Freezing onions »This is the best way to go about it

Only suitable for cooking when frozen

Whenever a recipe calls for fresh onion pieces, you should actually use a fresh onion. After thawing, frozen onions are only suitable for cooking, frying or baking due to their consistency. They will certainly add the required taste to the food.

Prepare onions ready to use

Whilst it would be wonderfully practical for freezing, whole onions don't belong in the freezer drawer. The large pieces take far too long to freeze completely. In addition, they cannot be cut into smaller pieces when frozen, and after a “long” thawing process, they are no longer handy.

• Remove the skin from the onions
• Cut into small pieces before freezing
• as required in rings or pieces or fine cubes

Freeze without blanching

The good news is that the chopped onions can go straight to the freezer without having to go through hot water first. Their white color becomes glassy anyway after cooking and more than enough of the taste remains even without blanching.

Pre-freeze the onion pieces whenever possible

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

Each piece remains frozen in this way and does not stick together with other onion pieces. This means that you can later easily take out exactly the amount that you actually need at the 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 in the freezer. After a few days, hardly anyone knows what is in which container, let alone when it was frozen.

Ice-cube-sized onion portions

Most dishes only require about half an onion. The amount of the finely diced pieces fit well in a compartment of the ice cube tray. This fact can also be used to advantage when freezing:

• Spread large quantities of onions in an ice cube tray
• let 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 practical supply for a whole year.

No waiting time when defrosting

Since onions are only used in small quantities and are therefore taken from the freezer in small quantities, thawing is practically unnecessary. After thawing, they wouldn't be crisp enough to eat raw anyway. In cooking food, the small pieces thaw in no time, so they can also be put in when frozen.

Conclusion for quick readers:

• Suitability: Onions can be frozen; are only good for cooking
• Whole onions: freeze slowly; are impractical for further processing
• Cutting: remove the skin from the onion; cut into pieces or rings
• Blanching: The time-consuming blanching is not necessary with these vegetables
• Pre-freezing: on a tray; about 1 hour; facilitates removal later
• Tip: Pre-freeze in the ice cube tray; makes practical portion sizes
• Freezer Containers: Glasses; Plastic boxes; freeze bag
• Shelf life: 1 year
• Defrosting: Can be added directly to food that is cooking