Unexpected find: why put onions in the freezer?

Most of us remember old newspapers and magazines that published smart tips for housewives. My grandmother cut out the most useful information and carefully pasted the clippings into a notebook. Many people did this at the time.

And recently I came across my grandmother’s “selection of life hacks”. It turns out that many of the tips of that time can be applied by modern housewives. For example, putting onions in the freezer.

Onions in the freezer

Why do they put onions in the freezer?

Anyone who has ever chopped an onion may have noticed that this process is associated with a certain discomfort. Soon the nose begins to sting treacherously, a pain appears in the eyes, and they fill with tears. To finish what you started, you have to put up with pain. At such moments it is very easy to cut your fingers.

Freezing onions solves the problem of lacrimation and stinging in the eyes.

You don't have to freeze the onion until it's solid for this tip to work. It is placed in the freezer for literally 10–15 minutes. After this, the vegetable is calmly peeled and cut. It doesn't cause tears.

Woman cutting onions

Does it work?

Before I learned the method of freezing onions, I fought onion tears by wetting a knife with cold water. It didn't help for long. I had to get distracted every 1-2 minutes and rinse the blade again. Therefore, I decided to try this life hack from the tenderloin right away.

It turned out that the method really works. Onions are peeled and cut without any discomfort. What is important is that short freezing does not in any way affect the taste and structure of onions.It fries beautifully and turns golden. You can safely add such an onion to cutlets. They come out just as juicy and tasty as with fresh onions.

Frozen onion rings

Freezing onions - why?

There is no point in freezing onions for storage. I have a bag of onions on my balcony for six months, if not longer.

But there are situations when freezing really helps:

  • For quick cooking. Sometimes I chop too many onions. It would be a shame to throw away the excess. So I wrap the cuts in a bag and put them in the freezer. If you do not defrost the onion, but immediately place it in a heated frying pan, it will turn out tasty and golden. I use it in frying, frying it with minced meat, mushrooms, and preparing sauces.
  • For making delicious onion rings. I learned the main secret of preparing this dish from a chef I know. It turns out that onion rings must be frozen before deep-frying. After this, they do not spread, they turn out to be perfectly round, fragrant and crispy.

Onion rings in crispy breading

Onion rings recipe

Onion rings are a delicious and simple appetizer. It goes perfectly with beer. I also really like cheese rings with white wine.

To prepare the snack you will need:

  • medium and large onions – 0.5 kg;
  • mozzarella cheese – 100 g;
  • chicken eggs – 2–3 pcs.;
  • flour – 150 g;
  • breadcrumbs – 150 g;
  • vegetable oil – 300 ml.

Recipe:

  1. Place the unpeeled onion in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  2. Clean it, wash it.
  3. Cut into 1.5 cm thick circles.
  4. Disassemble into rings. Set the smallest ones aside immediately.
  5. Cut the mozzarella into long, thin strips 1/2 inch thick.
  6. Wrap a strip of cheese around an onion ring and insert it into a larger onion ring.
  7. Insert cheese into all pairs of rings.
  8. Freeze the onion on a plate and freeze for 1 hour.
  9. By this time, prepare 3 plates with egg mixture, flour and breadcrumbs. Heat a frying pan or deep fryer with oil.
  10. Roll the frozen rings in flour, then in the egg, again in flour, in the egg and at the very end in breadcrumbs.
  11. Fry until golden brown and place on a paper napkin. It will absorb excess oil.

The remaining small onion rings can be used to make a creamy sauce. Bring 200 ml of cream to a boil, add lightly fried finely chopped onion, 50 g of grated Parmesan and mozzarella, salt, nutmeg, paprika and white pepper to taste. Stir and remove sauce from heat.

