How to store green onions for a long time - ways to prepare them for the winter

Fragrant greens are an excellent seasoning, a vitamin cocktail that gives dishes a piquant taste and protects the body from viruses and bacteria. Just as housewives prepare parsley and dill, you can preserve green onions for the winter. It is frozen, dried, salted, pickled, fermented and canned. Each method has its own subtleties. We invite you to familiarize yourself with detailed recipes and find out all the pros and cons of different types of preparations.

What is the best way to prepare green onions?

Green onions are loved for their bright color, piquant bitterness, pronounced aroma and tenderness of the feathers. When harvesting for the winter, some of these properties are lost. It tastes a little different. Some people like it, others prefer to eat it fresh.

If this is your first time harvesting green onions, we recommend trying several methods at once. This way you can decide which type of seasoning you like best.

• Dried. Has a subtle onion aroma. There is practically no bitterness. Very reminiscent of the sour cream and herbs seasoning for chips. Color – light green and yellow. Somewhat harsh. Ideal for preparing first courses.
• Frozen. Freezing dulls the bitterness somewhat and makes the onions less crispy.But most of its properties are preserved: benefits, taste, smell, color. Can be used in any dishes.
• Saline. The color, smell and taste of green onions are fully preserved. However, due to the large amount of salt, there is a risk of over-salting the dishes.
• Marinated. Additional ingredients change the taste of the onion. Depending on the set of spices, the seasoning acquires new notes. Best suited for use in salads. It can also be added to potatoes, fish, and meat.
• Sour. Fermentation enhances the taste of green onions and gives them sourness.
• Canned. Green onions are preserved pickled and pickled. Preservation allows you to store preparations outside the refrigerator and increases the shelf life of the product.

Only fresh green onions are suitable for harvesting for the winter: without dry ends or signs of wilting.

Freeze for the winter

There are 2 ways to freeze spices. For soups, it is better to freeze green onions in water. An ice cube will not only fill the dish with flavor, but will also raise the foam, if suddenly you did not have time to remove it at the initial stage of cooking.

Recipes:

• In bulk. Wash the onion feathers, dry them on a paper towel and finely chop them. Place in a thin layer on a tray and freeze quickly. After 5-6 hours, pour the greens into a bag (you can do it in portions), and then place it in a plastic container with an airtight lid. Additional containers are needed to prevent the onion smell from spreading throughout the freezer.



• In ice cubes. Wash and finely chop the greens. Place in an ice cube tray. Fill each ramekin halfway. Pour in water (you can add salt or season it with spices if you wish). Place the form in the freezer. After 8 hours, pour the onion ice into an airtight container.

Quick freezing at -18 degrees allows you to preserve 70% of the beneficial properties of onions, and also increases their shelf life to 12 months.

Drying

Dried green onions are included in many seasonings and freeze-dried soups. Its taste and smell become especially soft when dried.

There are 3 ways to prepare dried spices for the winter:

• In an electric dryer. Wash and cut the onion feathers into 2–3 cm strips. Place in the dryer in a thin layer. Set the temperature to 40–50 degrees and dry for 2–5 hours.
• In the oven. Wash and chop the greens. Dry. Turn the oven on to the lowest temperature (up to 100 degrees). Line the grill with paper. Pour in the chopped onions and spread in a thin layer. Dry with the door open for 1 hour, stirring the greens occasionally. Let it rest for 2 hours and repeat the procedure.
• On air. Chopped greens can be dried in the open air. Place it on paper in the shade. Cover with gauze to protect from debris, bugs and flies. After 2-3 days, the sun and air will do their job.

Dried green onions can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 years. Ground spices last less - about 1 year. Therefore, we recommend drying the onions in large strips and then chopping them as needed.

Salting

Onions prepared in this way will last in the refrigerator for 7 months, that is, all winter and even spring.

You only need a pack of salt (250 g), 1 kg of herbs and a sterile jar.

Recipe:

1. Wash and dry the onion.
2. Cut it the way you are used to eating it.
3. Pack layers into a jar: 2 cm of greens, 0.5 cm of salt, etc.
4. The last layer is salt 1–2 cm thick.
5. Close the jar with a lid and place it in the refrigerator.

