With Onion prices skyrocketing in the recent times, onions have become much more valuable and scarce, in this situation, it is extremely important that you know how to store onions to avoid any unnecessary wastage, Onions are some of the most important ingredients which we use in our everyday life, people often buy onions in bulk and store them, but they often go soft or start sprouting before you get around to using them. To save your valuable and hard-earned money, we’ve decided to tell you the best way to store onions.
Store Them In A Cool Dark Ventilated Room
According to the National Onion Association (NOA), (yes, they do exist) onions should be stored in a cool, dry, dark and well-ventilated room, this is because onions easily absorb moisture, and if the humidity or temperature is too high, they might sprout soon or worse, rot. According to research 4–10°C is the ideal temperature for storing onions. Apart from this, it is also important that they get proper ventilation so that they don’t rot, an open basket or a netted bag is great for storing onions.
Storing onions in plastic bags makes them rot quickly, so make sure that you avoid storing them in plastic bags, this is because, In plastic bags, onions receive no ventilation and start rotting. It has also been found that darkness helps onions to last longer. This is because the lack of sunlight reduces changes in temperature and humidity, two factors that play an important role in them going bad faster.
Avoid Storing Onions In Refrigerators
Though Onions are best stored in a cool dark place, you should never store them in a refrigerator, this is because onions require dry surroundings, so that they don’t absorb too much moisture or experience heat or humidity, but storing them in refrigerators exposes them to cold and humidity, and since they absorb moisture very easily, they may become mushy and spoil faster. Peeled onions, on the other hand, are a different case, they can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks, while diced or sliced onions will only last for 7–10 days.
