Freezer Cooking, Preparing Onions for the Freezer

Onions I haven’t had very good luck with growing,  well except for the green onion type. But we do use quite a few onions and I do find onions on sale from time to time. Often more than I can use before they go bad. When I end up with an abundance of onions from a sale, I like to put them away for a busy day, when cooking has to be quick.

 

Preparing the Onions for the Freezer

I really dislike chopping onions. My eyes usually water terribly and I can’t see very well. I’ve tried everything, like holding a piece of bread in my mouth, running them under cold water first and nothing seems to help. I haven’t tried goggles yet, but I might just be open to that too. So, if I can get the task of chopping them up all in one shot, it makes me happy.

That’s why I like to have chopped onions in the freezer. All the muss and fuss and watery eyes are done in one shot. When I’m preparing a bunch of onions at a time, I like to use my food processor to chop them up. I love using a food processor for tasks like this, since it saves me time. Plus it cuts down on the watery eyes tremendously.

I like to get all the onions ready for the processor at one time. Doing the like tasks all at the same time helps to save time too. I will cut both the root end and the top off. Then I make a slit in the skin and pull it off. Sometimes I take the whole outer ring of onion off if the skin is sticking to it to tightly. Then I quarter the onions.

I used to just throw the onions into the food processor whole, or in halves. But I found that occasionally, I would have some pieces that just wouldn’t get chopped up. So, I’ve started quartering the onions and that pretty much solved the problem.

Once the onions are quartered, I will process them. How large you leave the onions pieces, will be up to how you will be using the onions. And how picky your eaters are. I did a medium to fine chop on this batch since I have a picky eater who doesn’t like big pieces of onion. I have also almost pureed them to total disguise them in dishes too.

 How to Package the Onion for the Freezer

I like to package the chopped onions into recipe sized portions. I make half cup packages and full cup packages. I have found those two sizes work the best for most recipes.

I  freeze the onions in zipper sandwich baggies, making sure to label the bags, and then place them into a gallon sized freezer bag. Having all the smaller bags in one larger bag helps to guard against freezer burn and keep them all together.

I can’t tell you how many times I have found a little bag of something stuck in the back of the freezer, freezer burnt beyond recognition. So it’s easier for me to locate them and keep them from getting lost in the freezer if they are in a big bag instead of a bunch of little ones. 🙂

When I need chopped onions for a recipe, I just grab and bag and it’s ready to go. I also do a similar process for garlic. Making my own garlic cubes which are really convenient too.

What type of items do you like to keep on hand to save you time in the kitchen?