Kvasim

Like cabbage, you can ferment green onions.This way, its taste and beneficial properties will not only be preserved, but also increased thanks to the work of lactic acid bacteria.

Recipe:

1. Wash and sort the onion feathers.
2. Cut them into 2-3 cm pieces.
3. Mix with salt (50 g per 1 kg of greens).
4. Add peppercorns and bay leaves to taste.
5. Pack tightly into the jar, add a little water so that the greens are completely covered.
6. Put oppression.
7. Leave the jar in the room for 1-3 weeks.
8. When the taste reaches the desired sharpness, close the jar with a lid and transfer it to the refrigerator or cellar.

At +1–5 degrees, pickled onions can be stored for 2–3 months.

Let's marinate

Pickled onions can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-4 weeks. For long-term storage it should be preserved.

Recipes:

• Classical. Wash and chop 1 kg of onion greens. Fill with brine (120 g salt and 1 liter of water). Leave for 2 days. Take 150 g of dill and parsley, wash, put in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain the brine from the onions. Mix salted onions with dill and parsley. Pour in the marinade (200 ml of water, 800 ml of 6% vinegar, 2 g of dill seeds, 4 peppercorns, 3 cloves of garlic, sugar and salt to taste).
• With honey. Prepare a marinade from 200 ml vinegar, 500 ml water, 3 tbsp. spoons of honey and a pinch of salt. You can add spices to taste. Chop the onion feathers and put them in jars. Pour in marinade.
• With wild garlic. Wash the wild garlic and soak for 2 hours in cold water. Wash the onion. For 1 kg of green mass you need to take 1.5 liters of water, 30 g of salt, 200 ml of vinegar or 20 g of sugar, boil everything and stir. Coarsely chop the greens and pour cold marinade over them.

Preserving

Canned green onions can be stored in the cellar or simply in a room in a cool and dark place. Jars and containers will not take up space in the refrigerator.The shelf life of such preparations is 1 year.

Recipes:

• Place the pickled green onions in an enamel bowl and bring to a boil. Add 3% saline solution if necessary. Boil for 3-5 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. When hot, place in sterilized jars that have not yet cooled down. Roll up.
• To preserve pickled green onions, during the marinade preparation stage, pour the greens into a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 2 minutes. Then pour the mixture into hot sterilized jars and roll up.

Green onion paste

A very tasty and unusual way to preserve green onions for the winter is to turn them into a savory paste.

You will need:

• 300 g green onions;
• 700 g young spinach;
• 25 ml vegetable oil;
• 1 lemon;
• 1.5 teaspoons salt.

Step-by-step preparation of onion-spinach paste:

1. Soak the greens for 15 minutes in cold water. Rinse thoroughly.
2. Remove all damaged and hard parts. Cut off the roots of young spinach and remove the stems of mature spinach. Cut off the white part of the onion.
3. Pour oil into a thick-walled container (frying pan, frying pan). Place spinach in it and heat over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. It will shrink greatly in size.
4. Add onion to the pan, add salt and simmer the greens for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Squeeze the lemon.
6. After 2 minutes, remove the pan and place the green mixture in a blender. Grind it to a puree.
7. Fill sterilized jars with the paste and roll up, boil for 10 minutes, or store in the refrigerator.

Storing in the refrigerator under oil

Another quick and easy way to store green onions. Greens in oil are mainly prepared as assorted vegetables and used in salads.

Recipe:

1. Thoroughly wash the greens: onions, dill, parsley, cilantro, sorrel, etc.
2. Cut off the dry ends and pour the rest with vinegar solution for 15 minutes (3 tablespoons of vinegar per 1 liter of water).
3. Dry the greens on a towel and chop finely.
4. Fill glass jars halfway with it.
5. Pour sunflower or olive oil on top in a 2-3 cm layer.
6. Close the jars with lids.
7. Refrigerate.

Greens can be stored under oil for up to 12 months.

So, you can preserve green onions for the winter in different ways: canning, freezing, drying, fermenting. The recipes described above will help if you have a lot of greens and you can’t eat them in a short time. But it doesn’t make sense to purchase onions for preparations in advance. It’s better to stick the onions in a container of water, and after 2-3 weeks fresh, juicy feathers will appear on the window.