Preserving Onions

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MNTaxi

Cook
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
70
Location
Olympia, WA
This is my second year doing a garden. I planted a bunch of onions. Two different kinds. One of them are Walla Wallas that I plan on using in spagetti Sause, Salsa, Bread and butter pickles, etc.

The second kind I planted I can't remember what they are and I can't find the tag for them that tells me.

Anyway the reason I bought the second kind is because it says they are good for storage. What I wanted to do way preserve them whole. I guess I would have to hang them and let them dry? They said tey would stay good for 6 months. My problem is it didn't tell me how to go about doing this and I have no idea how. Any and all help is appreciated. Also how would I store them? Cool dry place?
 
Here is a link to some information which might offer some help:

Onion

I've never had much luck with long-term storage of onions so they always get chopped up and frozen or dehydrated.
 
I have never heard of drying entire onions. I guess it's worth a shot but seems like it would be tough.

The only way to preserve onions is to chop them, lay them in a tray and let all the moisture evaporate from them. I leave them out in the sun. Once dry, put them in ziploc and freeze them. You can then defrost and use them as is in dishes or blend them and use them in dishes.

I also like to fry my onions. This is the only way to preserve them for much longer at room temperature.

You basically do the same thing I indicated, chop onions, let them dehydrate in the sun. Then fry them in small batches in vegetable, canola or corn oil until they are crisp. You can drain them in paper towels and let them cool completely. They will turn medium brown and crisp. You can put them in a container and put them in a cool dry place. They will last for months this way.

You can use these in curries, chili, as topping for casseroles, baked potato etc.
 
If the following is of any help, give it a try.
I bought 50 lbs. of vidalias a year for several years from a grower in Georgia and he told me to wrap the onions individually in a sheet of newspaper and store them in a cool dark place like the crisper in your fridge and they last for months.
this year we've grown our own Texas Granos, from which vidalias were grown and dried them in a shady place for a few days, then wrapped them in newspaper &as we harvested about 150 lbs. of onions think we're set for a while! I've already made a large cauldron of onion soup using about 20 lbs of onions & BTW they're over a pound each.
Also if in doubt about the newspaper tip, lots of info on it via google.
 
I just dug up my onions and left part of the stem tied with garden ties and hung in the garage. This way I can cut one down as needed.
kadesma
 
I've never had enough to think about this, but I might this year depending on how the garden does. Keeping an eye on this thread. ;)
 
Get yourself some clean pantyhose (don't look at me, I haven't worn pantyhose for years) and drop one onion in the toe. Tie a knot, drop another onion, tie a knot, etc, etc, etc.

The key is to allow air to circulate and moisture to evaporate. An open basket will work, braiding the stems and hanging will work. Find a cool, dry place to put them--they will freeze if you leave them out in a garage, but a dry basement would be good.
 
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