Onions can be placed in the freezer for different purposes - for freezing slices and onion rings. But more often they put it there to neutralize the caustic juice. After 15 minutes, you can calmly cut the onion without shedding tears.

leave a comment
  1. VOVA

    AS I READ THAT I BEFORE WAS DISTRACTED TO WET THE KNIFE EVERY TWO MINUTES, SO I STUPIDLY THOUGHT - POOR AUNTY... HOW LONG HAS SHE TORMENTED THE POOR ONION?! I CAN’T READ MORE AND NOW I’M WRITING AND EVERY TWO MUCH CHICKPEAS WIPE THE CLASS AS THEY CRY...ISFINITE-KO FOR POTCHERK WITH APPSHIPS..-TEARS HINDER YOUR EYES TO SEE...

    • Alex

      They will write more nonsense. The onion needs to be peeled by dipping it in water and not with a knife. The bulb releases hydrochloric acid into the air and hurts the eyes. In the army, the soldiers peeled three buckets of onions in the kitchen - cutting off the top and bottom and making the cut into a hard crust, then dipping it into a pan of warm water. There will be no tears.

  2. Vova

    Grandma's magazines didn't contain any bullshit, but there was human advice - there's no one to flog you.

    • Yuri

      You're right!!! Useful tips are right!

  3. Fedor

    Onions are placed in the freezer when there is nothing else to put there. Every kind of bullshit is written in pursuit of likes.

  4. Andrey

    And I just cut onions with the hood turned on to maximum

    • How is the VN-2 fan?

      So cut it further. And don’t tell anyone!

  5. Igor

    I once tried to keep chopped onions in the freezer to prepare frying red peppers, but with these onions, after the 45 minutes of exposure recommended in the recipe, all the potato balls stank, despite packaging both products in double bags.

  6. 331

    Frozen onions are snot and mucus! Don’t write bullshit.

  7. Hehe

    Oooh, they wrote some comments. When you need to cut one onion, there is no problem, but sometimes you need to cut a lot of onions, and then they advise keeping it in the freezer for no more than 15 minutes. What 45? In 15 minutes there will be no mucus or snot.

    • Baha

      If I were to chop 20 kg of onions for lula kibab shish kebab frozen, then people would eat the minced meat that fell on the coals. Don't talk nonsense.A sharp knife will cause problems with the mucous membrane of the eye. A fan or a strong hood helps.

  8. Alex

    When chopping or peeling onions, place a match in your mouth with the sulfur head facing inward.

  9. Musya

    Rave! The onions become like nasty jelly! It is generally impossible to cut it after the freezer, it falls apart in your hands. My onions began to spoil, so I decided to freeze them... It’s better to throw them away right away.

  10. Tatiana

    What tender eyes! And I’m cutting kilograms for minced meat and it would make me cry!

    • Dimaman

      And what?

  11. Irina

    And for me it’s a pleasure to cry and breathe in antibacterial onions! And your eyes and nose are cleared!

  12. Alexander

    The onion should not be put down, but laid down.

    • Yuri

      The snow is falling, but the bow must be laid. The Russian language is powerful and difficult, especially for the Chinese.

  13. Natalia

    Ahaha

  14. Well done, everything is correct.

    Well done,

  15. Galina

    Well, why these comments with negative energy? How much anger there is in people...

  16. Galina

    DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO!

  17. Valentina

    And I put the peeled onion in the water, then I take it out and cut it and there are no tears.

  18. vladimir

    I keep it under water for 2-3 minutes and no problems!

  19. Sanya

    You fill your mouth with water and hold it without swallowing while you cut the onion. Helps.

    • Galina

      I do the same when I cut onions. I put water in my mouth, cut onions and no tears. When I cut the onion, I remove the water from my mouth. Try it, it definitely helps.

  20. Vladimir Golovin

    warrant officers in the army teach soldiers' cooks to whistle when cutting onions;; because the whistle survives the money of the salary, I’ve been just blowing on the bow for over 50 years and everything is great

  21. Yuri

    PEOPLE!!! DO NOT write shitty words Write USEFUL ADVICE! And may happiness be with you!

  22. RVS

    You need to cut while sitting at the table with outstretched arms!

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