And you need to first grow and strengthen the root system.
It seems to be planting sevok is a pleasure. But it happens that there are no shoots for a long time, and then the bulb grows poorly. Or you come to the site, and the sevok is all out - it seemed to push itself out of the soil - the roots grow rapidly. So the landing was shallow.
Make grooves in advance, spill them, the depth is 4–5 cm from the soil surface for sowing the middle fraction. For a small one, a depth of 3 cm is enough, and for a large one, two sowing heights. That is, up to 5–6 cm. The distance between the rows is 25 cm, and in the rows 8, 10, 15 cm, depending on the size of the set. After spreading the sevok, fill in the grooves, slightly compacting the soil. It is very useful to mulch the beds with peat or humus. Not only peat mulch will protect against onion flies, but also thin covering material, and will also retain moisture. Friendly shoots of healthy plants will appear.
Description
Frozen onion is a valuable preparation for the winter, which contains the most popular vegetable in cooking. For the preparation of almost all dishes, onion is used as a flavoring and aromatic additive, and in most cases it is an indispensable ingredient. Moreover, everyone knows that this vegetable is "evil" and during its cutting, probably, tears flow from everyone's eyes. However, because of this factor, the use of onions has not decreased. Moreover, many ways have been found to reduce this sharpness. For example, if you cut an onion in half, then hold it for several minutes under cold water, then it will no longer cause tears.
As it turned out, frozen onions are much more convenient to use than fresh ones. Firstly, a frozen vegetable does not require initial preparation, because it is harvested in a peeled and chopped form. So, if you decide to make any dish with frozen onions, you just need to get it out of the freezer and place it in a preheated pan. At the same time, the cooking time is significantly reduced.
In order to properly freeze the onion in the freezer for the winter and its shelf life was maximum, it is imperative to follow the instructions below with a photo. By the way, you can freeze onions in this way at any time of the year, because even in winter there are no problems with its acquisition. Such an onion preparation is necessary for everyone and always!
So, we propose to start the process of preparing the onion, and then freeze it.
Ingredients
Frozen onion - recipe
Let's start by peeling the onion. It must be rid of all the husks, and then washed. For freezing, onions are suitable only in good condition, spoiled or slightly spoiled vegetables are not suitable in our case. The shelf life of the workpiece depends on the freshness of the product..
A chopper blender is best for chopping onions. In his bowl we place vegetables cut into quarters, but do not overload it. Chop the vegetables one onion at a time.
To end up with onion porridge, you need to use a blender correctly. It is necessary to chop the onion only at low speed, and it is not recommended to hold the button for this. It is better to press it five or six times for a few seconds, and then release it..
Thus, beautiful uniform onion pieces are obtained and they are far from the consistency of porridge.
We put all the chopped onions in one common bowl, and then lay it out in bags. Usually, such a vegetable is frozen in plastic bags, but glassware can also be used for this. One bag should contain exactly as much onion as it is needed to prepare one serving of soup or other dish. Now the bags with the workpiece should be tightly tied, but before all the air is released from them. In this case, during the freezing process, the onion will not stick together and remain just as crumbly. In a day, the onion blank for the winter will completely freeze..
How to store onions so that there is less loss? In this article, I decided to talk about how to store onions and how to prepare them for storage. There will also be some helpful tips here. You will surely find something new for yourself.
Storing onions is quite a feasible task. Well-ripened bulbs are in a state of complete physiological dormancy and are perfectly stored at home at a certain temperature and humidity. The key to long-term storage of onions is compliance with agricultural cultivation practices, including proper cleaning and preparation for storage.
How to prepare onions for storage?
Onion preparation for storage begins from the moment it is harvested.
Onions are harvested 90-120 days after planting (harvest time depends on the variety). As a rule, onion harvesting begins in August. By this time, the leaves begin to turn yellow and lie down, the bulbs are poured, and the necks become thin.
It is advisable to harvest onions in dry weather as follows: the bulbs are dug up so as not to injure the bottom, and carefully folded. It is not recommended to pull out the bulbs, throw them, knock on the ground. This will damage them and shorten their shelf life.
How to dry onions after harvesting?
Onion storage is much more effective after thorough drying. For this, the bulbs along with the leaves 
lay out in a thin layer in the fresh air. If weather conditions do not allow drying the onions in this way, then they are laid out on the floor or on shelves in the yard (under cover), on the veranda or balcony.
