Is it possible to freeze green onions for the winter at home and how to do it

Green onion is an excellent seasoning for many dishes, which gives them a piquant and original taste. In summer, almost everyone has greens on the table, but in winter one can only dream of it. Therefore, in order to receive the necessary vitamins in winter, the seasoning can not only be dried, but also frozen. In order for the greens to retain their properties, you need to know how to freeze green onions properly.

Can I freeze green onions and onions for the winter?

Yes, and even necessary. Frozen greens retain all valuable vitamins, such as:

• vitamin B, which improves brain activity and NS;
• vitamin B1, which controls the level of acidity of the human body and normalizes cholesterol;
• vitamin B5, which helps to speed up metabolic processes in the body;
• vitamin A to stimulate new cell growth;
• vitamin C - good for the body as a whole;
• vitamin E - helping to improve the condition of the skin, hair follicles and nails.

Subtleties of freezing

Every housewife should know how to prepare green onions for the winter.

IMPORTANT! For freezing, it is better to take small portions, which is more convenient to use. If you freeze the greens again, then all its valuable qualities are lost.

To preserve vitamins as much as possible, feathers are placed in a metal sieve, dipped in boiled water and held for no more than half a minute, and then poured over with cold water.

After defrosting, onions are best used in cooking various dishes. It is advisable not to use it raw.

How to choose and prepare the right product

For freezing, you need to pay attention to the brightness of the product, juiciness and color. The darker the onion, the more nutrients it contains. Feathers contain fewer vitamins than the white part. It is very important that the greens are fresh. If the onion lies down for at least three days, it will lose half of the vitamins. Before freezing, it must be washed, preferably with cold water, from the shower. But you can also in a basin or bowl, changing the water at least three times.

Important! Do not scald onions with boiling water - all vitamins will be destroyed, and the product will be half cooked.

Place the washed feathers in a colander. When the water drains, pour it onto a soft, well-absorbed cloth in one layer and wait 1-1.5 hours until the onion dries. Cut the feathers into small pieces, as for salads. So the sliced product will be suitable for any dishes.

After cutting the greens, put it again on a napkin (dry) to dry for 1.5 hours. Before freezing, the product must be cooled, because then it will retain all its richness of vitamins and will not stick together. To do this, transfer the onion to a tray and put it in the freezer for 3-4 hours. After that, you can freeze the product for storage.

Preparing the refrigerator before starting the process

Before you freeze the product in freezers, you need to empty one of the drawers from unnecessary products, wash and dry.

Place bags or container of onions tightly in a well-dried box. If the refrigerator has a "Quick Freeze" function, set it for two hours. Freezing will be faster, and vitamins will be better preserved. If the refrigerator does not have such a function, then the product is frozen at -10 - 15 degrees. This is the optimum temperature.

Ways to freeze onions at home

In order to harvest fresh herbs for the winter using freezing, there are very simple and accessible recipes for everyone. Freezing can be done in a variety of ways. Let's take a look at some of them.

Freeze as a whole

If you chose this method, then you need to do the following:

1. Fresh, carefully selected and well-washed bow arrows, carefully place on a plastic bag or cling film, roll into a tube.
2. Cut off the excess film, moisten its edges with water and fix.
3. Freeze the finished tube in the freezer.

This freezing method is more suitable for making salads.

Chopped in bags

Very convenient and a good way to keep greenery for the winter. So that the onion does not lose its useful and taste qualities, you need to follow the rules of freezing:

• washed and sorted onions are cut into small pieces, after which they are evenly distributed on the board to prevent sticking. Freeze the resulting cut in the freezer for about half an hour. After the specified time, the chopped product is taken out and transferred to a dry and clean bag;
• The resulting blank in the bag is given a flat shape so that it takes up as little space as possible in the freezer. To do this, the bag is tied and excess air is removed from it;
• after all these steps, place the freezer bag in the freezer.

And when you open the package in winter, your kitchen will be filled with a pleasant aroma and fresh greens.

Oil-fried

Maybe it sounds unusual, but onions are frozen even fried in oil. To do this, do the following:

• first you need to cut it into small pieces in the form of cubes or half rings;
• then fry it over low heat with vegetable oil;
• then you need to throw it in a colander and pack it in plastic bags, then put it in the freezer.

