# Red onion help



## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

We bought 2 pounds of red onion seeds this year. After planting them, I am lost on how to preserve them. I thought about dehydrating them, but I'm not sure how that works.


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

I have a wonderful recipe for Red Onion Jam 

*Red Onion Jam*
​3 cups Red Onions
1 Â½ cups Apple Juice
Â½ cup Red Wine Vinegar
1-Â½ teaspoons Rubbed Sage
Â½ teaspoon Black Pepper
4 cups Granulated Sugar
Â¾ cup firmly packed Light Brown Sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) package of Powdered Fruit Pectin
1/2 teaspoon Butter

1) Peel, quarter and thinly slice red onions. Measure 3 cups into a 6-8 quart saucepan. Stir in apple juice, vinegar, sage, and pepper.
2) Measure sugars in a different bowl. 
3) Stir in fruit pectin into onion mixture in stockpot. Add butter. Over high heat, bring mixture to a full, rolling boil stirring constantly.
4) Quickly stir in sugars. Return to a full, rolling boil, and boil exactly 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
5) Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon. Ladle quickly into hot, sterilized half pint jars, filling to within 1/8-inch of the tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with lids and screw bands tightly. Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Yield: 5-6 (half-pint) jars.


 Serve with cream cheese and crackers or as a glaze for roasted chicken. This is also great on Roastbeef & Havarti sandwiches on grilled Sourdough.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Tirzah, thank you for sharing your recipe. I will definitely make it. It sounds simple enough for a beginner, like myself, to make and delicious. &#128515; I would have never thought to make a jam out of red onions. That's very cleaver. I have only used them fresh in salads. Thank you again, so very much.


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## Homesteader at Heart (Aug 11, 2003)

If you want to use them in cooking, how about dicing and dehydrating?


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## udwe58 (Apr 9, 2014)

You can also freeze them, just chop 'em up, put in freezer bags and throw in the freezer. Great for soups, spiked hashbrowns, etc.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Dehydrating- does that require cooking or blanching first? 
I didn't know you could freeze food that simple. If you can't tell, I'm rather new at this  guess it shows my age as well, lol, or that I'm new to cooking. 
Thanks for the ideas. It means a lot to me.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

One caution on the freezing. I like to slice them, dice them, whatever, and then put them on a cookie sheet to freeze. Then put them in your bag or jar. It's slower than putting them all in a bag at once, but they don't freeze into one big lump either. If you don't mind hacking chunks of the lump off, doing them all at once works fine. I've done both ways.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I am amazed how much I use my dehydrated onions. In fact, I keep using the dehydrated ones as I have to go to the basement to get our storage onions! Dehydrating is super easy, but very stinky. Do it when all the windows are open or put your dehydrator outside. No prep needed, just slice and lay on the trays. 

Dried scallions are really easy to use, I throw them in eggs without rehydrating, they are so light they rehydrate with the eggs. So don't waste them as you thin them. 

Your red onions should store awhile as well, at least 3 months.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

No blanching or cooking required. Simply slice or chop and lay on dehydrator trays. You'll probably need screens or parchment paper on the trays if you have large holes in the trays.


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## anahatalotus (Oct 25, 2012)

Pickle themmmm. Very thing tastes better fermented in my opinion. They stay crunchy enough to put in salads or sandwiches and are good for dicing up into soups etc. Nourishing traditions has some great recipes for fermented veggies. Once fermented they can be kept in a fridge for about a few months or the jar they are fermented in can be canned for long term storage.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Once dehydrated, you can put them in a coffee grinder (or blender or smoothie maker) and grind them into your own onion powder!!


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## Homesteader at Heart (Aug 11, 2003)

Dried scallions are great. They smell like they are carmelized, and are easy to use.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

This last winter when our red onions started to soften or grow, I sliced them thinly in the food processor.
Boiled some vinegar, salt, sugar mixture, and packed the onions in plastic clear containers and poured the brine over the top. Very pretty looking.
I kept them in the refrigerator and we use them to top some sandwiches, to put on anti-pasta plates and to serve on top of slices of roast beef and meatloaf.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Feather In The Breeze said:


> This last winter when our red onions started to soften or grow, I sliced them thinly in the food processor.
> Boiled some vinegar, salt, sugar mixture, and packed the onions in plastic clear containers and poured the brine over the top. Very pretty looking.
> I kept them in the refrigerator and we use them to top some sandwiches, to put on anti-pasta plates and to serve on top of slices of roast beef and meatloaf.


That's a great idea! I bet that would work with Walla Walla's as well. They don't last very long.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

Vosey said:


> That's a great idea! I bet that would work with Walla Walla's as well. They don't last very long.


I didn't know Walla Walla's wouldn't last so long. Thanks Vosey. We were just ordering red onions, walla walla, and candy hybrid onions for this year. 

I would guess I'll use the dice and freeze method if necessary for a glut of onions that aren't keeping because I do enjoy using them from the freezer, no mess, ease of use.

We are still dehydrating garlic from this past year, and put the dehydrator back outside to avoid the fumes. I imagine onions would be just as easy to do.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Thank you all so much for the great/wonderful ideas.  My husband loves onion powder. We put onions in most meals. With all the onions, I have planted, I can use all different suggestions and see which method(s) we like best. 
I have them planted all over my yard, where it doesn't flood, and away from the chickens, lol.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

I wanted to follow up on the onions we planted this year. Red, Walla walla, and candy hybrid from Stark Brother's, excellent stuff we had some of the sets to share with friends. We were both very successful.

We had 220 lbs of onions, ourselves, and they aren't long keepers. I've been baking full roasting pans of them up, for french onions soup, or for stews, and freezing the excess. I don't mind the green sprouting tops for salads and stir fries, so far.

My dehydrator is in a cabinet with an open front and back, outside (in the snow), right outside the patio window, so I'm going to dehydrate them so I don't use up freezer space. (as they begin to sprout)

The red variety averaged 13-14 oz each, and the whites/yellows were 15-16 oz each. The size of softballs. So easy to grow. 

Next year we'll be planting a small amount of short keeping sweeter onions, and a large portion of the long keeping onions. 
I've been advised to try Red Zeppelin, Copra, and Stuttgarter for long storing onions. 

We had thought of starting from seed, but, it sounds like it is a two step/season process. Start them, then they go to seed in a couple months, they make a small onion, let it go dormant and then plant the small onion to get the big onions that next year. I bet we'll instead, buy sets again.


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