Questions are important, questions will lead you to new answers so don't be ashamed to ask – can you freeze onions? Knowing whether you can freeze your onions is important because it can extend their life.
This matters because if you don't want your vegetables to go to waste then it is important to be able to store them for as long as possible. Knowing the different rates at which your vegetables can spoil will also allow you to better plan in what order you need to eat your stored veggies.
Can I freeze onions?
Like most vegetables, you can definitely just put onions in the fridge in order to slow down the enzymes that break down the food. However, freezing is a different subject. Much colder temperatures won't always be good for some vegetables so it is important to first figure out what you can and cannot freeze.As a rule of thumb, it is usually just the vegetables that contain a lot of water that should not be frozen. The most common vegetables that contain too much water are celery, cucumbers and some edible leafs. The reason for this is that water expands dramatically when it freezes.
This expansion can cause the structural integrity of the vegetable to be ruined as the expanding water shreds through the skin. When you take it out of the freezer and the ice thaws you end up with a limp product that you won't want to eat.
Luckily for those wondering if one can freeze onions, the answer is yes. Onion does not contain enough water for it to become damaged in the freezer and its strong papery outer layer does a good job of protecting it.
What To Watch Out For
While the answer to "Can you freeze onions" is "yes" you should take that with a grain of salt! Freezing vegetables extended periods of time can help preserve them but after long enough they will begin to lose useful nutrients and flavor. This is because freezing slows down the enzymes that break down the vegetables but it doesn't halt them completely. So, given enough time, the slowed down enzymes will still manage to do their job.You should always be aware of the onions you've stored in the freezer and be mindful of how much time they have been stored there. Freezing can be a great way to extend life but that does not mean you should leave them there indefinitely!
Watch out! Freezing your onions for too long will cause them to lose flavor and nutrients. Make sure to remember how long you have stored them so you don't wait too long.
Blanching Your Onions
Though it is not completely necessary to blanch your onions, if you intend to store them for every long periods of time then it might be advisable. Blanching prevents nutrient loss. In order to blanch onions you must first find a large enough pot to hold your onions and enough water to cover them.Add the water and wait until it starts to boil before adding a lot of salt to the water. Make sure you have another container next to the pot that you should then fill with cold water. Remove the skin from the onions and cut them into large quarters. You are now ready to blanch them.
The process is simple, just take the pieces of onions and put them in the boiling water for five minutes and them quickly dump them in the container with cold water. Wait till the quarters have lost all of their heat and dry them.
Freezing
As previously mentioned, you can freeze onions without blanching them. Both types of onions are frozen in the same fashion so this is an important section regardless of whether you have blanched your onions or not!Choosing The Right Candidate For Freezing
All onions are not created equally so choose wisely! The healthier your onion is when you store it, the longer it'll last and the more flavor it will retain. The enemy of freezing is openings. These openings can allow bacteria to enter and start wreaking havoc on your onion. In order to prevent this choose the freshest onions. Try to pick the ones that are unmarred by any cuts and don't have anything malicious growing on them.A onion that has mold on it, however small, will provide a massive breeding ground for bacteria to enter and damage your onion. The mold itself will also be sure hurt your onion as well!
Caution! Make sure to check each of your onions before purchasing them to make sure they do not have mold on them. This can make them spoil faster in the freezer.
Getting The Onion Ready
If you've already blanched your onions then you don't have to worry about peeling the skin off the onions. However, if you decided to opt out of that method for preserving food then you should take the time to slowly peel the skin off. Be careful not to cut the onion or damage it by applying too much pressure! The more intact your onion remains the better.After you have finished the peeling process of getting your onion ready it is time to bring out the knives. If you've already cut them up in quarters during the blanching process then you still need to pay attention to this part! The slices have to be a lot smaller, roughly .5 inches thick. So take your implement of choice and dive in, cut as many .5 inch thick slices as you can, but don't cut yourself.
Packaging
Exposing your precious onions to the surrounding air is not good! Air can carry harmful bacteria or simply speed up the decaying process of your onions. The least amount of air that remains in the packaging you use, the better off your onions will be. Can you freeze onions? Sure! But do so in the right way.You can use almost any plastic material that will seal. The most convenient is probably just using a ziploc bag to store your onions. When storing be aware that your onions do still contain water and that means that they will expand! Be mindful of that and leave some room in your bag for your onions to expand onto.
Always remember though, try to take away as much air from the bag as you can. If you can vacuum seal your onion bags then that is preferable but if you don't have the materials for then you can always just press the air pockets out of the bag to the best of your abilities.
Finishing Touch
You're all ready to begin freezing your onions! There is just one more thing for you to do that will make your life a lot easier if you are looking to store your onions for long periods of time. Just take a sharpie and find a sticker of some sort and put the current date on them! This will allow you to calculate just how long your onions have been in storage. Remember, frozen onions typically last 4 – 6 months. Now you know exactly how to answer the question – Can you freeze onions?| Method | Result |
|---|---|
| Regular | Will keep for 3 – 6 months but will quickly start to lose nutrients and consistency |
| Blanched | Will keep for 4 – 6 months and won't lose as many nutrients or as much consistency |
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