I LOVE onions! Is it because of this, "love" that I suffer through the cutting of said onions on a weekly basis.
And I really suffer. It starts with the burning eyes, moves into tears, then puffy, swolleness and when I'm having a really bad day - waves of acute nausea. I cannot cut an entire onion without taking 2-3 breaks - each time washing my hands and face and sitting in a different room for at least five minutes. And I cut all my onions with the window wide open, wind blowing in my face! This is a real treat in the winter...
I've started to wonder if I am allergic to onions due to the severity of symptoms, but I really don't care because - I LOVE onions!
Then a funny thing happened two weeks ago.
I was dutifully cutting my onion and no reaction... This slightly phased me, but I went on with my day. Perhaps the onion just wasn't as potent. Then today, as I was cutting two GIANT red onions, I suddenly realized that I was doing so with no reaction whatsoever! Not even the slightest tear.
So what changed?
I had not put the onions away after the weekly grocery trip for the past two weeks - total fluke. I always leave my onions on the counter, because that's where I found them in the store - at room temperature. This is how I gauge produce storage (real scientific). I really need to consult the Produce Storage Guide.
Instead, the onions were placed in the refrigerator, which just happens to slightly freeze certain items such as water dense produce, which onions happen to be. It was this simple act that has saved me!
I had once heard that freezing an onion would eliminate the tears, but I thought it was an old wives tale. Well, sometimes that ole' wife knows what she's talking about...
No More Tears!
The Hoff
I will have to remember that when I'm cutting batch after batch to dehydrate !!! Thanks
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the dehydration of onions. Do you then reconstitute for use or use more as a seasoning?
Hoff
Hey, thanks for following my blog. Hope you enjoy the craziness. By the way I found your blog on the Ohio Farm Bureau site. How did you get them to list your blog? Also thank you so much for the web for Polyfacefarm. That was nice of you to do that.
ReplyDeleteOk, dehydrated onions rule!! I make huge batches and store them in gallon size glass jars for all to see. I actually do tomatoes and peppers too.
I just throw the onions into a liguid based dish and they will reconstitute during cooking. You could grind them and make onion powder. I love making crockpot roasts and throwing the peppers and onions in with the meat. Dehydrating is a very "low impact " wat to preserve food.
Hope this helps
Hey Mary!
ReplyDeleteSo I need a dehydrator to do this right? I've been toying with the notion of getting one, but wasn't sure if I would use it.
I actually came across a tiny article in the last Farm Bureau newsletter stating that they were looking for "farm" focused blogs. I wrote to this address: info@ourohio.org and explained how my blog fit their profile. And poof, there I was!
Hoff