With this method, the product will remain not only fragrant, but also dense. Another advantage of this harvesting method is that such an onion will not completely freeze and harden, and this will reduce the cooking time, because it does not need to be thawed beforehand.

Important! In this case, it is important not to overdo it, because foods that are overcooked do not tolerate temperatures below zero degrees very well.And yet, if there is not a lot of free space in the freezer, then the fried onion can be placed in a dense layer in a glass jar, tighten the lid tightly, and keep it in the refrigerator in this form.

Freezing in ice cube trays

Greens are also frozen in ice cube trays. It is necessary to cut the greens into small pieces and put them in molds for freezing ice. After the product freezes, it must be packaged in bags and placed in the freezer. You can store such a freeze for about 6 months. This blank is very convenient to use for soup, borscht, okroshka.

Onion in a plastic bottle

Another unusual way to freeze greens for the winter.

1. The product is thoroughly washed under running water, using a napkin, preferably thick, it is dried. You can dry the shoots of greens in the sun, somewhere around thirty minutes, as well as with a hair dryer, directing cool air to the greens.
2. This preparation requires certain rules - chopped greens and a plastic bottle must be well dried. Only in this way can frozen onions be easily poured out of a plastic bottle.
3. The next step is to fill the bottle with chopped product and screw the lid tightly.
4. It is advisable to use small plastic bottles with a volume of 0.5 liters, it will be convenient for further use.

How long to store frozen onions in the freezer

Houses who first decided to freeze greens often wonder how long it can lie in the freezer without losing its taste and useful properties. The shelf life is different, from two months to six months, and depends not only on the temperature in the freezer, but also on the method of harvesting greens for freezing.

For example, if you froze an onion at -18 degrees, it will lie quietly all winter and, when defrosted, will be no worse than fresh.

If the thermometer is -8 degrees, the shelf life is reduced by 2 times, and after three months it is no longer recommended to use it in cooking. Indeed, in the greens there will no longer be the desired aroma and vitamins. It is even advisable to use the product within 1-2 months. It is during this period that onions are maximally enriched with useful properties.

Important! If you decide to freeze onions for the winter, then you should know that in the first two or three weeks they will have a strong smell, even though they will be frozen. This smell can be absorbed by other foods, which may affect their taste. To prevent this from happening, packaged greens can be placed either a short distance from other foods or above them.

Experienced housewives recommend freezing onions in the freezer and even believe that greens can be stored for a whole year, until the next season.The beneficial properties and aroma of greens, of course, will be several times less than that of a fresh product, but, nevertheless, this is a good way to saturate the body with vitamins and diversify the diet.

Properly defrost and use onions

You can defrost blanks in the following ways:

1. Just in the fridge. This is a long process, taking about two and a half hours, and sometimes more. But at the same time, the solid consistency of the product and the fresh, rich aroma are preserved.
2. At about 20-24 degrees (room temperature). You can leave the frozen workpiece on the table. The defrosting time will depend on how the product was stored and at what temperature the product was frozen. Frozen greens with this defrosting method will be watery and soft. But it will retain its taste, and it can be used for cooking.
3. In the microwave. This method will save you time.The whole process takes about 5-6 minutes. But the main thing is not to hold the workpiece in the microwave for more than necessary, otherwise the defrosting will turn into cooking. To avoid this, you need to set the furnace power to the minimum mode.
4. Defrosting in water. Many believe that if frozen greens are dipped in a bowl of cold water before use, they will taste exactly the same as fresh ones.

Important! You can generally do without defrosting if a blanched product was prepared.

Cooked frozen onions are used in the preparation of various dishes. Most often in vegetable stews, various soups, minced meat. Such an additive has not only a pleasant aroma, but also gives the food a special taste, saturates it with vitamins necessary for the human body. But frozen greens need heat treatment, it is better not to eat it raw.

Re-freezing vegetables, including green onions, is not recommended, as it will become slippery, lethargic, with an unpleasant odor, and lose its beneficial properties. If you want to consume summer foods all year round, then freezing is a great solution. Frozen green onions are not inferior to fresh ones in terms of their usefulness and taste. With proper freezing and storage, you can enjoy vitamin-rich meals all year round.

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