Storing onion can seem impossible. Onion tends to break down rapidly once it has been chopped or cooked, and it can go bad in a matter of hours when placed on the counter.
If you have been struggling to keep prepared onions fresh in your fridge and are tired of the onion smell that is left behind when you do, freezing onions might be your best bet.
You can actually freeze chopped onions and caramelized onions and have them on hand when you are ready to cook with this delicious ingredient.
If you are not sure how to go about freezing your caramelized onion, there are some simple tips that will make sure that you have a great experience with this process.
This is not as hard as it might sound, and you will be glad that you took the time to both prepare and store your onion in this way. Having onion on hand that is already prepared can save you a lot of time in the kitchen.
If you want to learn more about whether you can freeze caramelized onions, you need to read on!
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Storing Onion Doesn’t Have to be Hard
If you have a whole onion that you need to store, you will want to put it into the right container and then put them away from the light in a cool and dry place. If you let your onion get wet or expose it to the sun, it might sprout!
Once your onions are prepared, they will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, but that is it. This is why the freezer is really your best friend when you are trying to store onions properly.
Make sure that you have quality freezer bags on hand or invest in some ice cube trays. You will want to have freezer bags that will not cause freezer burn, and you will need ice cube trays that you use just for this purpose.
Onion smell can be hard to get out of products of all kinds, and plastics and different materials are porous enough to hold onto the onion smell. Having separate storage containers for this need is always a good idea because of this.
Freezing Caramelized Onion
If you have any leftover caramelized onion that you need to store, you will want to make sure that you wash your hands before you start the storing process.
Bacteria that get into the bags or ice cube trays can destroy your onion well before you have a chance to use it for anything.
It is always a good idea to make sure that your hands are clean before you start working on any kind of storage process.
If you are using freezer bags, spread out the caramelized onion in a thin layer inside the bag. When you seal the bag, make sure that you press out all the air. You will want to double-check that the bag is fully sealed as well.
Place the bag of onion somewhere where it will not get folded up or compressed while it is freezing. You want your onion to stay on a thin sheet inside the bag.
This freezing method prevents clumps of onion that can get wet and moldy, and it makes it much easier to get out the onion that you need when you are cooking.
You will simply break off a corner or a part of the sheet of frozen onion when you need some and then seal up the bag and put it back in the freezer.
If you are using ice cube trays for your caramelized onion storage, you will want to be sure that you consider lining the trays with some plastic wrap. This will help to prevent the smell from escaping from the ice cube trays into the rest of your freezer.
You will simply place an equal amount of caramelized onion into each of the ice cube tray slots and then fold the plastic wrap closed over the top of the onion ball.
Store your caramelized onion trays in the freezer in an out-of-the-way location. This will prevent the smell of onion from getting into other foods that are stored with them in the freezer.
Either of these storage methods will make your caramelized onions last for about a month. This will help you to be able to make all kinds of recipes without having to plan too far in advance, and it can also save you time chopping, slicing, and preparing onion when you are hungry and just want to be able to eat.
Onion that is stored this way thaws out very quickly as well, and it is simple to make room to store your onions in this way when you have a regular size fridge and freezer.
Caramelized Onion Is Easy to Store in the Freezer
Caramelized onion stores really well, and it is quite simple to put this kind of onion into the freezer for use later. You will be able to make this process simple for yourself by putting them in freezer-safe bags or ice cube trays, and you will get a month of storage time for each batch.
If you are worried that you will forget when you stored the onion, you can simply mark on the bag when the onion went into the freezer. Ice cube trays are simple to label as well since you can write on the plastic wrap that is used in the cups.
Maybe you have been struggling to find the time to prepare dishes that require caramelized onion. Maybe you just hate having to prepare small batches of onion for your cooking needs.
For either reason, you will want to use this method for storing your caramelized onion. Having prepared onion on hand can make your cooking tasks so much easier, and it can save you lots of wasted onion when you are done cooking or through with dinner.
Onion does not store well in the fridge, but it does very well once it is stored correctly in the freezer.
