Green onion feathers are a favorite vegetable addition to a large number of dishes. But the season of fresh herbs is quite short, so there is a need for long-term storage of the product for the winter period of time. The article will discuss ways to preserve a delicate vegetable at home.
Did you know? Libya is a record country for onion consumption per capita. Each inhabitant of this country eats 33 kg of vegetable per year.
Preparing green onions for storage
Before laying green onions for storage, you need to properly prepare it. Many housewives do not recommend washing greens, motivating this by the fact that onions are a hygroscopic product and with its subsequent use it will lose its commodity-taste properties. Nevertheless, the majority prefers to store greens for a long time, which is completely ready for subsequent consumption.
The process of preparing onions for the winter itself is as follows:
- Onion feathers are carefully sorted, remove substandard fragments (yellow, sluggish, with traces of spoilage or rot).
- For a short period of time, they lower the vegetable into a deep container with a sufficient volume of cool water to remove impurities. After a while, the water is drained. In case of excessive sticking of soil on the plant, the procedure is repeated until the dirt is completely removed.
- The next step is to dry the raw materials in order to remove excess moisture. To do this, use a natural fabric folded in several layers, or a terry towel on which onion greens are laid out in a thin layer.
- It is necessary to withstand the time until the excess moisture on the arrows is completely removed.
Important! The correct technology of the drying process of the green part of the onion allows you to save up to 80% of the nutrients of the vegetable.
Methods for storing green onions
Consider ways to store the green part of the plant so that its consumer properties remain the necessary condition for as long as possible.
In fridge
When stored in a refrigerator, it is desirable to maintain a temperature of about 0 ° C, in which case the vegetable lasts up to two months. At standard temperatures up to + 4 ° C, storage lasts without loss of taste of the product for about 3 weeks.
In a plastic bag
The vegetable is stored in this form for 1.5 months. To avoid condensation inside the bag, the feathers are cooled to a temperature at which they will be stored for a long time. Next, the greens are placed in a plastic bag, in which small holes are made with a sharp tool for constant access of air, and a bundle is placed on the shelf of the refrigerator.
Important! With this storage method, the onions are not washed with water, but lightly wiped with a damp cloth and left to dry for a while.
In a glass container
This method is suitable for storing onion feathers of small length, since bent or broken arrows quickly turn yellow and fade. Prepared greens are placed in glass containers, tightly corked with a lid, and then in such excellent form (fresh, bright, fragrant) it is stored in banks for a month.
In paper
The following method allows you to keep the product fresh for 2-3 weeks:
- Clean feathers are wrapped in thick, not glossy and not waxed paper, preferably kraft paper.
- The paper packaging is sprayed with water from a spray bottle.
- Put the packaging in a bag and put in the refrigerator.
In the cellar
This method is ideal for freshly-scooped vegetables with intact onions and powerful feathers:
- Vegetables peeled from the soil are placed in ventilated trellised boxes, on the bottom of which a film is lined.
- In wooden boxes in an upright position, rather densely to each other, they put plastic bags with vegetables (bags can be used both open and closed).
- The green part of the plants is separated from the bulbs, then put in film bags, in which the shelf life of the products is about a month.
Drying green onions
Prepared feathers are cut into narrow rings and laid out in a thin layer on a fabric or a sheet of clean paper. Leave in a warm, well-ventilated area until completely dry. Drying in the oven occurs at a temperature of about + 50 ° C for 2-3 hours. The air grill is also perfect for this purpose.
Did you know? Scientists believe that sulfur compounds in the onion inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Chopped onions are placed on the upper grill with a thin layer and dried at a temperature of + 70 ° C for about half an hour. Shelf life of dried green feather - 1 year. By placing it for a short time in water, the vegetable practically becomes indistinguishable from fresh.
Chives
This type of storage allows you to save the vegetable for a long period of time (up to six months) with virtually no loss of useful properties. It is preferably stored in a ground state for storage. This will allow a more metered consumption of the product if necessary. As containers, it is recommended to use either special bags for freezing, or plastic bottles, previously well-dried from moisture.
Onion storage periods
Each storage method has its own term. Having chosen the method that is most preferable for you, you can expect a shelf life of 2 weeks to 1 year.
Recommendations for use
Without this valuable vitamin vegetable, cooking almost no meal is complete. It is so in demand in the daily diet that in winter there is an urgent need for it, so freshly preserved onions are used as an independent vegetable or salad component, after thawing it perfectly complements soups, cabbage soup, and hodgepodge.
Dried onion after recovery becomes a spicy additive in sauces and main dishes. Whatever method of preserving green feather onions you choose, vitamin greens in the cold season will be a great addition to the diet. It is only necessary to consistently observe the simple rules of its procurement and subsequent storage.