Food Hygiene Expert Reveals The Two Mistakes People Do When Storing Onions: 'Keep Them...'

The expert revealed that one of the main factors for protecting onions is to maintain the correct storage temperature.

PUBLISHED 5 DAYS AGO

A man wearing a mask looks at a bag of onions. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | Michael Burrows)

No matter what size, every onion makes you cry when it is cut open. Like Russian dolls or planet Earth, this pinkish-purplish vegetable unfolds like a pearl encased in concentric layers of papery skin. The deeper you go, the more you cry. But once it is chopped, fried, or sauteed, the same onion bulb now makes you smile with its flavor. All these superpowers, however, don’t prevent onions from getting spoiled. Just like other vegetables, onions are vulnerable to breakdown. One food hygiene expert knows how to protect them. Sarah Taylor, Content Production Manager for Food & Drink at High Speed Training, shared with the Express the best storage hack you can use to keep your onions flavorful and fresh for months.

A basket filled with onions (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Namukolo Siyumbwa)

Taylor’s first tip is to avoid storing onions in a refrigerator at all costs. "Onions are best stored in a dry, dark place and should not be kept in the fridge," she told the outlet. The National Onion Association recommends maintaining the storage temperature between 45°F and 55°F. The damp environment of a refrigerator can pilfer the onion’s protection by bombarding it with excess moisture and causing sprouts, mold, and mushiness. Another advice Taylor shared was to avoid wrapping the onions in plastic packaging or storing them in plastic bags.

Four onions in a bowl (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Karolina Grabowska)

"The lack of air circulation can considerably reduce their shelf life. Remove them from their plastic bag to allow the air to circulate around them, and keep them separate from potatoes, as the two together may impact the lifespan of both items," she explained. Taylor also shared a trick to prolong the life of chopped onions. Chopped onions, she said, should be tossed in freezer bags for long-term freshness. However, Southern Living explains that once the chopped onions are taken out of the freezer bags, there will be a change in their texture. So, “it's best to use them in cooked dishes like soups and stews. Avoid using frozen onions in raw applications, such as a topping for chili or hot dogs,” the experts suggest.

Purplish onion rings looking like a pattern of concentric circles (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Cottonbro Studio)

Nevertheless, if you didn’t follow these tips for an earlier batch of onions, Southern Living shared some signs that might indicate spoilage. Firmness, to begin with. A good, healthy onion should feel firm on the surface. If it feels softer or tender in certain places, it is a surefire sign that the onion is beyond its best. Another clue is smell. If the onion seems to be giving off a rotten, moldy, or sulphurous smell, it means it is over the hill and, therefore, should be trashed away before it ends up spoiling other onions in the basket.

A flat purple-colored basket filled with onions placed on a wooden shelf (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Arturo A)

A third sign of spoilage is when the onion bulb starts to show sprouts. The longer these sprouts become, the softer the bulb becomes, which indicates that the parent onion is not as young as it once was. But fret not. Unlike what the onion intended to do with you, you do not have to make the onion cry. Instead, a spoiled, soggy, or sprouted onion can be planted in the soil. It will act as both the seed and the fertilizer, producing fresh baby onions in no time.