Freezing diced onions to preserve?

[Joel_BC]

This year, along with a winter-keeper onion variety or two, I'm thinking I'll plant Walla Wallas - a big-globe summer onion variety. These will be great as early onions for adding flavor to dishes we cook here.

Because the thing is, even keeper onions eventually dry out, or occasionally begin to mold, before the next season's onions are ready to harvest. And so the thought came to me that we could try dicing the Walla Wallas, bagging them in small freezer bags, then freezing them until we need them in winter thru spring. Could then thaw the minced onions in a low-heat skillet (or as an ingredient in a soup pot) as an ingredient.

Has anyone tried freezing early bulb onions? I haven't read about this method anywhere, so I don't know if it works out well or has been rejected for good reasons. What do you know or think?

 

[Wannabefree]

I freeze diced onions all the time for soups, to sautee, and for things like sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, chilli etc. etc. so long as they are used in cooking, this is one of the best ways to preserve them in my experience other than drying them. Hope that answered your questions

 

[Joel_BC]

I freeze diced onions all the time for soups, to sautee, and for things like sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, chilli etc. etc. so long as they are used in cooking, this is one of the best ways to preserve them in my experience other than drying them. Hope that answered your questions

Thanks for the quick reply, wannabe! Definitely answered my question.

One more little question. Initially, I thought about freezing the diced onions in freezer bags. But a thing we do here is freeze some (not all) of the pesto we make in muffin tins, from which we get sort of miniature "pucks" of pesto that can be thawed more quickly than when the pesto is frozen in, say, those small snap-lid plastic containers. So I wonder what you think of the idea of freezing in smaller amounts in the muffin tins (which could then be transferred to plastic freezer bags for long-term storage)?

 

[txcanoegirl]

oops...duplicate post

 

[txcanoegirl]

I freeze a large quantity of onions. Peppers can be frozen and used exactly in the same way. Just slice or dice and freeze in air tight containers or bags. Better used in cooked dishes instead of raw purposes, as they will not have the same texture as fresh. No need to thaw before use, just toss in your pot or skillet. Some people freeze in large size containers and take out only what is needed and put the bag back in the freezer. I don't like to do that because ice crystals start to form in the bags when they are opened and closed and I think it affets the quality. I tend to freeze in smaller containers, in the sizes I tend to use frequently, such as 1-2 cups at a time. I can still take out smaller amounts if I don't need that much.

Whole onions and halves can be frozen, but these should be blanched first, and the results/quality isn't as good as the unblanched (and easier) diced ones.

For fresh storage of onions, some varieties store longer than others. The sweet onions have a shorter life. For fresh storage, I take pantyhose or knee high hose and insert one onion, tie a knot, insert another onion, tie a knot, and keep on until the leg of the hose is full. I then tie a loop at the end and hang in a cool, dark area (my pantry). They last several months. Be sure they were properly dried and cured prior to storage or they will begin to go soft too soon.

Onions can be dehydrated and canned, but I don't like the results as well as frozen. That may be a personal preference based on a person's usage of the end product.

I get a lot of my food preservation and food storage information from garden web's harvest forum and the National center for home food preservation (NCHFP), and I use reliable, up-to-date canning books, such as Ball Blue Book, Ball Complete Home Food Preservation.

Hope this helps...

Jill in Texas

 

[Joel_BC]

Thanks, Jill. You've got lots of experience with it.

The reason I posted my second question (post #3, above) is that I wasn't sure if you could easily take a smaler amount of frozen onions out of a freezer bag (and put the remainder back in the freezer) - I thought the diced onion pieces might tend to stick together and form largish clumps during the freezing process. Does this happen, or not?

 

[Wannabefree]

I freeze diced onions all the time for soups, to sautee, and for things like sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, chilli etc. etc. so long as they are used in cooking, this is one of the best ways to preserve them in my experience other than drying them. Hope that answered your questions

Thanks for the quick reply, wannabe! Definitely answered my question.

One more little question. Initially, I thought about freezing the diced onions in freezer bags. But a thing we do here is freeze some (not all) of the pesto we make in muffin tins, from which we get sort of miniature "pucks" of pesto that can be thawed more quickly than when the pesto is frozen in, say, those small snap-lid plastic containers. So I wonder what you think of the idea of freezing in smaller amounts in the muffin tins (which could then be transferred to plastic freezer bags for long-term storage)?

As much as I hate the use of plastic wrap because it's so wasteful....I'd definately cover it, so that your whole freezer doesn't reek of onion but yeah, that's great idea! I usually just use the snack bags(half size sandwich bags), and reuse them for more onions after washing.

 

[txcanoegirl]

The reason I posted my second question (post #3, above) is that I wasn't sure if you could easily take a smaler amount of frozen onions out of a freezer bag (and put the remainder back in the freezer) - I thought the diced onion pieces might tend to stick together and form largish clumps during the freezing process. Does this happen, or not?

My experience is that they do tend to form clumps, but they break up easily enough, either by hand manipulation, by whacking the bag on the counter, or poking with a butter knife. I just don't like getting a lot of ice crystals in them, which happens over time when you open and close the bag. That can make your dish a little watery after adding the onions to it. Also, if I'm sauteeing the onions in oil, or adding them to a "dry" dish like hash browns, I want them as free of ice crystals as possible. There is nothing wrong with freezing your puck-size onion portions, but I've never done it that way, so can't advise by my own experience. I'd suggest trying some like that to see how you like it. You might even try quick freezing them spread out on a cookie sheet, and when frozen, bag up. They will stay more separate that way. One year I froze 1-cup size portions of onions and bagged those in the larger bag. I found that even those got more ice crystals. Not sure why, maybe just the act of taking the bag out of the freezer, opening and putting bag in was enough to raise the temperature enough to create the right conditions for the ice crystals. My way of the individual containers does take up a bit more space in the freezer, but I'm also better organized and the freezer stays closed a longer percent of the time, so it's a positive trade off for me.

Jill

 

[so lucky]

I keep pint-size freezer bags of onion, pepper and celery in my kitchen freezer, where they are handy. Most mornings I grab a small handfull of peppers and onions and saute them first, before scrambling them with eggs. Sooo much better than plain scrambled eggs. The bags probably don't last long enough to worry about ice crystals forming.

 

[txcanoegirl]

I keep pint-size freezer bags of onion, pepper and celery in my kitchen freezer, where they are handy. Most mornings I grab a small handfull of peppers and onions and saute them first, before scrambling them with eggs. Sooo much better than plain scrambled eggs. The bags probably don't last long enough to worry about ice crystals forming.

That's exactly why I like the small bags!