Recently I bought a sack of onions and as I knew I couldn't eat them all (they were a bargain and nearly out of date) I chopped most of them up, and put them in freezer bags and put them in the freezer. It's much cheaper and also quicker to have one or two ready chopped onions at the ready. I know it's still work to chop them, but when you do a batch, it's much quicker than you think when you are on a roll. I put them in bags of two onions for convenience as that's what I usually use when I cook.
What a great idea. I never thought to freeze onions. I usually buy 3 or 5 pound bag of onions and store them in my basement pantry. They keep for at least a month or two in my pantry. I love the convenience of already having the onions chopped. Do you have a problem with the smell of the onions permeating other things in the freezer. Can they be eaten raw once they are thawed.. like in a salad or on a burger... I can definitely see how they would be great to throw into soups or casseroles. Thanks for the time saver.
I have never thought of freezing onions either, I thought they would get mushy if they were frozen. I will have to start to do that in the future. I like to have items like this already so that all I have to do is reach in the freezer and complete the meal quickly. I like to do all my prep for the week just one day and it is done, meals are quickly prepared.
I'll have to try this out. I usually have excess onions just sitting outside because my frequency in using them is a bit unstable. Although, I have heard that refrigerating onions degrades the quality of it to some extent but I'm not entirely sure since I only vaguely remember reading or hearing about it in passing. I'll have to research it further or maybe just try it out for myself since one or two onions shouldn't be that much of a sacrifice considering the results could prove to be very handy.
They aren't as strong when they are frozen, but they are much handier to use in certain dishes. You don't need to defrost them, just cook them frozen, I must admit peeling and chopping onions is never a fun job, so I like to have some ready to use if I just want a handful. I used to buy frozen onions anyhow, so doing it myself was cheaper. The worst part is when an onion does go soft and off, that's when I decided to freeze them. If they will keep for a while then it doesn't matter, but when I had to throw a few out, I decided to freeze them before that happened again. I hate wasting food.
I too have done this and although I would agree that its a great way of avoiding waste when only needing to use part of an onion. I would just say - that as the one good thing about onions is that they are one of the few vegetables - that if stored correctly in a cool dry well ventilated place - that will keep for months and months - they're generally better stored that way - particularly as - not only do they loose a lot of their texture and flavor as well as turn kind of mushy when frozen - making them really only any good for using in cooked dishes rather than raw - but more importantly - unless you want absolutely everything in your freezer to have the very distinct flavor and aroma of onions - you really do need to be sure to double or triple bag them.
I actually have digestive issues, and can rarely eat onions, unless they're cooked to be very soft. This might help with that situation. I have two I've been meaning to slice up and fry. If I don't get around to making the onion rings today, I might just try this out. I would love to have some 'fresh' onion on demand from the freezer, rather than having to rely on dehydrated diced onions.
Dicing and freezing onions before they sprout a new onion plant is a great way to reduce waste on your grocery bill. I do not currently chop and freeze onions, however, I do chop and freeze other vegetables when they are drawing near their expiration, such as bell peppers, carrots, celery, and summer squash. I use the frozen vegetables later on in chili, stir fry, pasta, or casseroles. I will start chopping and freezing onions now, as well!
My father actually likes them very soft too, and they are good for making gravy or stock for soup. When you make in bulk it saves time and also you don't have to brace yourself for the lingering onion smell on your fingers. Sometimes I only want a handful of onions too, to add to a pasta dish and this way it's easier than chopping half and onion and leaving it in the fridge, because it does make the fridge smell.
We buy onions by the half kilo only, just enough for what we intend to use in the week. Since we live near the market, our policy is to have fresh food as much as possible. We do not stock in the fridge any meat, fish or even vegetables. With the frozen onion, there is a difference in taste simply because frozen is always inferior than the fresh ones. I guess you have to change your purchasing style when it comes to perishable goods.
Can onions go out of date? I mean, I know they will deteriorate eventually but I'm pretty sure that their usefulness is determined by the actual condition of the vegetable rather than the date printed on the bag they came in. I do get these large bags when they are on offer. I transfer them into a paper bag and pop them in the shed. They last for months like this.
Ewww, I hate when other items in the fridge pick up the smell of the onions, especially when it happens to the butter! I chopped up the two onions I had the other day, after reading your post. I made a huge batch of fried onion strings, and when I was too tired to finish the last bit, I put them in a zipper freezer bag and popped them into the freezer. I might pull them out in a few days when I'm ready to start my Thanksgiving cooking, since they'd make a nice addition to the turkey itself, or maybe the gravy.