There are other ways to dry. You can tie the bulbs into small bunches and hang them outdoors under a canopy or indoors in a draft. If you live in a comfortable apartment and have a small crop, then you can dry the onions in the oven. To do this, heat the oven to the minimum temperature, periodically turning it on and off. It is important that the onion does not dry out, and the covering scales do not crack.
After the onion has dried, it must be cut. For this it is more convenient to use scissors. Dry leaves are cut so that a neck 4-6 cm long and roots remain, without affecting the bottom of the bulb.
The surface of the bulbs is slightly cleaned of soil and upper cracked scales.
Then the onion is dried for two weeks, stirring it regularly.
For storage, onions are carefully sorted, selecting strong, healthy, undamaged and seedling bulbs with dry, closed necks. This is the preparation of onions for storage.
By the way, the ways of storing leeks and onions are fundamentally different from each other. Although, what is there to be surprised? .. They are completely different outwardly.
Onion keeping quality
It should be noted that not all varieties of onions are equally well stored. It is desirable to leave for storage late, as well as sharp varieties of onions, which are characterized by high keeping quality.
Keeping capacity also directly depends on the degree of ripening of the bulbs, so harvest in a timely manner.
Yalta bow - one of the famous varieties of sweet onions, which is grown exclusively in the Crimea. A feature of this variety is unsatisfactory keeping quality. The storage period of the Yalta (or Crimean) onion is only 120 days, after which it begins to germinate. Therefore, it is not suitable for long-term storage. However, subject to the cultivation technology, harvesting dates and proper storage, Crimean onions can still be preserved.
Of course, the Crimeans know best how to store the Yalta onion. It is not for nothing that they sell it in the form of beautiful bundles. Therefore, if you managed to get a bundle of sweet Crimean onions, then store it in this form, hanging it from the crossbar in the kitchen or in the pantry.
How to properly store onions?
Dried and selected onions are put into a specially prepared container. So, for storing onions at home use:
- wooden boxes;
- wicker baskets;
- fabric bags;
- special nets for storing vegetables;
- kapron stockings.
Boxes and boxes should be small, no more than 30 cm high and have holes for ventilation. Bags and nets should 
take a medium size, and the layer of the poured onion should also not exceed 30 cm. It is better to put the onion in several boxes or bags than pour it into one large one. So more chances to save the crop.
Do not use plastic bags to store onions. This material does not allow moisture and air to pass through, so the onion quickly fogs up and begins to rot.
How to store onions for as long as possible and with minimal losses? This is where the “check” principle comes in handy. During the entire storage period, it is necessary from time to time (2-3 times during the entire storage period) to sort out the onions and discard the spoiled bulbs. This will save the rest of the bow until spring.
If the onion becomes damp during storage, it should be dried and put into a new dry container.
Do you know how to store onions in an apartment more efficiently and most usefully? This is the storage of onions in a proven folk way, namely in the form of woven braids or so-called bundles. To do this, the bow is not cut, braids are woven from dry leaves using twine. In this form, the onion is perfectly stored. In addition, onion braids are a decoration for the interior of the kitchen and a means of disinfecting the air in the apartment due to the phytoncidal properties of this plant.
Where to store onions?
For storing onions in the house, the best option is a basement or cellar, provided that the air temperature in it does not drop significantly below zero. Dark and cool places are chosen for storing onions in the apartment. For example, at the balcony.
At what temperature should onions be stored?
To store onions, the following conditions must be created:
The most difficult task in creating conditions is to ensure a relatively constant level of air humidity. And this is very important, because at low humidity the bulbs dry out. High humidity helps the bulb to come out of dormancy, which leads to its germination, as well as the development of diseases (for example, neck rot, which causes mold).
To store food onions, 3 main storage methods are used, which differ in temperature conditions:
- cold (onions are stored at a temperature of 0 ... -3 ° C);
- warm (onion storage temperature at the same time + 18 ... + 22 ° С);
- combined (cold-warm). With this method, onions are stored as follows: in autumn at a temperature of + 18 ... + 22 ° С, in winter at 0 ... -3 ° С (the room is sharply cooled), and in spring the temperature is raised again to + 18 ... + 22 ° С.
Little tricks for long-term storage of onions
Here are some tips to help you store onions:
So let's sum it up...
You already know how to store onions in winter with minimal losses, as well as the proper cleaning of onions and preparing them for storage. And if someone asks you how to store onions, you will probably remember the useful tips from this article. Yes, onions perfectly retain their properties for a long time, but still, they also require your attention.